#basically lollo | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kyogre-blue · 1 year ago

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Wuwa exploration continues.

I completed the Dim Forest exploration quest and the first part of the Tiger's Maw Mine quest. The next part apparently needs you to wait some amount of IRL time, so I can't start it yet.

I'll talk about the Tiger's Mine one first. There are two things to bring up about it. First, the translation is notably bad. There are outright mistakes like getting the gender of a character wrong several times, names being spelled inconsistently (Hua xi vs Huaxi, Mo Di vs Modee, etc), and just a whole lot of really strange expressions and sentence structures. It reads like the translator was not a native English speaker. In the modern situation, you might even guess it was done by MT/AI. It really stands out because I haven't seen this elsewhere in the game so far. There was bad voice direction and a few basic human error typos, but nothing like this. Not sure what happened to this specific quest.

Second, an Academy researcher stationed at the mine is mentioned getting into an argument with one of the miners. The reason for it is that the researcher wants to entertain the notion of coexistence with TDs. He admits it's not currently feasible, but he wants to keep the option on the table, so to speak.

This is interesting because TDs do come up very often in various quests, but most of them so far have been about how TDs are very dangerous, no matter their origins (the Bell turtle quest) or that their existence is tragic and perverse, generally the lingering emotions of soldiers becoming monsters that attack their own comrades (main quest, Jiyan quest, Sea of Flames). BUT you also get stuff like people using Gulpuffs very casually for fun and games in Jiyan's quest (also has a moment where you can call some other TDs cute), and the Dim Forest quest, where an important part of the plot is that the researchers are living peacefully with a Hoochief monkey TD. In fact, the Hoochamps are portrayed as being only aggressive and dangerous because they've been infected by the spores.

Very curious about what the long term angle will be.

Regarding the Dim Forest quest, it's actually an interesting comparison to what I complained about before, regarding how the troops are endlessly valorized. This quest is about the efforts of some researchers to stop a dangerous phenomenon. In this sense, it can be paralleled to the Sea of Flames quest. They have fairly similar structures, actually, with an NPC who endangers themselves but learns their lesson and correctly directs their drive to solve an issue.

But I do still think it feels different compared to our brave servicemen and women. Lollo Logistics needed to regain their honor, so to speak, for their failure with the first attempt at clearing out the Sea of Flames, while Senmin needs to return to the fundamental principles taught by her mentor, which she strayed from because of her emotional response to Hoochiefs after the incident. They're not gripping emotional stories or anything, but there's at least something there. I hope the troops get some kind of more... anything portrayal too.

#playing wuthering waves

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go-learn-esperanto · 4 years ago

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༒︎𝓟𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻𝓼༒︎

(I had to compres these because of Tumblr and I'm so mad and so sorry)

Basic Lollo's Passerine animatic is a masterpiece

Also please watch the original because I had to compress the heck out of these (with only one exception) and I'm stil crying about it.

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grumpygreenwitch · 5 years ago

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Summer Gardening.

So it’s been a while, and for that I apologize to the... 200+ people who follow me. I’m sure y’all are here for the cat pics and the nekked men, but TOO BAD. Today you get to suffer through pics of my green children. Also, I do share seed. My seed list link will be up later in the year. To begin with, the summer flowers are out en force:

Echinacea Purpurea, the original echinacea. I do save yearly seed from these guys, although it’s an incredibly pointy, stabby and bleed-y job.

Mountain Phlox. Unfortunately, all of it around the house is afflicted with powdery mildew, so I will not share seed. But it’s still pretty to look at, and the clearwings (hummingbird moths) love it. Not pictured is the white variant, who grows on the other side of the house. Look, it was hot and I was already melting.

Peppermint Balsam. This thing is basically indestructible, for an annual. It will reseed freely (to truly Lovecraftian levels) and blooms continuously from late spring until mid-fall, when the seed-pods set. There is a dormant genetic in it for double flowers, but when it pops up it’s always been sterile. It just pops up occasionally from the peppermint seed.

