I was taken aback when a co-worker asked me where I was born… I answered the Philippines, of course… then he said, ” I mean, on what island .?????” I thought for a minute before replying….Uhm… Luzon Island ???
I told him I’d always thought of my birthplace as a country and not an island ( if that makes sense). Well, the Philippines is comprised of 7, 641 islands ( or 7, 107 at high tide, ha ha ) , and though I find his question a bit strange, I have to admit it makes sense… After all, the former name of the Philippines was Las Islas Filipinas ( as a Spanish colony.. .. islas means islands ) , Philippine Islands ( as American colony) , Commonwealth of the Philippines, ( still American colony) , then Republic of the Philippines ( after independence)
So, I ran off to tell my Filipino co-worker and she was surprised, as well. I mean, we have the same mindset. We don’t consider ourselves “island people ” . Japan is an island. Indonesia , Singapore… Come to think of it… England. Here’s the thing… it’s A-Okay to be considered an islander. I find it very exotic… it evokes images of beautiful, tropical islands with white beaches, palm and coconut trees swaying in the breeze…
Most importantly, Palawan Island ( which is on the video above) is the location of TUBBATAHA REEF, a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site, the most protected site in the world. The biodiversity of Tabbutaha Reef surpasses that of Galopagos’ and Hawaii’s combined. Then , there’s Apo Reef, the second largest contiguos coral reef system in the world , and is a highly protected site ,located in the waters of Occidental Mindoro in the Philippines. The reef is submerged, of course, but are marked by 3 uninhabited islands, Apo Island, Apo Menor, and Cayos del Bajo. Like Tabbutaha, it is a no- take- zone., and just like Tabbutaha, it is patrolled by the Phil. Navy 24/7. Despite that, Chinese poachers still encroach and fish illegally. On one Chinese fishing boat, they found turtles , manta rays, sharks, etc. ( maybe for their shark fin soups and turtle soups which the Chinese love ). I know I’m being politically incorrect, but I;m just stating a fact. I hope the Chinese people desist from consuming stuff that come from endangered animals. . Stop eating shark fin and turtle soups ! ! ( and buying elephant tusks for ivory. It’s outrageous. )*whisper* I don’t even want to mention what’s going on in West Philippine Sea ( South China Sea) .. Palawan is located in that area. How should I say this …. well, the situation there is extremely intense. If you haven’t heard about it, start reading , I beg you. The Philippines is a very small country. This is like David and Goliath.
Anyway….
Here is TUBBATAHA REEF. The preservation of the reefs and Philippine biodiversity is not only for the Philippines, but for whole mankind.
Well, * cough * I wasn’t really born on any of these islands shown above… I was born in Manila, on Luzon island, the biggest island in the Philippines. The city of Manila, shown on the video below, is the reason why I don’t feel like an island girl. Still, I am an island girl, and proud of it. I think the Philippines is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
This is all for now. I hope you can watch the videos. Bye and peace.
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by Jim on March 19, 2019 at 8:51 pm
Ooooooo! an island girl. cool!
Posted by renxkyoko on March 19, 2019 at 9:30 pm
I know, right? I’m an island girl ! !
Posted by Dracul Van Helsing on March 19, 2019 at 11:11 pm
So some of the islands disappear at high tide eh?
I take it no one lives on those islands unless they’re very good swimmers.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 20, 2019 at 12:20 am
Ahaha,yes , I assume about a few hundreds disappear at high tide , also, out of more than 7,000 islands , only 2,000 are fully inhabited. Some are very small, just good enough as picnic area for a dozen people, he he.
Posted by arlene on March 19, 2019 at 11:17 pm
Nice write-up about our country Ren. I still dream of going to Batanes someday!
Posted by renxkyoko on March 19, 2019 at 11:37 pm
Yes, I want to see Batanes, too. My Mom, as well. She says Dad has been wanting to see Batanes .. he used to work with Philippine Airlines , and you know, it was free for him and family, so he’d always say he wanted to just board a PAL plane and see Batanes even for a few hours. His co-workers at PAL said the place was really stunningly postcard pretty.
Posted by arlene on March 20, 2019 at 12:14 am
Does PAL fly to Batanes? The air fare going there is really more expensive than going to Hong Kong or Singapore.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 20, 2019 at 12:38 am
Used to… now I don’t know. On some of the videos, the airplane’s name is Jetstar. Maybe Cebu Pacific, too? More expensive ? Really ? Whoa ! My Mom used to go to HongKong to shop.. She said it was faster to go to Hongkong than to drive from Paranaque to Makati to shop, due to horrible traffic.
Posted by arlene on March 20, 2019 at 12:50 am
I guess that’s true. Traffic is always horrible.
Posted by Ste J on March 20, 2019 at 12:31 am
Be politically incorrect more often, why not! A lot of the stuff the Chinese want for medicine or whatever is just superstitious. Hopefully the younger generations will realise this but until then if it pays poaching will continue.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 20, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Ste J…. how should I say this ( without being provocative ) …. it’s more about territorial poaching. The US has now been given rights to establish its military presence in the Philippines, ( about 7 or 8 bases??) …. my parents are ecstatic. Ugh.. it can’t be helped, I guess ?
