Labas
what fascinates me about the word labas is the possibility that it had been a derivative of the french phrase la-bas(which means over there), if it didnt evolve from our own language. as far as i know, we didnt acquire it from the spanish language, so it has to be french. or is this merely a coincidence? i'd like to think not, considering the allusive character of the filipino word to that of the french, come on, both words points out a place, right? over there is almost like saying, it's outside.
Mama, Papa
is it also coincidence that for most languages, ma and pa, are present in calling the mother and father? ma is one of the easiest words to pronounce, especially for a baby. it's nasalized, doesnt involve tongue movement, and the lip is only required to open a bit to pronounce it. This contrasts of course with the pronunciation of pa, which requires pausing the breathe, it isnt nasalized, or the air passage to the nose is closed unlike with ba, which is just constricted. and pronouncing it, requires the brief tucking of the lips. this perhaps shows that the child is more relaxed in the presence of the mother, than with the father.
Kapwa, shared identity
For so long i've disdained identifying myself with others, and share their lifestyle. This was because, I used to call this herding behavior. For me, when it comes to living your life, you either be an individualist or a cow. And with that black & white world view, I chose the former. But recently, i realized that the whole isnt the sum of its parts, like bushido, and confucian ethics and etiquette, we, filipinos, have our own loob and labas. Like yin and yang, we filipinos preserve a balance, in maintaining our individualism and our pakikipagkapwa, our shared identity, the character that i've stereotyped as animalistic behavior. For what inhibitions I've had in what i am, i believe this revelation had freed me in a way. it had been liberating to be sure that you had belong to a race you could be fiercely proud of.
On Numeracy
I realize that being an artist, i find it harder to solve math problems, because i tend to think in abstract details, having to find a solution in a subscribed way, with immediate representations in numbers, is a bit difficult. Constraints in numeric representation, rules, and strict processes, when it comes to solutions, hinder me, from capturing the essence or the abstract framework in which the problem and the solution are situated. By itself, math can be considered an art. But its canvas to the artist, is daunting. it chains one to the linear approach of finding the solution. Which added to my laziness, studying math = herculean task. Becoming numerate, would perhaps be a life long goal for me.