I may give the roommate hell over the hostas (I hate them. They’re so useful to protect toads and control weeds, but I hate them), but they do put out pretty flowers. There are several variants around the house - white-edged, blue and green, but hostas in general are very, very hard to start from seed. I will save it on request, only. We were also incredibly lucky to have a Moth Mullein sprout in our porch bed, along with some Variegated Solomon’s Seal.The SS doesn’t put out seeds, and I don’t have enough to share bulbs (yet), but the mullein has been exceptionally generous with seed pods, and it repels bugs. It repels ROACHES. It’s going everywhere. And I may be convinced to part with some seed.

Onward!

A view from a hill. Can you see the garden? That’s OK, I can’t either. Those are peach trees, on the side of the orchard closest to the house. Unfortunately a freak storm during early spring killed all the blossoms. Also, don’t mistake ‘orchard’ for ‘organized’. There’s a pear, some apples, a plum, some nectarines? And front and center are two walnuts. I’ll probably be plunking my laurel there to see if it survives winter. And someday when I have a job and money again, I would like to drop a few Chicago Hardy figs, and maybe a kiwi trellis.

This is the big garden (and fortunately not my responsibility, or I would cry). The guys are ‘handling’ it. The weeds say otherwise.

The jasmine tree and the roommate’s garden. Because of a bad back injury that refuses to heal, I’ve been helping them on and off with it. And if you thought jasmine was supposed to stay a delightful little bush, AHAHAHAHAH. Yes, that’s a light-post next to it. For size comparison.

MY CHILDREN. Please ignore the dead soccer ball. That’d be a dog toy.

Lemon balm, amaranth, and a new bed that I’ll be finishing off during fall, for use next year. The lemon balm is a permanent row - it will overwinter just fine, and it will even keep growing through the mildest part of December. Mine didn’t die back until a few solid days of sleet in January. Unfortunately the weed fabric under the amaranth turned out to be an old roll, and fell apart on me (no big, the whole point is for it to fall apart eventually), so the weeds have kinda eaten it alive.

Unfortunately, both cucumber beetles and blister beetles love the amaranth. Fortunately, it does not seem to give a damn. It’s an incredibly resilient plant, not minding weeds, bugs, flood or drought. We’ll see what the grain actually tastes like, but so far it’s looking like a good candidate for continuous growing.

The lemon balm is lemon-balming. Planted on a lark, it’s proven to be a fantastic wind-breaker - because it grows so early and so quick, it keeps the colder winds that come down through the hollow from my more fragile seedlings, like the lettuce, dill and cilantro. You can see here where the spent flower-heads are dying but there’s new growth underneath; I really have to get in there and behead it. It makes nice hot tea, meh cold tea, and hanging fresh bunches of it around the balcony keeps the skeeters off. It also seems to be a decoy for cabbage moths.

Canary Zinnia. The seed was sent to me as a gift with one of my seed orders, and this is my first year growing it. -If- I can save some, I’ll definitely be sharing and growing again. It’s a lovely plant, very sturdy, and the bees love it.

Dwarf Castor Oil. I don’t think there’s anything dwarf about it, but then I’m a short green witch myself, so maybe it’s all about perspective. Don’t let the pods lie to you, until they dry the spikes are relatively soft. However, it being castor oil, I don’t recommend it to anyone with ducks, chickens, goats, or anything that might accidentally try talking a nibble or pecking at the beans. I do, however, recommend them from jewelry if you know how to pierce things and so on. They are a gorgeous tiger-stripe pattern.

Say hello to the chard! Say goodbye to the chard! Nothing else, absolutely nothing else since the limas, has given me so much trouble. The deer love getting into my chard bed and destroying it (ergo all the forks). And once I managed to chase those off, the blister beetles showed up in force. This will be the last year I grow it - we just don’t eat enough of it to make it worth my while, and it only occasionally sold at the Farmers’ Market.

Red lettuce - Merlot and Lollo Vino, a combination of bought and saved seed. I planted a red romaine of some sort, too, but unsurprisingly it bolted in the heat. The darker reds of my favorites, though, keep bugs off them, keep deer from noticing them, and keep them from bolting. It’s just now threatening to, and at this point its kind of allowed. I need more seed for next year. Seed for this will likely be shared by the teaspoon-ful.

