It’s funny how you can live somewhere for a while and things just become less than amazing as time goes by. While walking around the city, you start focusing on the traffic, litter and pollution instead of how you can make a difference. While hanging out with friends, you start focusing on the people who are glued to their phones, but forget to appreciate the ones who actually try to have a conversation with you.
I’ll admit that Manila has taken its toll on me as time has gone by, but listening to Colton Haynes of Arrow and Teen Wolf fame talk about our city with his fresh eyes and outsider’s perspective made me smile for days on end. (I’m still smiling now! True story.) See, Colton was right. There is so much beauty in Manila. So, the next time you find yourself having a bad day, just remember these things that Colton loves about our country:
5 Things Colton Haynes Reminded Us About the Philippines at APCC Manila
5. We value real face-to-face conversations.
Something I was surprised to hear from Colton was his observation that Filipinos value real face-to-face conversations. He told us he was pleasantly surprised to see Filipinos engaging in deep conversation wherever he went because he is so used to seeing people with their faces glued to their phone screens back home. And here we thought we were already glued to our screens too much.
4. Filipinas are beautiful.
Most Filipinas that I know complain a lot about a lot of different things about themselves: their lack of height and their skin tone, for example. But Colton got it right when he said Filipinas are downright beautiful. In fact, he and Nikko Ramos of Magic 89.9 talked about how hard it is not to look when a Filipina walks by.
3. We have a loud voice on social media.
Colton told us that Filipinos have a loud voice on social media. When he was slated to appear at the Asia Pop Comic Con, for example, he said so many Filipino fans stood out by tweeting him. (We are proud to say he recognised @wheninmanila on Twitter, too! Hihi.) Let’s keep using that social media voice to spread more good vibes and good advocacies, shall we? 😀
2. Our food is delicious.
Colton expressed how overwhelming it was to be fed Filipino food left and right. While he did crave for a hamburger at one point and claimed he would probably never try balut, he did talk about how good Filipino food is and how generous Filipinos seem to be at offering it. He even joked that he wanted to find a wedding and feed his face during his stay.
1. We are incredibly nice (repeat times one million).
The one thing that Colton kept saying over and over again, though, was that Filipinos are extremely nice. We’re nice, we’re welcoming, we’re nice, we’re generous, we’re nice… Oh, tell us more, Colton! Tell us more! Let’s stay true to that impression and keep the good vibes going everyday, please! 🙂
Meeting Colton Haynes and getting the opportunity to hear his thoughts were just one part of the incredibly memorable experiences that came with being part of Manila’s first Asia Pop Comic Con. See the rest of the highlights in our photo diary here: Asia Pop Comic Con Manila 2015: A Photo Diary Roundup