Posted by Elmer Nev Valenzuela on March 20, 2019 at 12:11 pm
Islanders are cool people. I have a boss once who takes pride in his birthplace Marinduque. All they do is sing and drink the days away. He landed in our office together with his islander ways and we sing and drank the Fridays away.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 20, 2019 at 2:43 pm
Sing, dance, drink and karaoke the Fridays away. I hope your boss works hard the rest of the week. I heard Filipinos have good work ethics. ( though the drinking with the boss sounds more like Japanese culture )
Posted by pinoytransplant on March 20, 2019 at 6:17 pm
I feel the same way, I don’t think of me being born on an island, as I was born in Manila as well. I guess my daughter who was born in New York City can be an islander too, as Manhattan, by definition is an island.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 20, 2019 at 8:10 pm
If we were born in the Philippines, technically, we are islanders. and yes, your daughter is an islander, too, ha ha, though it’s Manhattan island, USA. ^_^ ” Oh, wait, they sometimes call England, British Isles. (~ ^ _^ ) ~
Posted by usfman on March 21, 2019 at 2:12 am
Well Island Girl. I thank you for checking into my blog. Your videos are very appealing.
Posted by KC Redding-Gonzalez on March 21, 2019 at 1:28 pm
Can’t help remembering the monsoon season in Manila! I kept thinking it was time to collect animals two by two….
Posted by renxkyoko on March 21, 2019 at 2:10 pm
Oh , yes the monsoon season. It’s from June to November. Our summer vacation here in the US is from June to August, so when we were there on vacation, ( 3 weeks to one month ) we spent one week without electricity after a very strong, scary typhoon. It was a new experience for me. We couldn’t even go out because the streets were flooded. The candlelight dinners were nice , though. Ugh. They say Filipinos eat natural disasters for breakfast. Earthquakes, more than a dozen devastating off the charts typhoons every year, and volcanic eruptions. ( shakes head) I think they have already accepted their lot, hence , the “bahala na” attitude ( which means, come what may, whatever will be, will be.) That’s why Filipinos are always on the top 10 list of the happiest people in the world, despite everything, (that includes poverty) …Ooops, sorry for the long reply, ha ha.
Posted by roninjax on March 22, 2019 at 12:18 am
I’ve always considered it a country; yes, island has an exotic ring to it as well. Beautiful country and people. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on March 26, 2019 at 4:15 pm
You know, some people, ( other Asians mostly ) do not consider Filipino people as fellow Asians, but Pacific Islanders… that is really crazy.
Posted by roninjax on March 26, 2019 at 5:48 pm
That’s interesting. I suppose you can enjoy being both. 😀😉
Posted by D K Powell on March 22, 2019 at 6:28 am
I agree – incredibly beautiful ❤!
Posted by renxkyoko on March 24, 2019 at 3:59 pm
Thank you, DK Powell !
But,I didn’t show poverty. I hope the Philippine government gets to solve that problem. T.T
Posted by D K Powell on March 25, 2019 at 8:54 am
Yes, I got to see much of that in Cebu – even there though, it was still beautiful.
Posted by renxkyoko on March 25, 2019 at 2:39 pm
Did you go straight to Cebu from UK? Cebu has an international airport ,I think. That’s the problem with big cities. Migrants from rural areas flock to the city to work, but most of them don’t own homes, and cannot even afford to live in apartments, so they just build shanties on public lands. If the Cebu government doesn’t solve this at the earliest possible time, Cebu will have the same problem as Metro-Manila.
Posted by D K Powell on April 1, 2019 at 9:35 am
No I flew from Bangladesh via Singapore! Yes, there was a great deal of shanty towns. Very interesting seeing poverty rubbing shoulders with wealth…
Posted by johncoyote on March 24, 2019 at 4:12 pm
You are very lucky. One day, I will your Island. I love the sea.
Posted by Amy on March 24, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Lucky to be an island girl!!
Posted by America On Coffee on April 16, 2019 at 1:27 am
Palawan is gorgeous!
Posted by renxkyoko on April 16, 2019 at 1:31 pm
It’s been voted as the most beautiful island in the world two years in a row by the International Leisure and Travel Magazine . Before that, it was Boracay Island, also in the Philipppines, until the government closed the island from tourists for one year. Too many tourists !
Posted by CARL R D'Agostino on April 23, 2019 at 8:59 pm
Enjoyed the post. I was born on an island too but quite different from Asia or Caribbean: Staten Island, New York.
Posted by eduardomaresca on November 5, 2019 at 9:20 pm
While on holiday in San Ildefonso Bulacan (my wife’s town) I didn’t quite feel like being an “island man”, rather I was the “calabau beach man” but it was just a matter of driving 5 or 6 hours and….wow yung feeling na tunay na island man ako was there…..
I married an “inland” woman from the “kabukiran” and the closest sea available is Manila Bay. There is no way around travelling long hours to get to somewhere that feels like truly being on an island but the inland rivers and hidden waterfalls are enough to justify the 14-hour flight