Calendula! I searched for a long time to find the plain ol’ calendula officinalis ancestor, rather than a cultivar where I would have no way of knowing if the medicinal principles would have been sacrificed for looks. It’s supposed to work well as poor man’s saffron (color, no taste), and I’m going to be soaking the heck outta my feet on it during winter. The plant is... not pretty. It gets leggy and the leaves get grotty very quickly. But it’s very sturdy and as long as you cut the flowerheads off as fast as you can, it’ll keep blooming until well into winter. I usually leave it to go to seed around late September.

Green cilantro seeds. You pick ‘em when they’re brown, but before they drop off the plant. Or you pick ‘em when they’re brown-ing, and put them in a paper bag so they’ll finish ripening there and you don’t end up with fifty wild cilantro plants in your garden >_> Most of the row is already gone, and I’ll be putting in a late dill crop in its place. No such thing as too much dill!

Don’t let lemongrass lie to you. Unless you tie it up, it will not grow up neat and tidy, as most grass does. Instead it will sprawl like a dramatic wilting Elizabethan lady and do its best to end up under your feet so you’ll feel bad about it. I just tie it up with a half-blade of grass; it dries up and withers away before it can hurt the plant.

I ordered pennyroyal seed because... Well, because it’s something one should have on hand, considering the way the world is going. What I got was Creeping Pennyroyal, which doesn’t care if you step on it (mint family), smells absolutely delightful, and has the most adorable, tiny purple flowers. I plan on harvesting, drying and sprinkling it everywhere in the crawlspace under the house. Making war on cave crickets, wood roaches, and other such sundries, me.

The thyme and Spicy Oregano took a beating in the heat, but they’re slowly bouncing back. The bed behind them is more pennyroyal, desperately in need of weeding, but there’s only one of me, y’know.

SIGH. Just. You absolute, ill-mannered monster of a creature. That would be horseradish, gloriously happy to be alive, as horseradish should be. Also, NOT IN ITS BASKET. Because never mind the rules, I guess.

I don’t even know how I’m gonna dig that up come winter. With some construction equipment, I GUESS.

Decorative gourd! It’s the only one producing so far, but being the seed was 10+ years old, I’m very pleased.

And an apple gourd (I think?), from a mixture of drying gourds that was only slightly less ancient. Snake, apple and birdhouse gourds. There’s a bunch of them competing in the basket at this point, we’ll see what we will see.

And this, I think, is a great use of a dead canopy frame (the dogs ate the canopy. No, I’m not making it up.) I hope to coax the gourds to grow me a lil’ roof so I can sit in shade, surrounded by pennyroyal anti-skeeter barriers, eating my maters.

My Peter Peppers (nrehehehehe) aren’t producing yet - it takes them a while. But my Chinese 5-Color are getting started. It’s a lovely pepper, both edible and ornamental, with (so I’m told) about four times the heat of a Jalapeno. They’re tiny, with deep purple undertones to the plant. They’ll go purple-white-yellow-orange-red.

The bullhorns, on the other hand, are fairly sizable SWEET peppers on very tiny plants, and I honestly suggest staking them while they’re young so they grow a sturdy trunk, else you might end up with all of them growing at a slant.They’re just now beginning to turn colors. Keeping in mind I’m virulently allergic to peppers (less so sweet than hot, but allergic to all of them), the roommate loves ‘em.

It’s a small pepper bed - mainly to refresh my seed on the hots, and to grow sweets for the roommate. Pardon the nekked bed, the autumn lettuce hasn’t sprouted yet. And yes, that’s a mixed basil/dill bed next to it. My basil grew in patchy holes (NEVER buying from those seed people again), so I filled the holes with dill. Unfortunately, dill seed heads are so fine that they’re hard to photograph well.

The tomato row. After arguing with them for this long, I went the extra mile. Every plant has a metal stake. There’s also a double line growing at the top supporting the stakes so they don’t fall over. And they still fell over. Because why not, you unruly children, why not.

Green, white, pink and brown cherry tomatoes. Delicious!

Two kinds of cucumbers, some of the only decent shots of the dill seed-heads, and a special guest hiding in the shade. I usually plant dill as soon as the cucumber sprouts, to keep cucumber beetles off it. Otherwise I’d have no cucumbers and a lot of fat beetles.

