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Binhi Blog Post

stMy Binhi experience at GK LE03 Bulaklakan was one that was intimate, hitting close to home. Having grown up in the usual Filipino neighborhood, I had often played with children my age, clearly never-minding the social difference between us. I grew up not being too sheltered, and so my Binhi experience wasn’t much of an eye-opener anymore. However, being a college student who dorms and only goes home-home every weekend, the Binhi experience made me feel like going back to my earlier days. Since I entered college, I haven’t been able to really go out whenever I’m at home and interact with the environment around me, because I’d been a little too busy with my school works. Nevertheless, I am still able to identify my habitus with theirs, as I’d never really been one to be raised in an upper-class environment. In the area, the people’s habitus lean towards the preference for commodities to sustain their immediate needs. Mine does as well, though it extends to my wants. Their way of speaking is the typical conversational Filipino, and mine is that as well. Though my habitus is different from theirs as I belong in a higher social class, I shared similarities with them as well. Like the way I normally communicate, I didn’t have to adopt to the way they speak as I had been speaking that same way ever since. The people in the house I visited were watching local TV, and I observe the same lifestyle preference as well. I identifies with the son the same age as I when his mom told me about her son being picky about eating food, particularly on veggies. The community reflected my life a few years back, and I know that I didn’t feel different from those people aside from a few differences and the more privilege I have. 

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Social Mirrors

I asked a friend of mine from another block to write what she thinks of me. Before I looked at what she wrote, I wrote what I thought she’d say about me. I assumed that she’d write about how I’m a good friend of hers, and how I’m often very opinionated and critical about things, and that sometimes maybe I can hurt her feelings. In actuality, she wrote about me being a friend that she can be vocal and open to. She also said that I am honest, although maybe a little too honest because sometimes she gets shocked by some things that I tell her. 

I was pretty surprised that my inference was kind of spot-on. She didn’t really say that I’m hurting her, so I guess that’s a good thing. But really, I’m glad to have met her during our first day of school here. We both feel kind of out of place in this university, but we’re happy that making it through our first year of stay here. 

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For our project aimed to increase positive affect towards ourselves, we decided to give free hugs for people around the campus. :)

This activity made me feel delighted, seeing friends and strangers be friendly towards me. Also, since hugging naturally releases oxytocin, I felt more and less stressed from the the academic workload I had that day. At the same time, I also felt more hopeful towards becoming a social person. 

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The things that I am grateful for today!

Today’s March 5, 2019. And these are the things that I am grateful for today:

1. It’s my friend, Bea’s birthday! I’m grateful to have been among her friends that she chose to celebrate her birthday with. She treated us for lunch. Yay!

2. I passed my math quiz! I was really surprised when I found out that I actually passed our first math quiz. I remember having such a rough time during the test. 

3. I made it through my 3-hour Media and Society class! It was a drag. Thankfully the class ended; felt like it was never going to end. Thank the Lords it did! Yaaaaay!

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Being of Chinese descent, and growing up in the usual Filipino neighborhood, made me the culturally diverse person that I am today. I practice and exhibit both Filipino and Chinese values and traditions. In my perspective, both of these cultures have practices that somewhat seem archaic and wrong (such as discrimination), so I get the best of both worlds from the said cultures, and incorporate them in my everyday life for the betterment of my well-being and interaction with my surrounding.