Since I've arrived in the Philippines I've been playing a sort of game. I call it, "Let's find the Universals!" That is, I keep noticing certain behaviors or customs that, no matter where you are, these things are present. The first one I noticed was in the Manila airport -- no matter where you are there is a line for the women's bathroom! (I also first noticed in the Manila airport, and continued noticing in Davao, boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts -- I'm hoping beyond hope that Krispy Kreme donuts are universal, but I'm not so sure yet...)
This past weekend was full of a particular universal -- dancing! Now music is readily acknowledged as universal, but I think dancing too is its own, special universal. There is just something about expressing yourself through body movement to a rhythm, that can create a connection with someone across culture and language. And the beauty of dancing is that it can be a place of connection in many different circumstances. Which brings me to my weekend -- a story of dancing in three parts!
First, on Friday night I was invited along with some co-workers to an appreciation dinner at a hotel. It was a fancy event and we kind of felt like crashers coming in right after work in our casual clothes, but we were legitimately invited! My roommate came as well. We were a group of Filipinos, an Indonesian, a Sierra Leonean and me, the American. The appreciation dinner was 80s themed, and so a Filipino band belted out "Time after Time," "Gold," and other fabulous 80s hits that I was really too young to remember. Interspersed with the band was more entertainment -- drag queens lip syncing Whitney, Tina, and Patti. Near the end of the night our little international group ended up dancing with the drag queens and hotel staff to the Filipino band covering American 80s music.
After that bout of dancing we hadn't had enough so we headed to Matina Town Square, a nightlife hot spot (which kind of reminds me of a Filipino Birkdale, for those of you from Hville). There was a local Filipino band playing reggae. The mood was very chill, everyone sitting at tables drinking beer. But the music was amazing. Even though I couldn't understand it (until later, when they covered Santeria and Hotel California) I found myself singing along to the sounds and unable to sit still. A couple of people from our party started dancing, right in the middle of the huge crowd. A few songs in, we couldn't stand it anymore, we were all up on our feet. By the end of the second set a group had formed in front of the stage, with dreadlocks flailing they were dancing around like at a punk rock concert. Our group ran up there to dance with them. In between one song the band noticed me (I was about a foot taller than everyone else!) and asked me where I was from. The guitar player announced to the crowd, "we have a visitor from the U.S., welcome, thanks for joining us!"
The third part of this story jumps to Saturday night when my roommate, a co-worker and I all went to a new night club in town. We got there at nine and the DJ spun U.S. hip hop and pop while girls and guys dressed to the nines stood around, staking out the place and each other. Two hours later, by 11 the place was packed and if you wanted to move anywhere, you had to dance your way through. It felt quite like a CUA Wednesday night out at Sake or a Rita House Halloween at The Onion!
This may seem like its just a weekend of partying, but for me, it was something more. I was able to bond with my roommate and co-workers, meet new people, be welcomed by strangers, and feel at home all through dance. Even though universals manifest in different ways across cultures, I'm still always amazed by how much you can connect to strangers through something fun you have in common.
As a side note, I discovered something else that is universal -- girls get drunk at clubs and fall over you no matter where you are ;)
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