Word on the Street

There are a lot of things that I have had to get used to here in the Philippines.  One of which is people yelling, motioning, heckling, cat-calling, questioning, trying to start conversation and all other forms of conversation on the street.

Hi Ma'am!!!!

I spend a fair amount of time on the street between my hour long runs in the morning (which I do to try to have some peace) and walking to and from work.  Filipinos are known to be very friendly and curious people; thus, even if I am a stranger, they want to know about me.  Plus, many are not used to seeing such a maputi (white) person and like to be brave in front of their friends or show off the few English words that they know.  On top of it all, there is a lot of construction and public transport jobs here.  It is safe to assume that the stereotypes of men in those jobs in the US are the same here in the Philippines.  No matter how sweaty, dirty or smelly I am, I can always count on at least one man calling out "Hi sexy."

Depending on the person, perceived intent, time of day, who I am with, where I am going, my mood and what is said, I respond in many different ways.  Usually it's a smile with a greeting like magandang umaga (good morning), engage them back in conversation, ignore them, scowl or all of the above.  Even though it can get annoying, nothing makes me happier when I hear someone yell, "Hi, Rachael!" because these are the people who are actually my friends.  I've also managed to develop some great allies on the streets through random conversations.

Here's a sampling of my verbal engagements on the street (some better than others).  You can assume that they are all followed by exclamation points:

• Hi ma'am
• Good afternoon, ma'am
• Tstttttttttt (most common and the sound that I always ignore made by pressing air between your tongue and front teeth)
• Hey. Hey. Heyyyyyyy
• American/Cano
• Hi sir ma'am (not a typo)
• Puti
• Hi sexy (lady- thank you Gangnam Style)
• Where are you from?
• Tricyle?
• You're so beautiful
• It's raining
• Why are you walking? Are you poor? (my favorite)
• Hi precious (pronounced pre-shoeeessss)
• Where are you going? (second most common)
• What is your name?
• Hey Joe (a legacy of the American military presence here)