Filipino vols in Uganda

Last February, we had a Volunteers-Partners Forum in Kampala.  I had the chance to meet again the Filipino volunteers I visited during the Christmas holidays.

VSO volunteers in Uganda

If there is something unique about Filipinos, I'd say it is their capacity to have a good laugh whenever they are together.  Even the way one speaks or the choice of words is meant to elicit laughter.  Punning and bantering have become classical art.

Look at us, Generation Y but 1

Body language and facial expressions heighten the merriment.  But that is not to say that we are not a serious people.  In business meetings or in the company of strangers, we can be formal;  too businesslike even.  We can even cry a bucketful when mourning.

I was the photographer

Our warmth is undeniable.  I was even told here in Gulu, where locals are used to different nationalities, that the way I relate to people is just stunning.   Well, I said, it is not just me.  It's the rest of us.  I don't know whom to thank for this legacy of mirth - is it our Malay forefathers, or the Spaniards, or the Americans?  The Philippines used to be high in the UN Happiness Index, until I saw lately that the Indonesians beat us to it.  I guess, it is the Malay connection.  Am getting homesick. It is fun in the Philippines.

In a Filipino-owned restaurant in Kampala

Next posts, I will write about the life of the Filipino vols in their placements.

Some African quirks

Hereditary teeth gap

In previous posts I mentioned about African dressing, their cooking, and hair grooming.  In this post are new things I have seen or heard.  The first time I

1 of 10 has it

saw the teeth gap (between the two front teeth), I thought right away that their parents had neglected the dental care during infancy until I was told that it is in the genes.    There is also the sickle cells, a chronic hereditary blood disease common among Africans or persons with African

Behind the speaker's back

descent.  The red blood cells are sickle-shaped caused by abnormal hemoglobin.  The person suffers from severe anemia and medical journals say that because of the shape of the cells, it gives them immunity to malaria.  Recently, there is also an outbreak of a so-called nodding disease that afflicts children in the north. The nature of the disease is still mysterious and research is ongoing to learn more about the phenomenon.  On the lighter side, it is not unusual to see people reading newspapers either in church (while waiting for the mass to begin) or in public functions (while speeches are being delivered).

Hoisted bottled water for sale to bus passengers

Well recently, I developed my own personal quirk.  Coke does not cool me down anymore under the heat of the sun.  I have shifted to drinking beer and it works fabulously.