“The sun shines differently in your place,” a French friend told me. “How could you tell?” I asked. She said that she had lived in Vietnam and Tunisia while her dad was serving as a soldier. What she remembered of the Vietnamese sun was that it was so hot and towering. The Tunisian sun had more angle and shadows. They are different from the French sun which is milder and is always not around.
I was more amazed of this realization when a Belgian friend commented that the sun’s rays in her country have more charm. They drape on the cold castles with a lot of tenderness, as if warming them with affection. How touching the sun could be!
All this made me think. If the sun has such beautiful images in these countries, I bet that it is in its most splendid form in the tropics, where it shines the brightest! Of all the seasons of the year, only one qualifies to be tropical – summer. It is when the thousands of islands can truly enjoy themselves basking under the sun.
Unlike East Asian neighbors where the moon is valued more, the Philippines has always been shaped by the sun. Many say that Filipinos have a very sunny disposition. They could be irritable because of the summer heat but instead of being gloomy, they would rather enjoy the beach and have fun! Truly, it’s more fun in the Philippines!! Even during gloomy days of rains and typhoons, Filipinos can bring back the sun by their humor and cheerfulness. Who would have thought of a swimming competition in the flood? Appreciating the blue beach sparkling under the sun, a friend commented that if only Van Gogh had come to the Philippines, he would have been enthusiastic rather than melancholic; he would have painted a sunny, sunny day instead of a starry, starry night.
Sparkling blue beach
But this fondness for the sun can at times lead to senseless and trivial acts. In any case, Filipinos never miss out on one important thing – to be happy in the midst of adversity. Smiles and laughter never run out even with misery around. They continue to be happy despite the misery, and that is truly a mystery. This attitude is common among Filipinos, thanks to that sunny disposition, made possible by family and faith.
Our environment influences how we are and on it I anchor the pages of this blog. Stories will be seen from the optic of someone from the tropics. All my thanks to Sabine who didn’t only teach me to appreciate the sun but also the other fine and funny things in life. 🙂
underthesunofthetropics 