Holy week here is like Thanksgiving week in the U.S. I didn't notice it last year, I think, because we had only just arrived in Manila. Everything was new and different, so I had no reference to what was "normal."
Next week, though, in my office of 12, I think four will be at work - everyone else is on vacation. And trying to schedule meetings this past week with Filipino counterparts was next to impossible: everyone is about to head out and no one wants to start something new. Eventually, I just gave up on the external parts of my job, focusing on the things I could do within my own office.
You'd expect traffic would have started to calm down this week - but you'd be wrong. Everyone seems to be zipping around for last minute shopping in the city before heading back to the provinces next week. The newspaper reports that the police are increasing duty for Monday - Wednesday next week and that the traffic patterns are being altered to facilitate migration out of the city as everyone heads to the provinces. Come Thursday, Manila will be a relative ghost town.
One benefit of staying in town: travel time is at a minimum. Except on Thursday and Friday there's no where to go! Everything will be closed, except the outdoor displays for the Stations of the Cross, with families doing their devotions together. So, one can't take advantage of the clear streets.
By Saturday some places are open, and Sunday it's full swing. I asked last year why everything was open on Sunday - which, in my point of view, should be the holy day. A Filipino coworker explained to me: "Sunday is the happy day because Jesus rose again - and when we're happy, we like to go shopping and eat out."
Next week, though, in my office of 12, I think four will be at work - everyone else is on vacation. And trying to schedule meetings this past week with Filipino counterparts was next to impossible: everyone is about to head out and no one wants to start something new. Eventually, I just gave up on the external parts of my job, focusing on the things I could do within my own office.
You'd expect traffic would have started to calm down this week - but you'd be wrong. Everyone seems to be zipping around for last minute shopping in the city before heading back to the provinces next week. The newspaper reports that the police are increasing duty for Monday - Wednesday next week and that the traffic patterns are being altered to facilitate migration out of the city as everyone heads to the provinces. Come Thursday, Manila will be a relative ghost town.
One benefit of staying in town: travel time is at a minimum. Except on Thursday and Friday there's no where to go! Everything will be closed, except the outdoor displays for the Stations of the Cross, with families doing their devotions together. So, one can't take advantage of the clear streets.
By Saturday some places are open, and Sunday it's full swing. I asked last year why everything was open on Sunday - which, in my point of view, should be the holy day. A Filipino coworker explained to me: "Sunday is the happy day because Jesus rose again - and when we're happy, we like to go shopping and eat out."
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