Hmmmm... Cebu.
Well, it's been a while... Things have been busy since my last post. Or well, it was busy in Manila before I left but haven't really gotten to blogging again. Maybe because I've done multiple attempts to get a real strong one and I just gave up.
Just came here to rant. Clear a few things off my head with an audience but less than on facebook - where people usually react like everything's a personal attack.
I have moved to Cebu. Been here almost two years now. I somehow regret it, somehow don't.
So why do I not regret it?
1. The cost of living is absolutely low. I rent a fully furnished condo unit on my own very close to my office and my living expenses cost less than half of my salary - that is, if I don't keep on shopping. (I've been buying stuff nonstop since I got here.)
2. The work is super easy - except for this week because I was extra this week and decided to take on a project nobody asked me to do.
3. I'm no longer under that division lead who has no manners.
4. I have the chance to explore Visayas and Mindanao - which i should really start doing but I'm becoming old and super lazy and I love just staying in my unit.
5. This is where I met my boo.😘 (edit 04/02/20.. uhm, ex-boo)
Regret it? Why.
1. The concept of Cebu vs Manila thrives in Cebu.
Ok, I never knew the hostility Cebuanos had for Manilenos because when I was in Manila, I didn't care where people were from. My only thing is, when people tell me where they are from, I wish I could come with them when they go home to their hometown.
Apparently, a lot of people from Cebu thinks Manila people hate them. No, we don't. We don't care. We're indifferent.
In contrast, a lot of Cebuanos hate Manilenos for so many reasons including the thought that we hate them, the thinking that we think we're superior, the fact that Manila has better things because we have a bigger budget, because we don't know how to speak bisaya, we think Cebu is a province, and a lot lot of other things that even Cebu government officials and pastors (yes! Tsk.) encourage or tolerate.
I only started hating because of the kind of treatment I got here and the observation I have of people.
To be fair, I'm not everyone's cup of tea. Let's make that clear. So I assume that some won't like me, and that's absolutely fine with me.
But when I go to a mall, I don't expect crew to be rude just because I spoke in Tagalog. And this has happened multiple times. And mind you, I am usually a darling on these supposed non-stressful times. (I'm usually just an asshole in the office, when I'm stressed - but we'll talk more about that in a bit.) Let's also point out that I'm used to crew being nice and helpful, not rude and arrogant. After all, please acknowledge, that it is their job to be nice and helpful.
So these days, when I go to the mall, I speak in english - and I have no problem with crew because they speak in english back because they think I'm a filipina-looking person from a different country - but yeah, I will go for my broken bisaya if I'm speaking to a jeep driver because, yes, I don't think english will be appropriate.
And let's talk about that. A lot of cebuanos always brag about their english skills - that they're better at english than people from Manila and everyone in Cebu can speak in English.
First of all, Manila is not trying to compete. Second, some are better, some are worse. And third, NO. Not everyone can speak in english.
This guy from the office told me I should speak in bisaya because I'm in Cebu because he can speak neither tagalog nor english. Whatever, lazy ass boy.
And, excuse me, I speak and understand a little bisaya, it's just him that I can't understand.
What's with the expectation that we can speak fluent bisaya as soon as we land here anyway? Of course, Cebuanos would know more Tagalog than a Manileno would know of bisaya. Tagalog is taught in schools and it's on TV. To those who will argue that I've been here for a while, do they think I was treated better when I first got here? Can people miraculously distinguish how long I've been here by shimmer in my eyes? Wake up.
And, no, I didn't think I'm superior. To be fair, I didn't think about regions. There was just me, other people and places to explore. But when I got here, that's when I became fully aware of the division. ·
I didn't think it was a province until I got here though. Is that an awful thing to say? I hope not. But, let me tell you where I'm coming from. I'm from Manila and I moved to Cebu City. I was expecting the same things because it's a city.
So, I was ever so taken aback when I realized that people are generally super loud - in the jeepneys, restaurants, and even in elevators. Granted, these are public spaces, but it's seldom that you'd hear people squealing in Manila and, here, it seems.. normal and very seldom frowned upon.
