by Eo Villegas
I went to Ministop shell for my Junior Engagement Program. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I expected the worst. Dirty kitchens, irritable employees, rude customers, and a lot of dirty work. I expected to walk in and out without socializing with anyone, not even my fellow Atenean who would also be doing the Junior Engagement Program. I enter Ministop and see my fellow Atenean, Mark. He tells me to go to the back room to look for Sir Adam. He then calls Mark and I and begins to brief us about Ministop and what we’ll be doing for the next few days. My expectations then changed seeing a nice man in Sir Adam. But of course, I returned to totality as soon as I left Ministop on my first session. Eventually as time passed and we got to know Sir Adam and Sir Jek more, we realized they were also regular people, with regular lives. All my preconceived notions vanished. We started talking about UFC, various video games that we commonly played and our families. As we began to see their face in all its nudity, we learn about their lives and wish we could do something about it. Sir Adam was telling me about how he goes overtime without pay. He was telling me during the habagat last August, he had to stay in Ministop for 3 days straight. He had to sleep in the back room office, endured all that for very little, if any, overtime pay. They called it TY lang, meaning “thank you lang.” Rude customers come in and out and treat them like lesser-people. It pulled me out of my totality and made me realize that sometimes, I am that rude customer who treats them as people lower than my stature, I am the person who expects the Ministop crew to carry the ice I buy to my car, to get the chillz that I purchase and the like. After that Ministop experience, I am now disturbed and will continue to be. It’s disturbing to see how hard working people like Sir Adam are and how they don’t get paid right. How respectful and nice they are and they don’t get treated right by customers.
I’m glad to see how life is on the other side. It has opened my eyes more to the real world and how I can be of service to them in the future.
Showing posts with label JEEP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JEEP. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
On Machines and People
by Miko Brillantes
Cogs in a Machine
I've been told that we have it pretty good here compared to even other Western countries. Labor is pretty cheap that a lot of services not easily attainable in the West are pertty common here. Maids, drivers, and even grocery baggers. In Europe, you have to bag your own groceries. I bet that most of you don't even notice who bags your stuff. I am guilty of that too. A lot of the time, because I normally don't have my groceries bagged, I don't even notice the bagger standing at the end of the counter. I'd just tell the cashier "No bag please" and move off.
Fast forward to JEEP
On the first day, a friend of mine came to visit me. I was pretty much just talking to the other baggers and cashiers for the past few hours when I noticed a really tall and lanky girl behind this customer who had so much stuff, we were bagging for him for the last 10 minutes or so. I immediately recognized the CEU uniform and chinky eyes and gave a bright-eyed look to my friend, who returned the favor. Then the customer who still had so much stuff to be bagged, told my friend about the other two empty lanes, and said that she could use those two so she wouldn't have to wait. My friend politely told him that it was fine, and didn't switch. After another 10 minutes or so (he seriously bought boxloads of pasta and sauce), he again asked my friend if she would like to switch lanes. Again, my friend said she was alright with the wait, and again refused to budge. Now this made the guy, and other customers and staff curious, as we had been exchanging glances and smiles ever since the first one. Then finally, the register stalled, and the cashier had to ask everyone, including my friend, to switch to other lanes while the register was fixed. The guy finally quipped "I guess you really have to switch lanes now." My friend then smiled and said "Oh, it was because I wanted 'him' to bag my stuff" looking at me. So naturally the other cashiers and the customers thought it was cute. They thought she was my girlfriend who had come to visit me at work. After getting her stuff checked out, she went up to me and said "Hey, it was nice seeing you again, even if it was here" before leaving. Everyone, including the customer, asked if she really was my girlfriend when she left. She was a former classmate whom I had not seen in almost 3 years.
As my other days at JEEP showed, it's a really dull feeling just working. Literally hundreds of people pass you by and not a single one tries to start up a conversation or even notices you. So I guess that's why a little show like what me and my friend gave to the rest became such a hit. It breaks the monotony of the day. And really, I would figure that these people would love the attention from someone, even for just a few short minutes. They literally become just cogs in a machine; working unseen in the contraption that is the grocery of Rustan's.
We are all relational beings. I'd like to bet even the most introverted person wouldn't mind company once in a while. After having almost none day in and day out apart from their co-workers, I wouldn't be surprised as to why the other workers thought so much of my little encounter with my friend. And I also noticed that they would take note of the 'regulars' and seemed to hold them in such high regard. Because these 'regulars' actually saw them as human. These people knew the cashiers and baggers by name and even struck up conversations with them, including me at one point. In the hustle and bustle of a working day, a little conversation or attention can do wonders to the mood.
