The I-Wish-I-Read-These-Books-Before-the-Written-Exam List

No, there is no such thing as reviewing too much for an exam.  I think one of the biggest favors a review can do to you is not so much on the aspect of absorbing as much knowledge as you can.  I seriously think that the biggest favor it can do to you is its ability to shake off those exam jitters by giving you a shot of confidence.  That's the beauty of reading a lot and having fun in the process.  

The journey towards the Written Exams was what I would consider one of discovery.  It's a lot like armchair traveling and it led me to unearth some scholarly treasures from brilliant people who are not exactly household names.  I'd hate to jump the gun so I won't mention them in this paragraph.

But like all reviews, it's a bit impossible to stumble upon ALL  the good reads in time for the exam.  In fact, I came across even juicier reads months after the exams--books and authors I could only wish I could have read prior to taking the third part of the Foreign Service Officers Exam.  Some of these books fit the realm of Social Pychology but they are nonetheless perfect in making you understand how world leaders' and diplomats' minds tick in relation to changing the course of events around the world.

For those who are still in the race to become the next batch of Philippine career diplomats, here are some books you might want to check out (in no particular order):

1. Waiting for Mariang Makiling: Essays in Philippine Cultural History

    Author: Resil B. Mojares

    Useful Link: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=An-ggOOAqAUC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fil&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

    Coming across great reads in Philippine Culture and History can be one of the most challenging aspects in reviewing for the Philippine Culture and History part of the Written Exam.  Thank God for scholars like Resil Mojares.  Resil is an authority in Cebuano studies but more importantly, the depth of his knowledge in Philippine culture and history in general spiked with a characteristic journalistic flair in his writings make his books incredibly enjoyable reads.  

    My boyfriend introduced me to his book, Waiting For Mariang Makiling.  The book is a cocktail of fascinating tidbits on culture and history ranging from an essay that explores how a simple dinner menu from the party society's elites can belie the intrigue and politics characteristic of the period to memoirs from Filipino intellectuals.

    Consider it a backstage peak at the issues revolving around cultural politics and how our nation came to be what it is today.

2. Claiming "Malayness": Civilizational Discourse in Colonial Philippines

    Author: Resil B. Mojares

    

    The fascinating thing about us Filipinos is that we're caught in between Eastern and Western cultures.  To our Asian and Southeast Asian neighbors, we may be a little bit too Western, and to the West, well, we're a little too collectivist and Asian to be considered an extension of the West.  Like it or not, we're a hybrid of disparate cultures and for many, this has caused quite a cultural identity crisis.  This topic is important to study in depth because the roots of our being Filipino today is an invisible hand shaping much of our culture.  Claiming 'Malayness' is another Resil blockbuster that delves deep into this issue.

3. An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines

    Edited by: Alfred W. McCoy

    Useful Link: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=fawaNZu-yqUC&pg=PA311&dq=resil+mojares&hl=fil&sa=X&ei=0WM7VMqAH9LnuQSJ3YCICQ&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

If you love Game of Thrones, my goodness, you will most likely consider this book quite a page-turner as well.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know and feel that Philippine politics has a striking resemblance to the Dark Ages in light of the clout being held by some of the country's most formidable political families.  Political dynasties have become notorious in the Philippine political scene for their role in clipping the country's wings.  Of course, there are benevolent dynasties but seriously, there are more bad eggs in this basket than good ones.  This doesn't just happen in the national arena.  It happens even at the most basic, barangay level, the latter of which has become a training ground forthe sons and daughters of provincial warlords who wish to consolidate and perpetuate their grip on their 'kingdom'.  

I could rattle on and on about this but I would not want to deprive you guys of enjoying this book.  All I can say is that it's fascinating and disgusting to see how some political families are fusing gold and guns to rule their territories, most of the time, at the expense of the general public.  This book is collection of essays from Resil Mojares, G. Carter Bentley, Ruby Paredes, and John Sidel to name a few.  Consider this Game of Thrones Philippine Style.

4. Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics

    Author: John J. Mearsheimer

    Useful Link: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=gP2csQPgMt0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=why+leaders+lie&hl=fil&sa=X&ei=Wmg7VNHGNpOQuASMm4GwAw&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=why%20leaders%20lie&f=false

   We've been taught since we were kids that liars go to hell.  Yes, it's common knowledge that lying is B-A-D.  John Mearsheimer's book may turn your head 180 degrees as he substantiates on why leaders and diplomats need to fib for the benefit of their country in the arena of international politics.  This is an entertaining albeit easy read considering that it is Mearsheimer you're reading.  According to Mearsheimer, leaders lie more to their own people than they do to other countries and world leaders.  This may be an intriguing assertion and you'll have to read the rest of the book to find out why our leaders need to lie a little.  This book will enlighten you on many of history's political foibles and the ruckus failed foreign and national policies have caused.  This book may even change your impressions on Saddam Hussein.

5. The Invisible Gorilla and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us

    Authors: Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons

    Useful Link: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=f8AN1DAud5sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+invisible+gorilla&hl=fil&sa=X&ei=mWo7VM_XA8OUuASpkIGgAQ&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20invisible%20gorilla&f=false

  

   I first came across this experiment by Chabris and Simons in our class in Social Cognition.  Since then, I've searched through the shelves of Fully Booked for this social psychology reading.  Yes, this book may be he last on your list when it comes to reading up for the FSOE but as they say, you can't really judge a book by its cover.  Consider this book the invisible gorilla in your review.  If you're a fan of Malcom Gladwell, you'll most likely love this book to bits owing to its anecdotal style of writing.  As far as international politics, public policy, history, and economics are concerned, this book will make you understand why we never seem to learn from history's costliest mistakes, why many, many things about public policy fail to truly influence human behavior in a positive light, why financial crises keep happening, and why deadly diseases and epidemics are rearing their ugly heads yet again.

   People often view international relations from a macro perspective--which is not exactly a bad thing.  It's just that zooming out makes you miss the details that can create waves of differences later on.  The Invisible Gorilla is a an x-ray vision on the small things that make a world of a difference most especially in international politics.

These five books are only the tip of the ice berg.  I'll find time to write about other essential books to cover whether it's for your review or just plain rainy day reading :)

Inclusive Growth and All That Jazz

One of the frequently recurring topics during the FSOE regardless of the tyoe of test is that of Philippine Development.  I remember being asked about inclusive growth and about new ways of computing Gross Domestic Product during the exam on top of questions on poverty and unemployment.  Considering that one of our possible sources of growth are foreign direct investments, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that diplomats will have a crucial role in making things happen.

Here is a Talk of the Town article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer which I recently came across with.  It talks about concrete and tangible means in bringing about inclusive growth--the kind of ecoomic growth that doesn't get stuck at the upper echelons of society.  I'm tempted to jump the gun and rattle on but I'll let you read the article for yourself.

STRATEGIES FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
by Robert Evangelista
Philippine Daily Inquirer


Here is the complete article by Robert Evangelista on The Strategies for Inclusive Growth.  Oh, and if you do get asked about any of the startegies he propsed, don't forget to cite him :)

The Philippines successfully concluded hosting the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia which highlighted the impressive economic gains under President Aquino’s administration.

Just last year, despite Supertyphoon “Yolanda’s” widespread devastation, the country chalked up a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7.2 percent, the second highest in Asia, next only to China, although GDP growth slowed to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year. The World Bank revised its growth projection for the Philippine economy downward from 6.7 percent to 6.6 percent for 2014.

It scored investment grade ratings from all three major global credit rating agencies, the first time in its history and stood out as the fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). From being labeled the “sick man of Asia,” the Philippines is poised for a long-term growth trajectory and real economic takeoff.