And then there's the laidback lazy feel. For some reason, this always reminds me of grocery baggers who just dump the groceries in the bag without order or thought on the weight a bag can carry. I never noticed this in Manila! I guess this is one of those things you only appreciate when it's gone.
And then, there's the scent of sewage in the streets. (Why??)
And then, the small streets and lack of detours causing unnecessary traffic.
And then, there's the grocery stores missing basic things like liquid detergent or graham crackers.
And then, there's the maintenance people handling trash using bare hands. Now the trash collectors in Manila do the same, but this is in the office where I would wish they had better tools and training - for their sake and ours.
And then, there was my expectation that everything in Manila is in Cebu, except for Frankie's and Applebees. I was wrong again. Also no Wendy's in Cebu, and a lot of other things. But hey, there's a Nike Factory Outlet in Mactan.
So, forgive anyone who thinks it's a province, it's not because we don't think it's a city.
The influencers here will take a lot of the blame for the hate too. I personally think government officials like propagating the hate to give this sense of team - one team against another team. Cebu vs Manila.
Some cebuanos even think the roads in Cebu are inferior to Manila's because of the national budget allocation. So when someone mentioned that to me, I asked her why she thinks Iloilo has better roads than Cebu. But I forgot to ask her if she thinks the citizens in Manila decide on budget allocations - but she didn't seem to hate Manilenos, so it wasn't really a question for her.
2. A run in with monsters.
The run in with the monster came too early.
I got a housemate but it didn't last more than two months because, well, she's a monster. She was paying a third of the rent as agreed upon but what I couldn't accept is that, after the fact that I'm paying two-thirds of the rent, I even needed to clean after her! And then, she claimed I was asking her for double the agreed upon rent because she computed the deposit as rent - the deposit was discussed prior to her move in, by-the-way.
And then, they gossipped. And gossipped. Until I decided to tell someone the real deal so they can gossip about that some more.
Then from a second group, I encountered this girl who dresses ever provocatively then judges other people for what they do, a girl who thinks people who sleep with multiple partners automatically has STD, a gay guy who thinks born again christians are a lower kind of believers than those from his religion (who by-the-way would condemn him if they found out he's gay, and another one who thinks he can fool everybody into thinking he's great by being an asshole.
Now, all these characters are not from Cebu. I ranted to my Cebuano friend about this because, I don't know, I think I'm going towards the realm of being regionalistic, and I thought I should come clean to her that I'm becoming regionalistic.
She quickly pointed out that Cebu is a melting pot too. Like Manila, people go to Cebu to work and a lot of the bad attributes that are observed in Cebu are not what Cebu used to be. She said, she wished I would've come to Cebu earlier. I wished the same.
3. The arrogance of some.
There's this Cebuana who thinks when she went to Manila and spoke in bisaya to a vendor in Divisoria who doesn't understand bisaya, she has made a stand for herself and it's his loss if he can't understand her. The fuck??
There are just certain things I can't understand, I guess. Acting like a queen with people needing to adjust to you by speaking in bisaya in Manila, at a thrift store at that!
Let find the difference between that and my speaking in Tagalog at the malls. 1. I thought everyone knows Tagalog. She knew the vendor didn't understand bisaya. 2. I'm not being arrogant about it. My tone is not like hers. (Yes, she demoed.) 3. I'm not as snotty (unless the salesperson is snotty.)
And then, there's that Cebuano who thinks he's better than other Cebuanos because he's been to Manila. For real??
What is this? Hate us wanna be us? What's the big deal? Flight tickets are cheap now. Remember, "it's time everyone flies?"
I think part of the hate afforded to Manilenos result from Cebuanos like this. As though the Manilenos injected him his arrogance.
4. I'm confrontational and people here are not.
I guess that's the least offensive way of saying it but I do mean absolutely non-confrontational. I joke that they're so non-confrontational, there are lots of snatchers but none will declare a robbery. (Walang "Holdap to!")
A lot will agree with you but disagree when your back is turned.
