I am met with smiles from four Swazi young men. We take this cool afternoon shower in liesure and exchange stories. And when three or more men are together, what else is there to talk about? Women!
After two or three South Africans mis-identified me as Chinese, I concluded that it was contextual. There aren’t many Filipinos in South Africa. But there are many Chinese. So South Africans are quick to conclude that Orientals they meet are likely to be Chinese.
It was a bit expected for South Africans to mis-identify me [...]
I rode a Public Taxi from the Carlton Centre in Joburg, going back to my backpacker lodge. The “mini-bus” is a combi, it’s the equivalent of an FX or a jeep in the Philippines. I took the front seat.
It was an old rundown Combi, second-hand and imported from Japan. I had to slam the [...]
That’s an exaggeration, you may have surmised. But for the hundred or so people I interacted with in South Africa and Swaziland, it was the first time ever for most of them to meet a Filipino. In fact, they don’t know where the Philippines is.
When asked which country I come from, I always reply: [...]
I have a lot of Johannesburg and Swaziland stories. They’re just waiting to be written, some are just waiting to be published.
I wish I could arrange them in some order. But my mind isn’t that way. I just write the story which I’m in the mood to write at the moment.
So expect a [...]