optimum dry

The last time I was in the Philippines was in 2006 when I participated in the Philippine Studies Program organized by Philippine Forum in conjunction with UP Diliman.  The experiences from this trip stay with me to this date, of course.  It had opened up to me the small -yet grand- world that is the collective of Filipin@s/Fil-Ams that struggle for national democracy in the Philippines.

Before boarding the bus that took us to Banaue, I briefly spoke with my dad about where I was about to go.  He sounded really excited for me, saying, “you know, in all my 22 years of living in the Philippines, I’ve never been there.  I’ve never seen the rice terraces.”  I was 22 at the time and about to embark on a journey that probably no person in my family has ever taken.  Many of our parents immigrated in search of a better life for their family, their children.  How many of those parents ever planned for their own children to return to their homeland?  How many of those parents ever planned for their children to support the struggle of those who remain behind? 

The Philippine Studies Program is currently on hiatus, but I hope this changes.  Programs like these open up opportunities for children of Filipino immigrants to experience the Philippines, from visiting historical sites, taking language/cultural classes, to meeting the masa. 

Happy 5 years, PSPSIL06!  MAY THE FORCE STILL BE WITH YOU!