Noone will stand against a bad boss but will defintely gossip when he's not around. But if you decide to go against the boss, no matter how many people genuinely agreed with you, you can expect to be alone. Now, this is not just Cebu, there are non-confrontational-to-the-boss people too in Manila but you don't expect that from a high potential group.
5. Overpricing habal-habal drivers
The only time I encountered a confrontational Cebuano was when a habal-habal driver demanded that my friend can't ride the Angkas bike we booked because the location of my condo is in their terminal's turf. He even had the audacity to demand double the price of the Angkas rate.
Now, in Manila, you get this from cab drivers and I hate that too. The difference is, manila cab drivers usually ask for additonal Php20 or Php50. Habal-habal drivers ask for the same amount of money but that's 100% on top the normal rate. (i.e. Asking for Php100 for a Php50 ride.)
This is a lame issue though. Now, usually make sure I have enough battery to book an Angkas bike for when I need to go home.
5. A whole lot of misunderstanding (?)
I think I'm just super frustrated here coz noone seems to understand me.
I think when I demand for things like using English as a medium of instruction in trainings, they think I'm asking for too much. But I absolutely don't get it because 1.) We are US company. 2.) I have conducted trainings in Manila, and even among peers, if it's a formal training, I speak in English. 3.) i thought they bragged about being great in english?
I'm not an LGBT fan and there are a lot of tbem here but I don't bother them and I think they shouldn't bother me. But there seems to be a lot of support for them here and somehow, they misunderstand that not supporting them means wishing them harm.
One time, I mentioned that I'm not looking forward to seeing a lot of comic performances from LGBT community and he seemed so appalled. So I asked him if he didn't think it an insult to the LGBT members of the team that they're being used as entertainment by the straight people, the supposed supporters. - And he almost grasped the concept but we ran out of time.
And a lot don't understand me when I opt to correct wrong information instead of letting it pass. It makes me the asshole in the office.
I have since kind of adapted, I don't give a damn most of the time now. It's so much easier not caring too much, I guess.
Except this week. I cared this week so I tried to do this little project. And while I was doing it, the maintenance men kept banging the vacuum on the door, tons of people asked me to do for them the tasks they could do on their own, and noone understood me.
I guess that's the biggest thing. I'm alone here.
Just came here to rant. Clear a few things off my head with an audience but less than on facebook - where people usually react like everything's a personal attack.
I have moved to Cebu. Been here almost two years now. I somehow regret it, somehow don't.
So why do I not regret it?
1. The cost of living is absolutely low. I rent a fully furnished condo unit on my own very close to my office and my living expenses cost less than half of my salary - that is, if I don't keep on shopping. (I've been buying stuff nonstop since I got here.)
2. The work is super easy - except for this week because I was extra this week and decided to take on a project nobody asked me to do.
3. I'm no longer under that division lead who has no manners.
4. I have the chance to explore Visayas and Mindanao - which i should really start doing but I'm becoming old and super lazy and I love just staying in my unit.
5. This is where I met my boo.😘 (edit 04/02/20.. uhm, ex-boo)
Regret it? Why.
1. The concept of Cebu vs Manila thrives in Cebu.
Ok, I never knew the hostility Cebuanos had for Manilenos because when I was in Manila, I didn't care where people were from. My only thing is, when people tell me where they are from, I wish I could come with them when they go home to their hometown.
Apparently, a lot of people from Cebu thinks Manila people hate them. No, we don't. We don't care. We're indifferent.
In contrast, a lot of Cebuanos hate Manilenos for so many reasons including the thought that we hate them, the thinking that we think we're superior, the fact that Manila has better things because we have a bigger budget, because we don't know how to speak bisaya, we think Cebu is a province, and a lot lot of other things that even Cebu government officials and pastors (yes! Tsk.) encourage or tolerate.
I only started hating because of the kind of treatment I got here and the observation I have of people.
To be fair, I'm not everyone's cup of tea. Let's make that clear. So I assume that some won't like me, and that's absolutely fine with me.
