New landscapes, new eyes

(theme paper for English class, July 2013)

While my classmates have crossed continents and have spent hot summer days on Mediterranean cruises, I consider myself fortunate having been given the opportunity to visit quite a few neighboring countries of the Philippines. Traveling was never a usual thing to me, yet something I genuinely enjoyed doing. To almost everyone, including myself, it is such a luxury; for me being able to fly to another country meant piso fares and being hosted by tourists-turned-locals abroad. My budget flights were a result of the endless scrolling of local airlines’ homepages for the latest promos and the scoring of great deals at yearly travel conventions. That is how much my feet are itching to be able to go out and explore the world unknown to me—no business class flights or layovers necessary.

Tanay, Rizal

There is always that joy inside of me when taking pictures of historical landmarks I once read about in my social studies book, being lost in translation, and seeing the locals and tourists alike in one, happy place. But beyond walking the streets of a place so foreign and a great sense of adventure tucked into my hands as I fly to a destination outside my country, it was always because of the Philippines that has driven me to go and to see more. More than the little things that people of developed countries may often take for granted, such as an efficient train system or clean public toilets, it is the huge amount of tourists I see during my visit to a particular country that impact me. As I spot a group of Caucasians delighted as they feast on the local street food, or seeing tourists pose happily with the locals, expressions of amazement and praise become evident on my face. It makes me happy for the country I am in, but at the same time, it makes me wish that it were the same situation for our country.

Mactan, Cebu

However, I am not one to complain and put all the blame on the government. When I blurt my feelings out on how much I love our country, my peers often give me a raised eyebrow and find it plain weird. Being able to travel to countries within our region has helped me develop an open mind and has given me a much wider perspective of the world itself. The advancements of our neighboring countries do not make me despise our country but give me encouragement that it is not impossible for our country to be just like theirs one day, because if they can, what more us? Seeing so many tourists in the non-English speaking country of Thailand—a country of similar temperature, location, and skin color—gave me hope that our country can have as many or even more tourists than they do, and that language barrier can not become a hindrance. For the Philippines to take pride in its people’s high proficiency in English, we must capitalize on this asset to be able to lure more tourists.

Batuan, Bohol

Plans and wishes of mine for the country seem to only remain as dreams; impossible for a small and powerless person like I am to partake in, and it is through tourism I see my hopes for our country being unfolded and being slowly turned into reality. Working for the Department of Tourism is a dream to me, and it would be very humbling to be part of the group that plans on how to make our country a better one and improve in simple yet great ways possible through tourism. I want to be one of them who brainstorm and think of creative ways on how the travel guides and books about our country go beyond beaches and beer, how the Philippines can be a country everyone lists in his or her travel bucket list, or even how to make our islands, even those I am unfamiliar of, be connected by trains.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Quoting Marcel Proust, traveling is beyond the intake of delicious delicacies and exotic edibles, the experience of the unusual, or the sight of breathtaking tourist attractions, and it is about the learnings and realizations travelers take with them as they return back to their beloved homelands. Traveling has not only made me realize what I want to be when I grow up, but has also urged me to do something for the country I departed from, arrived at, and will always come back to.

Session Road, Baguio