I always go to Oriental Mindoro almost every year, and it’s interesting to see how this province is developing. It’s not one of the nicest places I’ve been to, but this is the place that has influenced my open-mindedness about things and people.

This is the place where I am reminded of the reason why some of my relatives care about money so much… because I’ve seen how poor most of the people here are. I’m amazed at how they can stand such poverty. People here can still smile and have fun though they don’t have much food to eat, abused by some of the wealthiest families in that area, and not to mention this is one of the places where the Philippine rebels hide to – so they’re almost always the victims when there’s commotion between the government and the rebels.

What captivated my interest in this province is how the Mangyans, the indigenous people of Mindoro, live their lives. It’s sad how these people were shoved off to the side. The Mangyans, with the racism of their fellow Filipinos (Indigenous people are not the most popular people in the Philippines: people here laugh at you when they found out that you’re part of the “minority”), are slowly starting to forget where they came from. Only a small portion of them still practices the Alibata writing system. Most of them don’t dress like Mangyans anymore. Some Mangyans even deny their heritage when they go downtown, or even to Manila.

Yes, I should be against these people who deny they are indigenous people, but I can’t stop blaming the culture in which these Mangyans cause them to lie about their heritage.

(I think I’m going very far out from what I intend to write. I should stop now.)

Anyway, yeah, it’s a nice place to visit when you’re tired of the city life and want to live a simple life for a few days. It’s worth it. :)