The Muncher is a small cucumber, somewhat delicate. It’s very sensitive to temperature changes, and it’s candy to cucumber beetles - basically, it’s impossible to grow it without a heavy curtain of dill, or a heavy duty decoy. This year I got lucky enough to have both. It’s also delicious pickled, keeping its crunch and getting a good ooomph in flavor.

The Japanese Long is, as the name implies, long. It’s also incredibly bitey, and absolutely scrumptious. It’s sweet! And unlike the average cucumber, it does not go metallic when salted.

And now for the SPECIAL CHILD OF MY HEART. Seriously. I have been lusting after Blue Tea Peas since I first saw them offered, and every single time they’d be sold out pretty much the day of. This year I finally got some and... remember me mentioning that freak freeze that killed the peach blossoms? Yeah. Guess what it also killed. But two plants soldiered on. I have them heavily shielded by the cucumbers, dill and chamomile, and really I have no words for the blue. Pics don’t do it justice. I won’t have the tea this year, I’m saving as much seed as I can, but I am so pleased to have it at all!

Last, but not least, and it’s a poor shot of it, the chamomile. I cannot drink chamomile to sleep - it does put me to sleep, but it also gives me bad dreams. I plan on using it as a skin wash for all the bug bites, along with the calendula, and to give me some respite from dry skin during winter.

Stay green! See you in fall! Now back to our normal schedule of frogs, cats and nekked men!

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stacomiallthetime · 2 years ago

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✧Theory Time 2 the Brutal Boogaloo✧

In the character line up the green alien referred to as ‘Booltal’ seems to be one character but in game there are multiple references to what appears to be different characters with this same name attached to them, at least two that I have seen. Now because this alien never speaks there are only descriptions from other Stacomi and characters on what they are like.

Instance 1

This instance seems to be most related to the alien that is seen in game out of the window of the spaceship.

前略、%sさん。アンテナには、よくあの緑ヤロウがやってきて、仕事の邪魔をします。まあ、それを追い払うのは私の役目です。通信士というよりアンテナ警備が仕事です...。

(update text from Kokichi when working in antenna security, proper translation needed)

This basically reflects what is seen in game with the alien causing trouble for the player and now the Stacomi working at the SCC. (the green arrow is referring to the arrow that is on top of the alien’s head)

こちらは宇宙秩序協会です。

宇宙の危険についてお知らせしています。

最近、「ブルタル」と呼ばれる緑色の宇宙人による恐喝、盗難などの被害が多発しています。危険ですので充分に気を付けて下さい。

(text found in the rom from a ‘Cosmic Order Society, have not seen this one in game though, as always a proper translation is needed.)

The alien (or aliens?) in this message show the same behavior as the in game Booltal. Notably though, they seem to be saying that there are multiple (or google translate is pulling my leg) aliens that are called Booltal, so is this the name of their species, like a type of Stacomi, or is it one character in a case of a dog named dog? There seem to be multiple single characters with this name though...

Instance 2

This is a character who is a manager at the SCC and does not seem to be well liked to say the least...

ヤッホ。%s、元気？　もう聞いてよー。SCCになぜかブルタルの管理職がいるんだけどね、超セクハラ野郎でムカツク！　あの緑ヤロウは宇宙に帰ればいいのよー！

(update text from Lollo(?) when working as a telegraphist, proper translation needed)

ひさしぶり%s。聞いてよ！　なぜだか隣のチームのリーダーがブルタルなんだよ？！　なんでアイツがSCCに入社してるの？！　やっぱり態度も悪いし...。でも仲良くしないといけないんだー。あー憂鬱。

(update text from Kojiro(?) when working as a manager, end text here is ditto as the last ones)

This character seems to be a shitty manager that has a bad attitude and is hard to work with but they share the name Booltal with the other instance(s). The second text may be referring to them as A Booltal but I’m still not sure. While the player would be getting this update text in game the in game alien (also called Booltal by the way) would be showing up in their window so if Booltal is just one character then how are they in two places at once!? Unless the aliens in the window are all different every time and they just look the same. But the text explaining Booltal seems to refer to them as one character!

