Collage #1946
2.19.2005
Yet another poem. This time a collage of cultures.
I once had a class on Business Culture and Protocol and one term I held dearly to this day is cultural sensitivity. How many times do we feel disparity in encounters? Western and Eastern cultures differ greatly in language contexts, the latter more high-context and richer in non-verbal communication, while the former, more direct with meanings.
Somehow, in between the speaker and the listener is a bridge that not just connects, but ultimately unites the two parties towards mutual understanding. Filipinos' encounter with the Other can bring many scenarios that end in this chorus of intentions that ultimately, despite differences, bridges.
Splattered Beef Jerky, Eggs. Hashbrowns, Fries
I remember a Mexican missionary friend of mine who could not express himself well in English that I had to resort with my halting Spanish just to be able to communicate even the most trivial of things. Somehow we bonded. I remember his story about being stationed in Guatemala once, and his first hand experience with rebels. We spoke two different language, I, in halting Spanish, and him, in broken English. Somehow, it amazes me how got by through and through.There are moments I had to articulate to him things about being Filipino, for instance, but I couldn't do so since Spanish can only capture so much. Language is like that, it can only encapsulate just enough. Still, we were able to share an Adobo and talk about shared interests. This goes the same way with my American friends, although in a lesser extreme, not just because we speak the same language but since being Filipino carries a certain western hint that makes the encounter in popular culture an easy one.
Some people though, are not patient enough to bridge that gap. This poem here, is about that difference:
Collage #1946
Do not take me to be me,
I am many more than me.
Audrey Hepburn
Dressing Yet Unbathe, what
a disturbing thought t
o my people.
You find Breakfast
at Tiffany's
most fashionable.
The corner of your eye
is blue.
I drive like crazy
and can weave within
two inches of you.
Splattered Beef Jerky, Eggs.
Hashbrowns, Fries on
my Can -va
s. Sugary Spaghetti
Juicy Hamburgers Are.
Cigarettes, I smoke, Smoke
alot. How cheap they are.
Brushed: NasDAq amazes Me.
Techsupport Outsourced - Fibrous,
Optical, Linear.
Fingers, Talk, Drops.
Yes, We all Fart.
Collage #1946, Photoshop. Jardine Davies
Labels: Culture, Philippines
posted by Jdavies @ 2/19/2005,
0 Comments:
The Author
J.Davies
Jdavies lives in Quezon City, Philippines and has been blogging since 2002. A brand manager in a leading technology company and a freelance new media/web strategy consultant, he has refocused his blogging from personal, political & sociological observations, to marketing-related efforts and Internet trends that are relevant to his career and branding advocacies.
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This blog is a depot of thoughts and observations on marketing trends which remain personally relevant to the Author as far as his marketing career is concerned. Having evolved from the personal blog of Jdavies, much of the earlier work contained herein are laced with personal speculation, political views, and similar advocacies. These posts are being kept for posterity's sake and for no other reason. No effort is being made to claim that the author will not contradict himself from his previous positions or that such advocacies are absolute.
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