But when I go to a mall, I don't expect crew to be rude just because I spoke in Tagalog. And this has happened multiple times. And mind you, I am usually a darling on these supposed non-stressful times. (I'm usually just an asshole in the office, when I'm stressed - but we'll talk more about that in a bit.) Let's also point out that I'm used to crew being nice and helpful, not rude and arrogant. After all, please acknowledge, that it is their job to be nice and helpful.
So these days, when I go to the mall, I speak in english - and I have no problem with crew because they speak in english back because they think I'm a filipina-looking person from a different country - but yeah, I will go for my broken bisaya if I'm speaking to a jeep driver because, yes, I don't think english will be appropriate.
And let's talk about that. A lot of cebuanos always brag about their english skills - that they're better at english than people from Manila and everyone in Cebu can speak in English.
First of all, Manila is not trying to compete. Second, some are better, some are worse. And third, NO. Not everyone can speak in english.
This guy from the office told me I should speak in bisaya because I'm in Cebu because he can speak neither tagalog nor english. Whatever, lazy ass boy.
And, excuse me, I speak and understand a little bisaya, it's just him that I can't understand.
What's with the expectation that we can speak fluent bisaya as soon as we land here anyway? Of course, Cebuanos would know more Tagalog than a Manileno would know of bisaya. Tagalog is taught in schools and it's on TV. To those who will argue that I've been here for a while, do they think I was treated better when I first got here? Can people miraculously distinguish how long I've been here by shimmer in my eyes? Wake up.
And, no, I didn't think I'm superior. To be fair, I didn't think about regions. There was just me, other people and places to explore. But when I got here, that's when I became fully aware of the division. ·
I didn't think it was a province until I got here though. Is that an awful thing to say? I hope not. But, let me tell you where I'm coming from. I'm from Manila and I moved to Cebu City. I was expecting the same things because it's a city.
So, I was ever so taken aback when I realized that people are generally super loud - in the jeepneys, restaurants, and even in elevators. Granted, these are public spaces, but it's seldom that you'd hear people squealing in Manila and, here, it seems.. normal and very seldom frowned upon.
And then there's the laidback lazy feel. For some reason, this always reminds me of grocery baggers who just dump the groceries in the bag without order or thought on the weight a bag can carry. I never noticed this in Manila! I guess this is one of those things you only appreciate when it's gone.
And then, there's the scent of sewage in the streets. (Why??)
And then, the small streets and lack of detours causing unnecessary traffic.
And then, there's the grocery stores missing basic things like liquid detergent or graham crackers.
And then, there's the maintenance people handling trash using bare hands. Now the trash collectors in Manila do the same, but this is in the office where I would wish they had better tools and training - for their sake and ours.
And then, there was my expectation that everything in Manila is in Cebu, except for Frankie's and Applebees. I was wrong again. Also no Wendy's in Cebu, and a lot of other things. But hey, there's a Nike Factory Outlet in Mactan.
So, forgive anyone who thinks it's a province, it's not because we don't think it's a city.
The influencers here will take a lot of the blame for the hate too. I personally think government officials like propagating the hate to give this sense of team - one team against another team. Cebu vs Manila.
Some cebuanos even think the roads in Cebu are inferior to Manila's because of the national budget allocation. So when someone mentioned that to me, I asked her why she thinks Iloilo has better roads than Cebu. But I forgot to ask her if she thinks the citizens in Manila decide on budget allocations - but she didn't seem to hate Manilenos, so it wasn't really a question for her.
2. A run in with monsters.
The run in with the monster came too early.
I got a housemate but it didn't last more than two months because, well, she's a monster. She was paying a third of the rent as agreed upon but what I couldn't accept is that, after the fact that I'm paying two-thirds of the rent, I even needed to clean after her! And then, she claimed I was asking her for double the agreed upon rent because she computed the deposit as rent - the deposit was discussed prior to her move in, by-the-way.
And then, they gossipped. And gossipped. Until I decided to tell someone the real deal so they can gossip about that some more.
Then from a second group, I encountered this girl who dresses ever provocatively then judges other people for what they do, a girl who thinks people who sleep with multiple partners automatically has STD, a gay guy who thinks born again christians are a lower kind of believers than those from his religion (who by-the-way would condemn him if they found out he's gay, and another one who thinks he can fool everybody into thinking he's great by being an asshole.