緑色のスタコミに注意！彼は「ブルタル」という名前の荒くれ者です。宇宙船に忍び込み、お金を強奪していきます。気をつけましょう。

(said text from before, ditto)

This is so confusing, until I am proven otherwise though I will be referring to the in game instance as Booltal, other aliens are also called Booltal as like a species name and the manager is just an instance of a specific alien working at the SCC. There is one more possible alien with a different name though...

Instance 3(?)

「気持ち認識システム」が注目される今期期待の最新鋭パソコン。人気俳優「ブルタク」がＣＭに起用されたことから、さらに注目される。

(taken from the description for the computer item, ditto)

This actor character seems to have a similar name to Booltal even using some of the same characters, actually only the last character is different. Now if this is an alien though is unknow but I highly suspect it.

*This theory/ insane rambling was brought to you by Mei, the person that runs this blog*

#Star Communicator #theory #ramblings #why is the lore of this game confusing #i dont need sleep i need answers

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firickbestproducts · 3 years ago

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shemakesmusic-uk · 7 years ago

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INTERVIEW: Dolores Haze.

Since releasing their stunning debut album The Haze Is Forever back in 2015, Swedish three-piece Dolores Haze have been solely on the offensive ever since.

Described by The Guardian as having “an unfuckwithable attitude that makes them a force to be reckoned with,” the band now look to cement their legacy as one of Sweden’s most captivating outfits, they unveiled the follow-up to their 2017 standalone release ‘White House’ with their eyebrow-raising new single ‘Banana’; a track that aims to echo the sentiment of the #MeToo movement.

The trio followed up 'Banana' with electro-pop swoon ‘Play Hard F*ck Hard Love Hard’. Much like ‘Banana’, ‘Play Hard F*ck Hard Love Hard’ continues the band’s unrelenting attitude towards female empowerment in the music industry, yet sees them adopt a far softer approach in the process.

It is clear from this new aesthetic that Dolores Haze are beginning a new journey and looking to branch out from their familiar ways.

We had a chat with the band about what they've been up to, the insane 'Banana' video, their upcoming new album, performing live and much more. Read the interview below.

Since releasing your debut album you've won an award for “Best Rock” act at the prestigious P3 Guld-Award, as well as two nominations at the Swedish GRAMMYS, and even a performance at the Swedish Music Hall of Fame initiation ceremony. Wow, that's a lot to have happened in three years! Tell us what that journey as been like.

"It’s been filled with hard work, dedication, parties, fights, life lessons. And also turning 18."

Your comeback single 'Banana' is an alt-pop corker, rich in irony with a strong and powerful message at its core which echoes the sentiment of the #MeToo movement. Tell us a bit more about why you wanted to put out a song on this subject?

Groovy Nickz: "When there’s a lot of feelings involved, it’s somehow easier to write. By the time all women started sharing their experiences during #MeToo everything just felt so dark, and we also found out some shit about people we used to trust. So I wanted to do a catchy lyrics with rhymes and stuff, wrote the whole song in about an hour and then we started recording with our producer lil pz. It’s funny tho the amount of people on Youtube being provoked by it, I thought people could appreciate it with a pinch of salt but apparently not!”

The video for 'Banana' is well, frankly bananas! And we love it, it's so playful and vibrant. What was it that inspired the visuals? (Apart from the yellow fruit, obviously!)

"Thank you!! Well the color scheme was yellow and hot pink, so we just bought a lot of props at the flea market and spray painted everything. Hot guys was also necessary otherwise Groovy Nickz would cry and refuse to do the video."

We've been informed that you have a new album planned for this year. What can you tell us about it?

"It’s mostly really, really sad and will be stuck on repeat in lonely teenagers bedrooms. But there are also some more up-beat tracks to dance to at the club while looking for your next heart breaker."

Aside from the #MeToo movement, what other things have been influencing your songwriting lately?

Lucky Lollo: "My songwriting just comes from within. Music is therapy to me and I write songs to process emotions. So basically my own sorrow."

We love your unique style. Who or what has inspired your aesthetic?

"Diamonds, white wine, rich people and their blowouts, maximalism, The Runaways, small dogs, partying hard, pop punk music, punk rock music, a lot of lipstick."

