Privilege Check-Mate

I’ll admit that Philippines was never on my list of countries to visit or places to travel to, but work was calling and I rarely turn down an expense-paid trip to go somewhere I’ve never been. The sights of the still-developing country was eye-opening. The streets were dirty, building covered in black exhaust dust from all sorts of vehicles, and the traffic was unmanageable. A little circle around the block could take up to 10 minutes to complete, and to go anywhere outside of a 20-min walking distance it’s safest to give yourself an hour for transport.

Parts of the major city were desolate and filled with dwellers on the side of the road in their make-shift shacks. Children run around on the sidewalk without shoes on, a girl showers naked atop a table from a bucket her mom is holding over her head; another kid sits on the ground playing with his friends completely undressed. In another corner of the city, a girl not older than 4 or 5 extends her arm and stretches her fingers out to ask for money while her mom begs in front of a convenience store that is steps away from a dance studio. Other kids who are older carry trays of snacks and work the bars at night trying to make sales. It was heart-breaking. It was hard seeing how poverty was so close and the divide so wide. I had not realized before this visit that this was the state of the country.

At many of the Q&A’s after our shows we could see the eagerness in the students’ eyes. Their aptitude and work ethic is truly beyond what I was used to seeing in North America. It seems like they work extra hard and treasure whatever opportunity they get because they know that to be able to dance and study it is precious. All of our studio showings have been bursting at the seams because people want to learn. They have the interest but not the means (when you compare on an international level), so when opportunity presents itself they grab and hold on to it.

Philippines is a country and a visit I won’t soon forget. Those images of struggle and despair have forever imprinted in my mind. I will carry them with me wherever I go and use them as reminders how good I have it. And that, in itself, is yet another privilege.

Jet-setter

I did a little math today and tallied that I have been on 12 flights in the last four months. There are two more that I’m taking in the next four days. It has been a crazy whirlwind of a fall, and I count myself lucky to have been able to go to cities I’ve never visited in Canada.

I had been touring with a dance show since mid-September, stopping in places like Vernon, Salt Spring Island, Calgary, Whitehorse, Burlington, Kingston, Charlottetown, Fredericton, and Halifax. On top of that I also visited my friends in Chicago and St. John’s. Now I’m sitting in my cousin’s apartment in Missisauga, ON, writing this. That’s 12 cities in the last 80 days. I must be setting a new record!

I have met awesome local people, taken in beautiful scenery, and seen the inner workings of different theatre spaces. I am counting my blessings and am thankful for all the opportunities that were presented to me!

Love Letter to Tofino

Dear Tofino,

You’ve changed. The last time I saw you, we had a blast trekking through the forest to stunning viewpoints, and memories to last a lifetime. But now, five months later, everything looks different.

The trail that used to lead me to a vast web in the forest, now overgrown and deserted, no longer provides a tree-top view of the ocean. An once hidden, half-secret trail that connected two beaches is now replaced with a new, clearer path that was cut out of inconsideration to the environment. Your streets flooded with tourists. People who are there to simply take advantage of all that you have to offer but don’t give a horse’s arse about what they do to you. Selfish, indulgent, and spoiled humans who don’t realize you are a gift to the West Coast of BC.

But I still missed you. I miss the sparsity of human population when the sun disappeared below the horizons; going out on the streets with just the moonlight illuminating my way; the night-time adventures down at the docks seeking peace and a piece of my mind; the morning routine and breakfasts with strangers. The winter looked good on you.

Among many things, people I’ve met in the two months I called you home was a delight. Perhaps that’s one of the things that made this trip so different. Friends who are fun and happy to be around you were no longer there. The community and the house I once called home were disintegrated. I felt like a stranger; an ex visiting a girlfriend I dated ages ago.

Tofino, you are different. But it’s me who have been so spoiled to have experienced you in the winter, to know and feel what it’s really like to call you home among the locals. I hope you know that you will always be a home to me, and I hope that I will have a chance to return home soon.

 

Yours,

xoxo