Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Social Defiance

Down under, where the sun rises earlier than in Manila and playfully hides as often as it shines, I encountered some amusing surprises – pleasant and unpleasant. These were amusing experiences because they were unexpected.


Photo shows one of these surprises. It was taken inside the wharf of famous Manly beach in Sydney and which to my simple mind expresses the universality of misunderstanding or social defiance, something that is widespread and not endemic to poor countries like the Philippines. What is shown in the photo is really nothing extraordinary except that my brother-in-law has conditioned my mind to expect otherwise down under.



My brother-in-law, a German who has lived in Australia for over 30 years and who so kindly met up with my siblings and me in Brisbane to bring us to the sunshine coast to attend his son’s wedding, proudly declared that Australia is a land of discipline and progress which, I admit, was very evident. But to some, being otherwise is probably sweet and beautiful.


(for comments, write to bestof thesituation or email to abfontanilla@yahoo.com or nick.fontanilla@gmail.com)

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