Virtually unchanged

And yet, despite this stellar performance, poverty incidence has remained virtually unchanged from 25.2 percent in 2012 to 24.9 percent in the first semester of 2013 (Philippine Development Plan Midterm Update; Annual Poverty Indicator Survey). In poverty reduction, the Philippines has lagged far behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, namely, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam (Diagnosing the Philippine Economy—Toward Inclusive Growth, Asian Development  Bank [ADB] book, 2011).

The unemployment rate even worsened, as it rose to 7.5 percent in January 2014 from 7.3 percent in 2013 and the underemployment rate hovered at a high 19.5 percent for a total of 27.0 percent of the entire labor force (ADB Outlook, 2014). We already have 10 million Filipinos working overseas.

The Philippines had the highest unemployment rate for 2013 among all the 10 Asean countries (International Labor Organization [ILO] 2014 Report). See Table.

In fact, the increase in wealth of the top 40 richest Filipinos in 2011 was equivalent to 76.5 percent of the Philippine GDP growth for that year (Habito, Inquirer, June 26, 2012), manifestly showing that economic progress has disproportionately favored the economic elite.

The once vaunted “Filipino First” policy has morphed into a “Rich Filipino First” policy, as much of the country’s resources and wealth have been gobbled up by economic oligarchs. Simply stated, the remarkable economic growth has not been inclusive, bypassing the poor and the unemployed.

Inclusive development

While it is true that our chronic twin problems of poverty and unemployment may not be solved overnight, their alleviation and mitigation can be considerably hastened with  innovative, stimulating and productive transformational strategies that  will significantly uplift the lives  of all Filipinos, including the poorest of the poor.

Our people cannot afford to  wait for remedies that are agonizingly slow in coming. They need  solutions with immediate and powerful impact. The following are compelling proposals and programs that will help bring this about.

INFORMAL settlers occupy one side of a waterway in Pasay City. In the background is the skyline of Makati City. EDWIN BACASMAS

Charter amendments

The first commandment of the 10 commandments of the amendatory process, according to Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, in his book “American Constitutional Law” (2000), is that the Constitution should not embody economic policy. The constitutions of other countries are wisely silent on economic issues and, thus, they retain great flexibility in enacting economic laws responsive to the demands of the rapidly changing times.

But not the Philippines, where we have disregarded or overlooked this principle on constitution-making, for our fundamental law expressly embodies ultranationalistic economic provisions limiting foreign ownership and investments in vital sectors of the economy.

As a consequence, the Philippines has harvested the bitter fruits of this monumental constitutional blunder. Because of these misguided economic policies deeply embedded in our Constitution, for decades the Philippines has lagged far behind its Asean-5 neighbors in  economic growth, foreign investments, job generation and poverty alleviation.

Lowest FDI

In the matter of foreign direct investments (FDIs), data from the UN Conference on Trade and Development show that for  2010-2012, the Philippines received only $6.8 billion in FDIs, while its Asean-5 neighbors received more than triple or quadruple: Vietnam—$23.8 billion, Thailand—$25.5 billion, Malaysia—$31.4 billion and Indonesia—$53  billion.

Our current level of FDIs remains at the bottom of the pack among these countries,  according to the Foundation for Economic Freedom. See bar chart.

But now, we have before us the golden opportunity to dismantle these impediments to progress once and for all. Ongoing proceedings in Congress seek to amend the Constitution by simply adding the crucial phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to those provisions which limit or restrict foreign ownership and investments in certain significant sectors of the economy, notably in natural resources, land, public utilities, educational institutions and mass media.

These amendments are designed to attract massive investments into the economy because it is mainly through investments, especially foreign direct investments that jobs are created and poverty is reduced, resulting in inclusive development.

Philippine economic growth has been primarily consumption-driven, not investment-led and employment-oriented. We urgently need enormous investments in infrastructure, factories, natural resources, utilities, industry, agriculture and tourism.

