I'm super glad I found these online because it focuses on the overall grammar of the language. Basically, I just have to memorize vocabulary and I can start using these rules to start speaking broken Bisaya. One of the most basic, but most important things I've learned by watching these is the general sentence structure:
Verb :: Subject :: Object.
Though, with adjectives, it varies a little bit.
This one rule alone has already helped me pick up on what people here are saying. The second most valuable thing I've learned from these videos is how Bisaya uses existential verbs in sentence structures. I would highly recommend watching the 5th video even if you aren't interested in learning Bisaya because the concept of how Filipinos structure their language is, in itself, interesting.
[Graphic/Weak stomach warning ahead].
We went back to Boljoon tonight to finish celebrating the Fiesta (the Fiesta's last for two days). While I was there I had a very good in depth conversation with a couple of Ricky's friends explaining my reasoning for wanting to help slaughter some animals while I'm here. What surprised me is how they wanted me to understand I didn't have to prove anything. I told them how I felt it was necessary to experience killing the animal if I'm going to eat it, and they told me it's sufficient enough that I understand the importance of killing an animal for survival. They let me know it's difficult to kill larger animals because you can hear them suffer. I think what they really wanted me to know is that, even here, where taking an animals life is an everyday occurrence, the butchers are there in order to prevent people from having to physically kill animals on a regular basis. The butchers slaughter the animals to spare others from having to do so. (This next part will be honest, which means graphic, in order to fully convey my message) The crux of the whole conversation was to point out that the physical act of killing can be less helpful in the long run because it can make it harder to consume the animal afterwards (what's the point of killing the animal yourself if you won't be able to eat it afterwards?). Watching the slaughter is important for understanding the respect you must have for animals. However, physically taking a knife and holding it up against another living creatures neck, then slicing, and watching the animal hemorrhage massive amounts of blood while it squeals in agony mere inches from you -- being the one to actually carry that out isn't for everyone. They also pointed out that, if I fail to slaughter the animal correctly, I'll prolong the animals suffering, which in turn will increase my suffering. I'm considering their words carefully because just watching pigs being slaughtered was difficult. Talking with them has helped me look at butchers here in a totally new way. In a sense, they jeopardize a piece of their humanity so the rest of us don't have to.
Just being here is almost indescribable. There are only a few instance in my life where I can point out I was molded as a person (moving to a public school, meeting my best friends, the deaths of friends, working on cadavers, taking summer physics, and working as a CNA). This will be, and already has been, one of those moments. I've never fully understood my parents because I've never fully understood the Philippines. I know that even after three months, there will be things I'll never fully understand about the Philippines, things I'll never come to know, but I can at least try and appreciate the differences. How will this relate to my career as a PA? If I truly want to understand why I'm driven towards a career in medicine, I have to first fully understand myself.
And I've come to this conclusion:
To know myself, is to know my parents.
To know my parents, is to know the Philippines.
Anyway, bah, enough of that sappy stuff. I'm planning to compile a video comprised of one to two second clips for everyday that I'm in the Philippines. So I'll leave you with a tiny clip of us in Boljoon during the middle of a brown out:
No comments:
Post a Comment