Wired Asia

I was surprised to learn from Bryan that the internet thing of social networking, connecting to total strangers, or just being wired most of the time is not a widespread "phenomenon" in Canada.

Let me quote him from his blog:

"Canada doesn’t seem to have much of an internet sphere or a good general portal site - there are one or two that cater to specific cities (Toronto, Vancouver etc) and there are a number of partisan political forums, but nothing really like sina or xici or other giant portals that ‘everyone’ goes to. There are heavy comments on the big national newspaper site (The Globe and Mail) but it is set up in comment fashion, rather than in forum/thread/post form."

I think Asia, generally, is very wired. In the Philippines alone, a lot of Pinoys are into Friendster, Multiply (dubbed "The Myspace of Asia", is this correct?), and Facebook. Though we're not really big into forums (not those job search and buying-selling stuff ones but those real talk-talk forums).

Blogging in Singapore and Malaysia is fairly common. Xiaxue and Kenny are from those countries.

China has the renrou search engine or literally the human flesh search engine where Chinese netizens join forces together. It's really an interactive world out there.

I used to think that since China is just opening up to the world, the internet would be really tightly controlled and constrained among their people. However, the renrou proved me wrong.

And who could forget Wen Jiabao on Facebook??

Bryan pointed out something really interesting--

"I’ve always felt that the Chinese culture aspect of guanxi and building massive networks full of hundreds of people - many of whom you don’t even really know, dovetails perfectly with the concept of the internet."

The World Wide Web was created by an English man. Who would have thought that its more rampant users are from the other side of the world?

Hi, Gays!

This is really, really crazy.

There was this Chinese man who greeted a foreign sailor who docked at Shanghai's Wusong Port last November 12.

"Hi, gays!"

This foreigner grabbed the Chinese man identified only as Liu and demanded an apology for his statement.

Liu, who doesn't really have a good grasp of English, couldn't explain anything at all. I'm sure he was surprised as to why this sailor turned gruff towards him for saying anything but mean.

Poor Liu.

He was very well-meaning and only meant to say "Hi, guys!"

Nothing condescending or discriminating treatment towards homos.

Anyway, the Wusong immigration police cleared everything between the two men. It was just a misunderstanding after all.

I mean, what the???

That was really weird and totally an honest mistake.

I remember my friends and I used to laugh about the Aussie accent where they like saying--

"It's nice today!"

Yes, it really is nice, right mate?

Pao Tsai

During parties or family gatherings, it is customary for us to always take home leftover food.

"Pao tsai! Pao tsai!" Literally, "Wrap food! Wrap food!" in Hokkien.

Having grown up in a typical Tsinoy (Chinese Pinoy) setting [or probably just my lovable family], I've always thought that pao tsai is well, typical.

When I was in Xiamen, I was surprised that the excess food is just thrown away. When we suggested to our guide that he take home the leftovers (we're not really barbarians during eating time), he was surprised.

And to prove that pao tsai is not just my family's tradition, we were with other people then.

Reading Kikey's entry made me more curious about the "pao tsai" practice. So Americans do it, but I think they're more like doggie bags.

I wonder.

Back to my Xiamen story, our guide took home the leftovers happily claiming he won't have to prepare his meals for a week anymore.

I mean, I think it's just practical. In these hard times, you really don't want to waste anything.

Who's Your Lawyer?

Ambeth Ocampo really flagged it down in his commentary.

I really am not a fan of policemen, specifically traffic enforcers. When I see them on the streets while driving, my knees freeze and my eyes consciously try not to look at them. You can say this blogger's traumatized.

Frankly speaking, have you tried bribing your way out of a traffic violation?

Just an excerpt--

Whenever you see traffic policemen or enforcers lying in wait or hiding midway along a one-way street, one word comes to mind: “kotong.” One would assume that prevention should be the option rather than punishment, but then that does not generate income. If a traffic enforcer stands at the beginning of a one-way street and waves the unsuspecting or stubborn motorist the correct way, there is no need for a ticket, fine and seminar. No need for a bribe.

Erring motorists flagged down by corrupt traffic cops or deputized “alalay” [aides] used to be asked the odd question, “Sino’ng abogado mo?” [Who is your lawyer?] The clueless ask why they need a lawyer for a minor traffic infraction, so the corrupt cop then makes clear that the question is a polite way of asking for a bribe. The “lawyers” refer to various faces on the different denominations in our paper money. It is a way for the motorist to make an offer or haggle for a comfortable amount.

Remember nobody takes coins, so the heroes of the 19th century—Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio—cannot act as “abogado.” Thus, Quezon means P20, Sergio Osmeña is worth P50, Manuel Roxas P100 and, God forbid, Aquino has a face value of P500. At today’s rate, Quezon and Osmeña will get you nothing, except a traffic ticket. Roxas might get you off the hook if you are lucky. Aquino often does the trick but, if you intend to haggle, then use Macapagal, who is worth P200. If you want a “Get out of jail” card like those in the famous board game Monopoly, you will need three “lawyers”: Abad Santos, Lim and Escoda who are on the P1,000-bill.

The Filipino Accent

I mentioned earlier that I can spot a Filipino just by hearing them speak.

There is the distinct Filipino accent. Like the distinct Singlish and Manglish. Someone mentioned about the way we pronounce our a's. I really don't know what's so special about our a's. But then since I'm living in the Philippines, my ears are probably numb already.

But here's something that really stands out, in my opinion--

Some Filipinos have trouble pronouncing the long e's. Like "sheep." It becomes "ship."

Which is really funny when it comes to saying "I really love going to the beach."

I know of one who has this pet peeve with people who pronounces the letter "h" as "etch." Clearly, that's Filipino accent for you.

But then, there are Filipinos whose tongue doesn't twist when speaking in English. Of course this is nothing to be ashamed about, our mother tongue isn't English after all.

I just hate it when there are those people trying hard to speak in the American accent English (when it isn't required). So fake. Unless they really speak that way which is fine with me.

[The only place where it is required is in a call center.]

What is the Filipinos' way of speaking in English? Filipinos pronounce their words one-by-one. Quite clear actually. No slurring of words. We're really extremely flexible people. We can speak in British English if we want to.

I guess that's why we just have so many comedians in our country.