The Philippines is in the process of adopting a comprehensive competition law as part of its commitment to the economic integration of Asean by end-2015. The integration will herald a “new era for borderless competition” across industries, as it is expected to transform the Asean countries into a single production base and market of over 600 million people, where there will be free movement of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.

Fragmented competition laws

While the Philippines has more than 30 laws relating to competition, they are fragmented and not fully compliant with Asean guidelines, according to the Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review 2014.

The essence of a truly democratic free-enterprise system is competition. This proposed competition framework aims to unify all laws, regulations and policies that promote competition, innovation and productivity, rather than dishonesty, corruption and rent-seeking. The framework also aims to eliminate monopolies, cartels and unfair competition.

Antidynasty law

Political dynasties are expressly forbidden by the Constitution (Art. II, Sec. 26), but this prohibition is not self-executory as it is qualified by the phrase “as may be defined by law.”

Despite numerous valiant attempts, the proposed ban has been doomed, as Congress is regarded as the principal playground of political dynasties, which cannot be expected to embrace a law that would bring about their own political demise.

According to the Movement Against Dynasties (MAD), 80 percent of the Philippines is controlled by political dynasties. Even now, new dynasties are mushrooming all over the country. Political dynasties are “the source of corruption, massive cheating, violence, poverty, poor education and the stranglehold over business, the police and even the military where dynasties rule,” said MAD cochair Danilo Olivares (Inquirer, May 29, 2014).

A law banning political dynasties, now again pending approval in Congress, would democratize political power in the country by guaranteeing equal access and opportunity to public office, especially to poor but competent and deserving candidates.

Perhaps, in time, transforming leaders not belonging to entrenched political families, will ultimately be able to take over the reins of government and bring about accelerated inclusive development.

Good governance

Corruption is the top problem faced by developing countries, according to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. The persistence of rampant corruption is one of the principal reasons for Philippine poverty and underdevelopment. The cost of corruption in government is stupendous, about P250 billion a year, according to the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project.

Corruption is one of the most critical constraints to foreign investments and, hence, to sustained and equitable growth. It also weakens investor confidence, undermines tax collection, causes poor conditions of infrastructure, hinders the pace of poverty reduction, reduces productive employment opportunities, and is a major contributing factor to inequalities in access to education, health and other productive assets (Diagnosing the Philippine Economy).

Agrarian reform

Hence, the merits of the invisible hand of the market—first asserted more than two centuries ago by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, in his classic tome “The Wealth of Nations”—must be balanced by the virtues of good governance. There must be transparency and accountability in governance, and corruption must be exposed to the light of day for, as Justice Brandeis sagaciously declared, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

A major key to inclusive development is higher agricultural productivity. Two-thirds of poor Filipinos reside in rural areas and depend predominantly on agricultural employment and incomes (Diagnosing the Philippine Economy).

According to the World Bank, developing the agricultural sector in a sustainable manner represents the only viable way out of poverty. It further asserts that land reform significantly improves the well-being of farmer beneficiaries, as they accumulate capital and assets at a faster rate than nonfarmer beneficiaries and their farms are more productive.

Many of the flourishing economies in Asia, notably China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, have utilized their successful agrarian reform programs as a springboard to effectively transition to  rapid industrialization.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), together with its extension (Carper), is set to expire on June 30, without having completely achieved its objectives. According to an Asia-Pacific Policy Center study, under CARP poverty incidence decreased  and landowner incomes increased. It is, therefore, advisable that CARP be continued and allowed to be fully implemented.

To make agrarian reform truly effective, however, these critical constraints must be remedied: lack of farm-to-market roads, irrigation systems, postharvest facilities, financial support, training and agricultural extension services.

‘Arangkada’

The Arangkada (“Move Fast”) program is a 10-year roadmap launched in 2010 by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), whose main message is that the Philippine economy has grown so slow for so long a time that it has to double its growth rate and move twice as fast to create jobs, eliminate poverty and catch up with its faster-growing neighbors to enable the economy to compete in an increasingly interlinked world.