We are not machines. We are people. There's something to think about next time you're in line at the grocery. So maybe next time, give a smile and see what happens. You would be doing someone a really big favor.
Cogs in a Machine
I've been told that we have it pretty good here compared to even other Western countries. Labor is pretty cheap that a lot of services not easily attainable in the West are pertty common here. Maids, drivers, and even grocery baggers. In Europe, you have to bag your own groceries. I bet that most of you don't even notice who bags your stuff. I am guilty of that too. A lot of the time, because I normally don't have my groceries bagged, I don't even notice the bagger standing at the end of the counter. I'd just tell the cashier "No bag please" and move off.
Fast forward to JEEP
On the first day, a friend of mine came to visit me. I was pretty much just talking to the other baggers and cashiers for the past few hours when I noticed a really tall and lanky girl behind this customer who had so much stuff, we were bagging for him for the last 10 minutes or so. I immediately recognized the CEU uniform and chinky eyes and gave a bright-eyed look to my friend, who returned the favor. Then the customer who still had so much stuff to be bagged, told my friend about the other two empty lanes, and said that she could use those two so she wouldn't have to wait. My friend politely told him that it was fine, and didn't switch. After another 10 minutes or so (he seriously bought boxloads of pasta and sauce), he again asked my friend if she would like to switch lanes. Again, my friend said she was alright with the wait, and again refused to budge. Now this made the guy, and other customers and staff curious, as we had been exchanging glances and smiles ever since the first one. Then finally, the register stalled, and the cashier had to ask everyone, including my friend, to switch to other lanes while the register was fixed. The guy finally quipped "I guess you really have to switch lanes now." My friend then smiled and said "Oh, it was because I wanted 'him' to bag my stuff" looking at me. So naturally the other cashiers and the customers thought it was cute. They thought she was my girlfriend who had come to visit me at work. After getting her stuff checked out, she went up to me and said "Hey, it was nice seeing you again, even if it was here" before leaving. Everyone, including the customer, asked if she really was my girlfriend when she left. She was a former classmate whom I had not seen in almost 3 years.
As my other days at JEEP showed, it's a really dull feeling just working. Literally hundreds of people pass you by and not a single one tries to start up a conversation or even notices you. So I guess that's why a little show like what me and my friend gave to the rest became such a hit. It breaks the monotony of the day. And really, I would figure that these people would love the attention from someone, even for just a few short minutes. They literally become just cogs in a machine; working unseen in the contraption that is the grocery of Rustan's.
We are all relational beings. I'd like to bet even the most introverted person wouldn't mind company once in a while. After having almost none day in and day out apart from their co-workers, I wouldn't be surprised as to why the other workers thought so much of my little encounter with my friend. And I also noticed that they would take note of the 'regulars' and seemed to hold them in such high regard. Because these 'regulars' actually saw them as human. These people knew the cashiers and baggers by name and even struck up conversations with them, including me at one point. In the hustle and bustle of a working day, a little conversation or attention can do wonders to the mood.
We are not machines. We are people. There's something to think about next time you're in line at the grocery. So maybe next time, give a smile and see what happens. You would be doing someone a really big favor.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Paying Attention
by Mariel Soon
19 February 2013
Discussed Text: Levinas, "Responsibility," Ethics and Infinity
Every now and then, I commute going home due to various reasons. My usual route from Katipunan would be to take the LRT to Cubao, take the MRT to Shaw and take an FX going home. Through my adventure, I would obviously encounter lots of people but I wouildn’t really pay any attention to them. Nevertheless, I’d still acknowledge their presence.
One of these people are the MRT cleaners. The situation would just usually be: I do my thing, you do yours. Let’s mind our own business. And it’s just so ironic that I was able to get MRT-3 for my JEEP. We were tasked to help the MRT-3 cleaners with their day-to-day tasks: from sweeping the floors to scrubbing the bathroom tiles.
During the first day of Area Engagement, we were treated as normal workers… until they found out we were Ateneans. Suddenly, their treatments changed and it was quite obvious that they were giving us the (unwanted) special treatment. They were constantly asking us if we wanted to take a break, even though we have only worked for a little less than 30 minutes. That went on and on until we finally decided to take our 30-minute break for the shift.
They’d bring out their packed lunch or canned goods along with their rice cooker and consistently offer their meals. As we were mingling with them, we were able to hear one of our co-workers saying “Sa bagay, marami naman sigurong pagkain sa inyo.” That became the major turning point of the whole 4-hour shift experience that day.
