Enveloped by Manila (9/23/2005)

Hi Everyone:

If Kevin Smith needed an embodiment of the "Catholicism Wow!" campaign, he needn't look further than the Philippines. The place is positively bonkers with religion -- indeed, until the UN granted East Timor its sovereignty, the Philippines wore the badge of Asia's only Catholic country, and it hasn't relinquished the torch despite a new compatriot. Signs for Jesus, the saints, and the Virgin of Guadalupe are everywhere -- today on the side of the street I literally saw two huge paintings of Jesus, Mary, followed almost immediately by an advertisement for Desperate Housewives.

Another peculiarity -- and potential PR nightmare -- is Manila's "Campaign for true beauty," a billboard movement that displays people who are attractive but don't conform to Hollywood's traditional, emaciated beauty standards. A noble cause, yes, but the billboards keep active track of the "yes" or "no" votes that people send in as to whether the billboard's subject is attractive -- thus the subject can see when an overwhelming majority vote "no."

I'm in Manila until tomorrow, showing an agricultural advisor around town and introducing himself to Chemonics projects and their beneficiaries. I've learned far more than I thought I would about agriculture and microlending, despite the fact that he repeats a substantial portion of his schtick at every meeting. Today we took a trek to a town about 2 hours south of the city to visit a rural bank -- after an introduction with the president, we ventured out to a group of women who told us of their successes drawing on microloans to start businesses. They spoke excitedly about how the loans helped them expand their mini-enterprises, enabling them to put their kids through school -- ah yes, development. After the session, the group of middle-aged women asked the advisor questions like "What ideas do you plan to bring back to Afghanistan?" -- I fielded important technical inquiries such as "How old are you?" and "Are you married?"

Manila is a sprawling city, parts of which are remnant of LA, others of Havana. The old Spanish quarter, "Intramuros," was mostly obliterated during the war, but its remnants truly inspire a glass of sangria. The LA-ness is that everything is far from everything else, the only way to get from place to place is to sit on one of the choked highways or back streets.

Those comparisons aside, though, Manila is distinctly Asian -- the streets contain so much action that people are constantly spilling out into them, and you can basically take your pick of what kiosk, shop, or restaurant you'd like to venture into and spill out from. Add to that, each street is dotted with jeepneys, wildly painted ex-US army trucks that are now the Filipinos' most popular mode of public transport. In addition to serving a purpose, the ominpresent jeepneys breathe distinct color onto a dirty, packed street -- perhaps more than anything else, they personify a city beating with a vibrant heart and energy which is impossible to quantify, let alone contain.

That's all, folks. Hope you're well.

Matt