For anyone that hasn't been fortunate enough to experience a Dolores Haze live show yet, what could they expect?

"The Swedish phenomena we call “tros-chock” (directly translated to panty shock)."

What do you love most about performing and being on stage?

"Seeing our fans, rolling around in the pink light on the stage and being inspired to interpret and perform our own songs in different ways."

Which new artists/bands are you loving right now?

"Swedish acts ShitKid, Busu, Lykke Li and Tami T. International acts Princess Nokia, Tommy Genesis, Die Antwoord, Cardi B, TR/ST."

Is there anyone you would love to collaborate with and why?

"Charli XCX seems fun, she’s a good songwriter, loves to party and she puts out music at a rate that suits our patience i.e. very often."

We’re big Charli fans and think that collab would be awesome! Finally, what does the rest of 2018 and beyond hold for Dolores Haze?

"New album coming out and hopefully playing abroad. We love the fans we have in Sweden but it’s a small country and most people don’t get us."

youtube

‘Banana’ and ‘Play Hard F*ck Hard Love Hard’ are available now.

#interview #dolores haze #banana #play hard fuck hard love hard

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sportsrepo · 4 years ago

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arttotravel-blog · 7 years ago

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Dear Philippines,

where should I start? It’s been a rough and bumpy year for the two of us. A whole lot of new experiences, heat, realizations about this world, cockroaches, rice, conversations and bliss. When I tell people I went to live in the Philippines for one year, they associate dreamy beaches, nice weather and colorful fruit – holiday mainly:

Then they sigh and say: lucky you! An it’s true, I am very lucky. Not only because I got to see those paradise like places, but because of so much more you have to offer. What most people cannot imagine though, is that most of the time I spent with you, I spent in dirt, in traffic, hunting cockroaches and rats or in front of my fire place.

ARRIVING

Your first lesson for me was to learn how to live from day to day. It was a jump in at the deep end, because there was no way I could continue my efficient, planning lifestyle with out a fridge or even a water boiler. I would go to the market everyday to buy food and charcoal. It is impossible to conserve food because of the heat on the one hand and insects on the other hand. Aunts would somehow always find their way into my plastic boxes. There’s nothing I can do about it. It didn’t take long until I was like: grit your teeth and get to it, and thought of it as extra protein. Lesson number 2 you taught me: some things are out of my control.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” (Reinhold Niebuhr)

SURVIVING

The whole insect issue was not really a problem for me. I mean it’s not that I like cockroaches or rats but whatever I do, they’ll always be there. What bothered me more were the thousands of mosquitos. Especially during rainy season I tried hard not to be bidden too often, because I was worried to get Dengue fever. But again it is hopeless, they’ll bite anyway. And in the end it makes sense to ask whether it’s healthier to use Off lotion, which is forbidden to be sold in the EU and is probably carcinogenic, all day long.

UNDERSTANDING

My little sensitivities gave me a hard time in the beginning, but when I started to understand what bothers you all day long, it was worse. I hate to see you broken and weak like this. Manila bursting at the seams, so that you’re people live under the worst circumstances in basically any possible place, even a cemetery (whole article). I hate to have you admiring me for nothing but a huge bit of luck. I hate to know the truth about your missed but earning loved ones, who live abroad in Dubai or Lebanon. And I hate that I don’t have a clue of how to change any of it. On top of all that, the realization that most of your sorrows originate from colonialism. That makes those who you look up to, those who have put you in this situation in the first place.

Several relicts of Spanish colonialism can be found in Iloilo City

QUESTIONING

I love and I hate how you sometimes don’t care. The first example that comes to my mind is that huge ship in the port of Iloilo. It’s been laying there for months now and nobody seems to know what has happened to it. But even if it’s completely broken, everything would be more profitable than leaving it there. Oh well, the ship made me laugh every time but in truth it’s very sad. How are you supposed to grow/evolve when you’re not aware of your resources and capabilities?

GETTING MAD

This leads me to my favorite topic of anger: the rubbish situation. This is the one thing I cannot make you responsible for, yet cannot forgive you. I know you have bigger fish to fry. I just wish you would rudimentarily be aware of what an extraordinary beautiful ecosystem your islands are. Or at least for your own health, stop burning rubbish. I tried my best, but the war against plastic bags is a Sisyphean challenge. I pray that it won’t be too late.