Now, all these characters are not from Cebu. I ranted to my Cebuano friend about this because, I don't know, I think I'm going towards the realm of being regionalistic, and I thought I should come clean to her that I'm becoming regionalistic.
She quickly pointed out that Cebu is a melting pot too. Like Manila, people go to Cebu to work and a lot of the bad attributes that are observed in Cebu are not what Cebu used to be. She said, she wished I would've come to Cebu earlier. I wished the same.
3. The arrogance of some.
There's this Cebuana who thinks when she went to Manila and spoke in bisaya to a vendor in Divisoria who doesn't understand bisaya, she has made a stand for herself and it's his loss if he can't understand her. The fuck??
There are just certain things I can't understand, I guess. Acting like a queen with people needing to adjust to you by speaking in bisaya in Manila, at a thrift store at that!
Let find the difference between that and my speaking in Tagalog at the malls. 1. I thought everyone knows Tagalog. She knew the vendor didn't understand bisaya. 2. I'm not being arrogant about it. My tone is not like hers. (Yes, she demoed.) 3. I'm not as snotty (unless the salesperson is snotty.)
And then, there's that Cebuano who thinks he's better than other Cebuanos because he's been to Manila. For real??
What is this? Hate us wanna be us? What's the big deal? Flight tickets are cheap now. Remember, "it's time everyone flies?"
I think part of the hate afforded to Manilenos result from Cebuanos like this. As though the Manilenos injected him his arrogance.
4. I'm confrontational and people here are not.
I guess that's the least offensive way of saying it but I do mean absolutely non-confrontational. I joke that they're so non-confrontational, there are lots of snatchers but none will declare a robbery. (Walang "Holdap to!")
A lot will agree with you but disagree when your back is turned.
Noone will stand against a bad boss but will defintely gossip when he's not around. But if you decide to go against the boss, no matter how many people genuinely agreed with you, you can expect to be alone. Now, this is not just Cebu, there are non-confrontational-to-the-boss people too in Manila but you don't expect that from a high potential group.
5. Overpricing habal-habal drivers
The only time I encountered a confrontational Cebuano was when a habal-habal driver demanded that my friend can't ride the Angkas bike we booked because the location of my condo is in their terminal's turf. He even had the audacity to demand double the price of the Angkas rate.
Now, in Manila, you get this from cab drivers and I hate that too. The difference is, manila cab drivers usually ask for additonal Php20 or Php50. Habal-habal drivers ask for the same amount of money but that's 100% on top the normal rate. (i.e. Asking for Php100 for a Php50 ride.)
This is a lame issue though. Now, usually make sure I have enough battery to book an Angkas bike for when I need to go home.
5. A whole lot of misunderstanding (?)
I think I'm just super frustrated here coz noone seems to understand me.
I think when I demand for things like using English as a medium of instruction in trainings, they think I'm asking for too much. But I absolutely don't get it because 1.) We are US company. 2.) I have conducted trainings in Manila, and even among peers, if it's a formal training, I speak in English. 3.) i thought they bragged about being great in english?
I'm not an LGBT fan and there are a lot of tbem here but I don't bother them and I think they shouldn't bother me. But there seems to be a lot of support for them here and somehow, they misunderstand that not supporting them means wishing them harm.
One time, I mentioned that I'm not looking forward to seeing a lot of comic performances from LGBT community and he seemed so appalled. So I asked him if he didn't think it an insult to the LGBT members of the team that they're being used as entertainment by the straight people, the supposed supporters. - And he almost grasped the concept but we ran out of time.
And a lot don't understand me when I opt to correct wrong information instead of letting it pass. It makes me the asshole in the office.
I have since kind of adapted, I don't give a damn most of the time now. It's so much easier not caring too much, I guess.
Except this week. I cared this week so I tried to do this little project. And while I was doing it, the maintenance men kept banging the vacuum on the door, tons of people asked me to do for them the tasks they could do on their own, and noone understood me.
I guess that's the biggest thing. I'm alone here.
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