I was then reminded of the economic gap we have with them. Admittedly, I’m used to taking things for granted simply because they were already there and they were never taken away from me. But it was because of this that I was reminded of the responsibility I also had for them. This responsibility may not be much of the economic responsibility, but it’s more of the social responsibility for the Other. It’s not about being able to completely help them but it’s doing the little things which can help them go on.
These are the sort of things you’re not supposed to do to show off, but you do them simply because you want to and you feel the responsibility to do it. I’d be asked by people “Why pay attention to the people you don’t even know?” Well, why not?
“Think about it. Maybe it was fate. There are no coincidences. Everything that happens happens by design and there’s nothing we can do about it. A force greater than us conspired to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you wanna call it. The point is, maybe we met for a reason.”
Monday, January 21, 2013
Beyond the Traffic Lights
by JB Capinpin
Ever since first sem, I was already excited about the JEEP program offered by the OSCI in partnership with the Philosophy Department. The reason behind is because I perceived the JEEP experience to be one that will standout from the rest of the outreach activities I had previously participated. Going to the provinces and living with less fortunate Filipinos opened my eyes to the reality of poverty here in the Philippines, but it didn’t stick to me because it’s not everyday that I encounter these kinds of people.
And that is how the JEEP program becomes unique. We’re given the opportunity to see the world from the shoes of people whom we would more likely encounter. Given that, I think this JEEP experience will be more significant because we can apply our own experience when we deal these people after our JEEP program.
Two Thursdays ago, we finally had our JEEP program orientation. We finally learned what the JEEP program was all about: the rationale behind it, the different opportunities out there, and the requirements. But what really struck me during that session was when we discussed the theme behind JEEP, U-Turn. Specifically, it was the essence of second meaning of the U-turn which made me reflect.
That same morning, I was driving to school from my house in Teacher’s Village. At the corner of C.P. Garcia and Katipunan Avenue there is a stoplight. When I reached that point that morning, I stopped because the stoplight was red. Suddenly, a truck was car behind me was honking; he was signaling me to go. Cars were still crossing in front of me so I did not dare move an inch.
Beside me was another car. The driver was checking the cars on the left; he was attempting to turn right. The stoplight was still red yet he slowly crept to make a right turn. He got away uncaught for violating the traffic light. After a few seconds, the stoplight turned green and I drove away.
I found it amusing that one of the JEEP formators, “Nono”, metioned that U-turns are a hassle to drivers. It was the immediate answer of anyone who always have to travel a couple of distances before he can go in the direction he wants. In a sense, it wastes time and resources. One could have saved these if it weren’t for these stupid u-turn slots. Then, Nono talked about the significance of u-turns. They are made to facilitate traffic and decongest roads. In other words, they aid in the traffic flow. This is perhaps one of the things we usually forget especially when dealing with traffic signs. It’s so easy for us to concentrate on our own agenda and how anything that delays us from reaching our destination is a threat or enemy. We treat these traffic policies and signs as obstacles on the road. However, we cant be naïve and simple-minded about it. They actually help in the overall traffic flow on the road. They were put in place in order to avoid more wastage of time and resources. If every driver acted on his own, the traffic conditions here would be much more severe. Understanding traffic signs must be seen in the context of the big picture. It is through the collective effort of every motorist to obey these traffic rules and regulations which will enable us to move around our country in a more efficient manner.
This does not go only for traffic signs, but also in the way we relate with the Other. Most of the time, our actions are influenced by how the Other appears to us. Our eyes are limited. Therefore, we must go beyond what the eyes can see whenever we relate or interact with the Other. We have to consider their entirety even though Levinas suggests that we can’t fully comprehend the Other because they are alter. This should not hinder us from accepting the Other just because they are not us. It is precisely the effort to know the Other as an Other which makes our relationships meaningful.
Thoughts Before the JEEP Program
And that is how the JEEP program becomes unique. We’re given the opportunity to see the world from the shoes of people whom we would more likely encounter. Given that, I think this JEEP experience will be more significant because we can apply our own experience when we deal these people after our JEEP program.
The JEEP Orientation
That same morning, I was driving to school from my house in Teacher’s Village. At the corner of C.P. Garcia and Katipunan Avenue there is a stoplight. When I reached that point that morning, I stopped because the stoplight was red. Suddenly, a truck was car behind me was honking; he was signaling me to go. Cars were still crossing in front of me so I did not dare move an inch.
Beside me was another car. The driver was checking the cars on the left; he was attempting to turn right. The stoplight was still red yet he slowly crept to make a right turn. He got away uncaught for violating the traffic light. After a few seconds, the stoplight turned green and I drove away.