PUZZELING OVER

Not to begin with the mischiefs in your politics. It would be a lie to say nothing’s in progress in your country. Economical growth is happening in your capital, but the provinces don’t profit. It’s no wonder when local politics have been under the power of one family for decades. I had to realize that one can be dumb without end, as long as there’s money one can always have a career in politics. The whole situation is screaming for change, but how is it to be done? All I know is Duterte cannot be it. I never understood your admiration/the ignorance of what’s happening.

Did somebody say corruption? This makes me think of an anecdote that once happened to me when I wanted to withdraw money. “‘My request could not be processed’, why is that?” I asked the bank’s security guard and he answered with out looking up: “Because of power and corruption…”. The only time I ever got in touch with this stuff was at the immigration office I think. One of my all time favorite places… not. Every time I went there, the prices for my visa extension were different. It sounds funny but it made me angry to pay ridiculous extra fees like “express lane” that change nothing. But again, there’s nothing I can do about it.

NOT UNDERSTANDING

Your superstitions make me laugh and angry at the same time. How can you seriously believe in spirits, trolls and fairies? How can you be in bondage like that? And where I never got behind: how does all of this fall in line with christianity?

Visiting a healer on the supposedly enchanted island of Siquijor (full article)

EXPERIENCING

Speaking of your faith: you amazed me. Coming from the least religious place on earth, Eastern Germany, I couldn’t believe how so many – no actually all of you – believe. I have to say you live a strange version of Christianity. From horror stories of people who are voluntarily crucified during easter to celebrations of events that didn’t even happen according to the bible (some islands celebrate the reunion of Jesus and his mother after he was resurrected). Even though I’m convinced that a great part has never ever read a single page of the bible, it was a pleasure to see and feel your spirituality. I found it an interesting experience also regarding my own faith.

CELEBRATING

They call you an americanized piece of Spain, with no culture except what emperors of the past centuries have left with you. But good god, you know how to celebrate fiesta! And even if there’s Lechon (pigling) for every single occasion it doesn’t matter. These events are your own. Even if I can barely finish one plate of food by courtesy, I would always go, because this is you in a nutshell. Fiesta means family, food, hospitality, karaoke, more food and Lechon obviously. I was blown away by Dinagyang festival in January. As much as I hated the beauty contest, I loved the tribe performances.

On your thousands of islands the party never stops. As much as I regretted every night club visit in Iloilo, I wish back to all the fun nights in Smallville (night life district of Iloilo) or your cozy beach bars. I mean, what kind of world is it, where rum is cheaper than coke? It was a hell of a New Years Eve in Boracay last year – salamat gid Bryan.

One year wearing slippers and the shittiest clothes, like grandma-style maxi skirts. It didn’t matter at all, because I would still be “Miss beautiful” for you. And to speak the whole truth: All of them mold anyway.

Among the things I miss the most, your Jeepneys definitely make the top 3. Regardless if in the front, in the back, on the roof, with chicken between my feet or a 100 year old lollo (grandpa) on my lap – I love riding a jeepney! Jeepneys are a lifestyle. Even though they’re super loud and probably the main polluters, they will always have a special place in my heart. 🙂

EATING

Unfortunately I cannot say the same about your food. To summarize this long story of suffering, I’ll just say: you stay under your possibilities. With out doubt the best you have to offer is your fruit. I love all of them and they outclass everything my german super markt offers.

As the good filipina I am, I love rice a lot even though I gained a lot of weight because of it…

I would like to take the opportunity to pick the grossest and yummiest you have to offer. Basically I’m a huge fan of your vegetarian dishes like fried eggplant, bitter melon or munggo. Furthermore I would never turn down a sweet sin like a fresh halo halo, banana cue or bibingka.

But as much as I’d like to, I have no understanding why and how you can enjoy a boiled developing duck embryo (balut), boiled pig blood, duck feet or pig intestines. I am more than sure that I ate my lifetime ration of dried and later fried fish. There’s only one question left unanswered: How can you call this buko (coconut) salad?

