Joey Villarama…Who?

I’ve always thought that the international beauty pageant contestant’s wish of
attaining "world peace" was dumb. But after having interacted with journalists from 10 different countries all at the same time, the longing and necessity to achieve such a unified global state, especially in the midst of war and racial conflicts, seem more pressing.  I’m not saying that the journalists at the China-ASEAN coverage were at war.  Sure, there were differences in culture and attitude, but everybody got
along really well. It was this sense of "getting along," despite our being a relatively small international group (compared to the United Nations, that is), that makes me desire for harmonious relations among nations.  It is this very palpable state of peace between the journalist-delegates that I want to magnify  to the world.

Okay, who am I kidding. I’m not saying that there were no tensions between the
delegates. Of course, competition was high despite the fact that the coverage was open to all the invited journalists, as well as the local ones who just walked-in.  Although they did not really represent their government or political ideologies, some delegates, especially from nations who have or used to have border issues initially did not interact with each other.  And hey, I myself was not "Mr. Congeniality."  Although I was my usual, smiling, bubbly
self, I had reservations about some delegates who were acting as if (or so I thought)  they were more superior to the Philippines or to any country for that matter.  But all of these notions and perceptions were wiped away because we all realized that we were the same in very many ways; we were all journalists to be sure, but more importantly, we were all human (and eating the same Chinese food that was served to us, may I add!) despite the differences and perceived advantages we have over one another. 

Despite a country’s claim that their natural resources are more abundant, their
tourist destinations are more captivating and their culture is more superior, the fact is we are all of the same mold. Even if this delegation’s news-gathering equipment is more advanced or a reporter’s writing and speaking abilities are excellent, at the end of the day, when the time of reckoning comes, none of these will matter. (In short, we will all die, get it?)

Seriously, it was really nice to see people who have only been made different by a

certain set of beliefs, cultures and lifestyles, disrobe themselves of the non-essentials and simply become thinking and feeling social beings.  After all, that’s what the Creator of man meant for all His children.

If I were to give to give my farewell walk message as an outgoing beauty pageant titleholder, it would be this: "That the people of the world
may learn to look beyond  each one’s differences and see that each one, no matter what one’s race, religion or political affiliation may be, is really a brother, a sister, and an equal. This is what I dream of, this is what I hope the world will achieve, some day soon… And of course, world peace." Cheers!

I find the reality show Try My Life interesting. It’s probably similar to its progenitors Trading Spaces and Trading Spouses, but the program focuses more on the exchange between two people’s daily routines and their personalities and not merely superficial characteristics or space. Episodes of Try My Life usually end up with both subjects declaring "Your life was not as easy as I thought it would be blah, blah, blah." It really puts sense into the phrase "putting yourself in another’s shoes."

Recently, I found myself in a situation where there was a reversal of roles. I was

recently sent to the southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi to attend a 2 week long pre-event coverage of the 4th China-ASEAN Expo.  (The actual expo will be held on the last week of October and will focus on building economic and cultural agreements between China, which is opening its doors to the trade, share and transfer of goods and know-how with its neighbors, more specifically the 10 ASEAN countries.)

Over 40 journalists from all over China and ASEAN attended the event. The Philippines was represented by ABS-CBN TV News and DZMM Radio. During the event,
organizers went all out to show what China was capable of in terms of manufacturing, logistics, trade and even tourism.  The attendees were brought to the seven developing cities of Guangxi, where ports, power plants, factories and tourist destinations were situated.

In my several years as a journalist, I was always the one to ask the questions. But during the event, I was the one being asked by local and foreign media about what I thought of the places we visited. I really found it surreal to be at the "answering end" of the microphone. I felt awkward, too, when the cameraman or reporter instructed me to position myself in a particular way in front of the camera while I was being interviewed or to pretend there was no camera in front of me as I walked with or talked to journalists around me, so the video would look candid or natural. Here I was, now the subject, but feeling more like an object.

I always thought being interviewed was as easy as giving an answer to the reporter.
But at the back of my head, questions like "Did I make sense?", "Can they pick out a good soundbite out of what I just blabbered about?", "Did I look good on camera? (well, that crossed my mind several times…)" or "Is this really happening?" suddenly pop out.  Sure it was fun; a unique and worthwhile experience which definitely gave me a broader perspective of the

interviewer-interviewee set-up. If anything, the  experience taught me
not to be too overbearing or even mean to my interview subjects,
especially when I’m already pressured to get a good soundbite out of them.