Bisaya. Lived in Northern/Southern Luzon and Northern/Southern Mindanao. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked in multi-cultural teams, most extensively with Americans. Knows three (3) Filipino dialects.
I have lived in cities in the Philippines all my life and am now in Metro Manila. We spent summers in a rural coastal town as a child.
Filipinos from rural areas are simple and to a degree, lucky, because they are near beaches that we city-dwellers, only dream of going to on occasion. I do wish I was like them, satisfied with the simple life. I have been used to the faster pace in the city and its conveniences that rural living does not appeal to me. I wish we had internet in those areas. Imagine working from home just a few steps away from the beach.
I wouldn’t say people in the rural areas are “less than”. They may not be as sharp or quick-witted in conversation compared to their city-educated peers, but they don’t work in corporate where it’s a necessity.
They may not be as ambitious or driven as the city counterparts because their city counterparts have bazillion bills to pay and need money, while they live with their parents in homes that their great grandparents put up (I’m referring to the rural middle-class to rich). They have little to no worries beyond what to eat and raising children. There is no house or car mortgage to worry about. And if they lose internet access, it’s fine. Their jobs don’t depend on it.
They may not be as “worldly”, or experienced in a variety of cultures like city-dwellers who get to have turkish, chinese, italian food delivered to them through an app. They may not have book collections, or Netflix that will help them think and understsnd western ideals. But they swim beaches or climb trees like no finicky city-dweller can. I have never climbed a tree, and am a poor swimmer.
City and rural dwellers were designed to fit the environment they live in. We can’t look at both from the lens of one and say one is superior. We all die at the end, just at different rates.