TRAVELING

Oh Philippines, you have so much to offer. I will never forget the amazing memories I made when traveling from island to island, discovering your hidden gems. It’s hard to realize though that most of my friends from Iloilo won’t ever be able to see all this.

From the 8th world wonder: the Rice Terraces of Batad

to the Chocolate Hills and tarsiers of Bohol

to swimming with whale sharks and chasing waterfalls in Cebu

to diving in Apo Island and Coron

to island hopping and beaching in Siquijor and Palawan

As off-hook as it sounds, but during the course of visiting all those amazing places, one becomes kind of choosy. One natural wonder trumps the other and in the end it’s the quit and raw places that fascinate the most. I’m in love with all your unpopular paradises left for me to explore, unlike other southeastasian countries.

Iloilo city, you little piece of dirt. Filipinos call you City of Love but I’m afraid you cannot compete with Paris – the “other�� city of love -, to be completely honest with you. Quite the opposite, you are kind of the only place that turned out a lot less – or rather not at all – beautiful, looking back. You’re importance is founded on your inhabitants, food places and open air concerts or art galleries you hold. Other than that you actualize the shady sides of urbanization. Among those firstly your terrible pollution, the dirt and waste in general; poverty and slums; waifs, adults throughout the day and drunk at night – to name a few. I’m glad I didn’t live here permanently, but I certainly enjoyed the big city life experience during the weekends. How special is though, to have my buko (coconut) juice lady of trust in a city on the other side of the world?

Guimaras my love, you are literally what I call paradise. I love you for much more than your mangoes, even though I love them a lot already. [Background information: Guimaras is the neighbouring island of Panay that is said to have the sweetest mangos in the world (full article). Once a year they hold a mango festival to worship them. Read about my mango-all-you-can-eat experience here.] You are a green wonderland, much needed escape, clean air, you are an untouched beauty. Stay the way you are please.

Thank you Philippines, for paving me the way to find eternal piece with me, myself and I and a hammock. The truth lies in the fact that one doesn’t need more than that. With this, a whole different style of traveling opened up to me. I reckon this is your most precious gift to me. I would NEVER have had the courage to hitchhike!

Yes it has a mosquito net! A local friend of mine invented them when traveling his country. They are manufactured by local women in Palawan. Get yours here

And like it is probably anywhere in the world: there are plenty of acquaintances and a precious hand full of friends. I am so thankful for every minute.

And of course salamat gid to my SOS family. There are obviously no words. You guys know already.

LEAVING

It felt weird and rash to leave you, when there was still war going on in Mindanao. When my little village got a bomb threat. When summer had finally ended and water started to run more frequently through my faucet. But really this was the end of my endless summer. It was a time of crisis, when ISIS raged in Marawi, relatives of the local islamists suddenly showed up at the port of Iloilo. When the NPA decided the time had come to take action again and raided the police station of our neighboring village Maasin. And all along I updated myself using foreign media. I didn’t want to feel unsafe on your streets at night, but how was I not to, when nobody had a clue what was going on? Even though I was expecting our foreign office to withdraw us german volunteers any minute for the last couple of weeks, my return flight came earlier than expected. It was hectic, it was emotional and sudden.

COMING BACK

What I take along with me to “real life” is sadly less than I planned on. That’s how it always goes. Never underestimate the power of habits. But what I keep with me every day is the filipino point of view. Every time I walk the streets, my university or the super market. I cannot help but wonder what a filipino would think right now.

Sex tourism to me, is one of the worst felonies of mankind. The whole problem gets to me on a very personal level, when I see that the perpetrators live right here. Make it stop!

Even if I could, I wouldn’t change a single thing about our year together. Mahal kita, and: nahidlaw ako gid sa imyo ❤

PS: Again I cannot help but recommend again everybody to watch this really close up documentary. And this little video by my fellow volunteer Gwen: It is so accurate, it bursted me to tears 🙂

Filipina for one year Dear Philippines, where should I start? It's been a rough and bumpy year for the two of us.

#asia #backpacking #gapyear #hammock #itsmorefuninthephilippines #neverstopexploring #philippines #travel #travelblogger #travelphotography #volunteer #wanderlust

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