I found it amusing that one of the JEEP formators, “Nono”, metioned that U-turns are a hassle to drivers. It was the immediate answer of anyone who always have to travel a couple of distances before he can go in the direction he wants. In a sense, it wastes time and resources. One could have saved these if it weren’t for these stupid u-turn slots. Then, Nono talked about the significance of u-turns. They are made to facilitate traffic and decongest roads. In other words, they aid in the traffic flow. This is perhaps one of the things we usually forget especially when dealing with traffic signs. It’s so easy for us to concentrate on our own agenda and how anything that delays us from reaching our destination is a threat or enemy. We treat these traffic policies and signs as obstacles on the road. However, we cant be naïve and simple-minded about it. They actually help in the overall traffic flow on the road. They were put in place in order to avoid more wastage of time and resources. If every driver acted on his own, the traffic conditions here would be much more severe. Understanding traffic signs must be seen in the context of the big picture. It is through the collective effort of every motorist to obey these traffic rules and regulations which will enable us to move around our country in a more efficient manner.
This does not go only for traffic signs, but also in the way we relate with the Other. Most of the time, our actions are influenced by how the Other appears to us. Our eyes are limited. Therefore, we must go beyond what the eyes can see whenever we relate or interact with the Other. We have to consider their entirety even though Levinas suggests that we can’t fully comprehend the Other because they are alter. This should not hinder us from accepting the Other just because they are not us. It is precisely the effort to know the Other as an Other which makes our relationships meaningful.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Human Experience and the JEEP Program
by JB Capinpin
*Disclaimer: If you’re also under Mr. Rochester and haven’t watched “The Human Experience,” do not read any further. This blog post will spoil the film.
Last Wednesday, I had to watch a movie, entitled, “The Human Experience”, for my Theology 131 class under Mr. Rochester. It was a movie about two brothers who decided to record a documentary about different human experiences. Instead of simply recording other people’s experiences and narrating it on film, they immersed themselves in other peoples’ experiences.
For this blog post, I will only focus on the challenge of living homeless in New York during winter season because this is very much similar to the JEEP program we will have this semester. The other two, interacting with children who were disabled and momentarily abandoned by their parents due to financial problems and interacting with lepers in a colony, are similar to the immersion programs I have experienced in high school and exposure trips in college. Hence, they didn’t really strike me as much as living the life of another person.
Below are some of the experiences they had:
More often that not, we succumb to our biases and judge other people. It is so easy because this is what we have experienced, have observed or have heard. We tend to believe that these experiences will repeat and thus act as a safeguard. In some way, our biases set the boundaries of our comfort zone. Anything beyond can spell trouble and make us unhappy. However, since our biases can be very personal or subjective, we can be mistaken. Therefore, our comfort zone can limit us. In this regard, there appears to be a trade-off between one’s safety and experience. It focuses on the “I,” which was the focus of the 1st semester. Towards the end of last semester, the “I” was defined as a being-in-the-world-with-and-for-others, although the “with-and-for-others” description was only briefly tackled.
This 2nd semester asks us to shift from thinking about the “I” and instead think about the “Other.” From the question, “what is being?” we now discuss, “what does the Other demand from me?” From ontology, we now focus on ethics. From philosophy’s definition as the love for wisdom, we define philosophy as the wisdom of love. With that in mind, instead of focusing on our own comfort zones, our own lives, we begin to consider Other’s feelings and Other’s life. In other words, this semester is a call for us to be more compassionate.
That is precisely what the two brothers in the film showcased. They tried to see New York in the eyes of a homeless person, to understand the life of the Other. I believe that this is one of the reasons why we are going through the JEEP program this semester. What the two brothers did is a preview of what we will be going through, but it definitely won’t be as extreme as living in the streets of Katipunan for a week. When we start living as sales people in a supermarket, photocopies in U.P. or street vendors along Katipunan, we must become more sensitive and more open and more compassionate to the Other. Perhaps, we find telling ourselves that we already know this. We have dealt with this over and over again in grade school and high school. We have been always reminded to always think of our neighbor, to do the good. But at this point, it would be helpful to pause and reflect if we really understood and follow this concept of doing the good? I guess we probably know the good, but we often fail to exercise it. This is perhaps the challenge to us in our times. As Lexie Coloma, C&PR Manager of The GUIDON, said in her column entitled, “The Epiphany of the Face”, “As Ateneans, we have always been taught the value of being men for others. We pride ourselves in having theology and philosophy classes but despite this, we still fail to go down the hill, where we are needed the most.” We have an idea of what to do, but then how come we don’t anything for the Other?
Through the JEEP program, we may hopefully find this humility to see the world in the Other’s shoe. This experience will somehow open our eyes to the reality of what the Other is experiencing and how we can respond to the demands of the Other.
