Touring the University of the Philippines

At the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, in Quezon City

Many of my Filipino friends graduated from the University of the Philippines, whom I met at events by the UP Alumni Association in Dubai.  So as I planned my trip in March 2008, I wanted to visit their Diliman campus.  Fateful things happened in the process.

It was my first trip home in 40 years.  My family and I left for Chicago in September 1968, and turned our backs on the Philippines.  

My friend Marie arranged for me to stay with her mother,who had lived in Quezon City, a large part of metro Manila, for years and years.  Quezon City happens to be where I was born.  

UP Diliman was virtually in her backyard as well, so it was easy to get to the campus.  Another friend Lucille arranged for two professors to meet me and give me a tour.  The temperatures were moderate, but the humidity was high enough to prompt me to ease my exertion and pace as we walked about.    

I was in that stretch of my life and travels, where I really didn't care to bring a camera and I really didn't even think to take photos with my mobile phone.  I wanted to experience people and places in the moment, as unhindered by devices as possible and thus as fully sensuous as possible - that is, with all of my senses open.

But my trip to Manila added a wrinkle to this.  You see, a few other friends advised me to dress down, so I wouldn't be accosted and maybe robbed.  For me, this meant using an old Nokia phone, instead of my sleek Samsung phone.  The mobile camera was on the latter, which I still brought with me but mostly kept in my pocket.  

The stained glass windows in one building on the Diliman campus clearly caught my eye.  I walked around slowly, and looked around, in that spacious hall, and marveled at the light and shadow and colors.  My new friends - the two professors - happily left me alone and patiently waited for me.

I was far removed from those days when photography was a serious art for me.  Still, I wanted to compose my shots of that stained glass and create something meaningful with them.