pinoy

this city is fascinating. the impression we have of the filipinos-mainly from the maid culture in our country-is one of poverty or at least of a lower income strata, but you come here and see the buildings & you forget that these people are the same subservient beings in our houses- they have a mini manhattan in the midst of manila, their building reach far above what the eye can see-if you sit in a mall and observe them, they are happy, content, bustling about with their friends, family, alone, doing their own thing be it sitting in starbucks, pciking up delicious bread in breadtalk, indulging in retail therapy, or just standing around holding hands with their partners-there is nothing furtive in their actions, they are not plagued by the oh-my-god-what-if-someone-saw-us or the let-me-walk-fast-in-case-some-loser-harrases-me.

you can walk out and walk around-sit under umbrellas and have a caramel machiatto, walk one building down and get a quick thai massage, cross the road at lunch time and just browse the shops.

yes its like any other city in the modern world, but the reason it inspires more feeling is because it makes you realize we could so easily be that way too.