For this semester, let us all try to leave our own selfish ways and constantly remind ourselves to think of the Other and how to be good to him/ her. I believe that if we carry disposition with us wherever we go, we are already bringing about change in society in our own ways. We can still fix our “broken world.”
*Disclaimer: If you’re also under Mr. Rochester and haven’t watched “The Human Experience,” do not read any further. This blog post will spoil the film.
Last Wednesday, I had to watch a movie, entitled, “The Human Experience”, for my Theology 131 class under Mr. Rochester. It was a movie about two brothers who decided to record a documentary about different human experiences. Instead of simply recording other people’s experiences and narrating it on film, they immersed themselves in other peoples’ experiences.
For this blog post, I will only focus on the challenge of living homeless in New York during winter season because this is very much similar to the JEEP program we will have this semester. The other two, interacting with children who were disabled and momentarily abandoned by their parents due to financial problems and interacting with lepers in a colony, are similar to the immersion programs I have experienced in high school and exposure trips in college. Hence, they didn’t really strike me as much as living the life of another person.
Below are some of the experiences they had:
- A number of scenes were taken at night to show how they survived the cold nights of New York (5° Celsius on night 1). They sought refuge outside the church and made use of a cardboard as a bed. This protected their backs from the freezing concrete floor, but they were still very much exposed to the harsh environment.
- During the day, they looked for a corner where they can sit down and ask for some loose coins or spare change to buy food. Sometimes, they didn’t collect enough so they had to approach the small food stalls along the streets and ask for any food that they have left.
- In an interview with a homeless lady, they mentioned that she felt excluded from society; she was simply ignored. She even mentioned an instance where a group of walkers-by helped this injured dog. She was also near the area, but she was simply looked over. She was puzzled that she had the similar features of a human being, yet the other citizens of New York don’t seem to see her that way.
- Luckily, a church had a feeding program for the homeless people. It was there that the two brothers really got to interact with other homeless people and share their experiences. The group praised the brothers for having the courage to step out of their comfort zone and live as homeless people.
More often that not, we succumb to our biases and judge other people. It is so easy because this is what we have experienced, have observed or have heard. We tend to believe that these experiences will repeat and thus act as a safeguard. In some way, our biases set the boundaries of our comfort zone. Anything beyond can spell trouble and make us unhappy. However, since our biases can be very personal or subjective, we can be mistaken. Therefore, our comfort zone can limit us. In this regard, there appears to be a trade-off between one’s safety and experience. It focuses on the “I,” which was the focus of the 1st semester. Towards the end of last semester, the “I” was defined as a being-in-the-world-with-and-for-others, although the “with-and-for-others” description was only briefly tackled.
This 2nd semester asks us to shift from thinking about the “I” and instead think about the “Other.” From the question, “what is being?” we now discuss, “what does the Other demand from me?” From ontology, we now focus on ethics. From philosophy’s definition as the love for wisdom, we define philosophy as the wisdom of love. With that in mind, instead of focusing on our own comfort zones, our own lives, we begin to consider Other’s feelings and Other’s life. In other words, this semester is a call for us to be more compassionate.
That is precisely what the two brothers in the film showcased. They tried to see New York in the eyes of a homeless person, to understand the life of the Other. I believe that this is one of the reasons why we are going through the JEEP program this semester. What the two brothers did is a preview of what we will be going through, but it definitely won’t be as extreme as living in the streets of Katipunan for a week. When we start living as sales people in a supermarket, photocopies in U.P. or street vendors along Katipunan, we must become more sensitive and more open and more compassionate to the Other. Perhaps, we find telling ourselves that we already know this. We have dealt with this over and over again in grade school and high school. We have been always reminded to always think of our neighbor, to do the good. But at this point, it would be helpful to pause and reflect if we really understood and follow this concept of doing the good? I guess we probably know the good, but we often fail to exercise it. This is perhaps the challenge to us in our times. As Lexie Coloma, C&PR Manager of The GUIDON, said in her column entitled, “The Epiphany of the Face”, “As Ateneans, we have always been taught the value of being men for others. We pride ourselves in having theology and philosophy classes but despite this, we still fail to go down the hill, where we are needed the most.” We have an idea of what to do, but then how come we don’t anything for the Other?
Through the JEEP program, we may hopefully find this humility to see the world in the Other’s shoe. This experience will somehow open our eyes to the reality of what the Other is experiencing and how we can respond to the demands of the Other.
For this semester, let us all try to leave our own selfish ways and constantly remind ourselves to think of the Other and how to be good to him/ her. I believe that if we carry disposition with us wherever we go, we are already bringing about change in society in our own ways. We can still fix our “broken world.”
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