According to Arangkada, the three biggest challenges facing the Philippine economy are to move up to a higher level of sustained growth, create more and better jobs, and make growth inclusive. It further asserts that existing massive unemployment and poverty can best be solved by investments made by both locals and foreigners, and that competitiveness is the key to attracting those investments.

Industrialization

Industrialization is crucially important to rapid economic prosperity of developing countries. Sustained economic growth, as the foundation for reducing poverty and converging to high income, is the result of incessant structural change through industrial upgrading and diversification (Lin, “The Quest for Prosperity—How Developing Economies Can Take Off,” 2012).

The most important component of the industrial sector is manufacturing, a major driver of growth, which in the Philippines constitutes around 70 percent of total industrial output. But there are major constraints to be overcome, mainly high power costs, poor infrastructure, difficulty of doing business and protectionist measures.

After World War II, the Philippines was next only to Japan in economic progress. But it  has been left behind by its Asean neighbors in attaining economic growth and eradicating poverty because of its erroneous industrial strategy. It adopted and lingered too long on import-substitution and protectionist industrialization, and failed to timely shift to the promotion of export-oriented and labor-intensive industries.

The Philippines has embarked on a reindustrialization program to recoup its lost industrialization. Manufacturing last year posted a 10.5-percent growth, nearly double the 2012 growth of 5.4 percent, although its growth moderated to 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year.

But this revival is driven predominantly by robust domestic demand, while manufactured exports have still to diversify and intensify from over-reliance on semiconductors and electronic products.

Not etched in stone

Our economic principles and beliefs are not etched in stone or memorialized in solid granite. As Charles Darwin aptly reminds us: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, rather it is those most responsive to change.”

Economic dynamics constantly change and we cannot just remain mired in the past or have our perspectives frozen in time. We cannot remain stubborn and unreasoning in our feudalistic, antiquated, insular, and corrupt ways and practices, and continue to lag behind our Asian neighbors in the march toward inclusive progress.

Be bold

We must adapt and keep attuned to the revolutionary and fast-evolving international developments, especially to the new highly globalized, integrated and interdependent world, governed by modern state-of-the-art information and communication technology systems.

Now is the time to boldly confront and decisively challenge these intractable critical barriers and formidable structural bottlenecks to inclusive development. We have it within our powers to jump-start and redouble our efforts to radically change for the better the lives of our poor and marginalized countrymen; achieve a more just, humane and egalitarian  society; and engender prosperity shared by all, through equal opportunity to avail ourselves of the abundant resources and blessings of genuine democracy.

(Robert Evangelista was chief legal counsel of the Philippine Center for Immigrant Rights based in New York. He pursued postgraduate studies in law and economics at the University of the Philippines [as UP Law Center scholar], constitutional law at Harvard and international economics at Oxford. He can be reached at evangelista.robert@gmail.com.)

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/76044/strategies-for-inclusive-development#ixzz36ByOJZt6
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The Test that We Should've Had

This entry is in no way related to one's prepaprations for the Foreign Service Officers Exam (FSOE) but this is a little thought that I have been toying around for quite some time now as far as foreign service is concerned.

I love the fact that compared to the FSOE exams of some other countries, the Philippine FSOE has made it a point to include Foreign Language as one of the subjects in the Written Test.  This highlights the importance that we place in making sure our career diplomats are able to communicate effectively with more people from around the world.  Yes, English is still one of the most widely used languages the world over but English is not the only language that millions of people are using every day to talk to each other, to connect with each other.

There are severel hundred million people out there who do not understand a word of English because they only understand other major languages like Mandarin, Spanish, German, Arabic, French, or Japanese.  As career diplomats, it is very important for us to take great strides in learning the mother tongue of our host country.  Of any country we will ultimately be posted in.

But more than being able to forge relationships and build connnections with other countries through embracing their language, it is even more important for Filipino career diplomats to truly be able to forge strong relationships with our Overseas Filipino Workers.  After all, apart from protecting our national territory and promoting economic growth, upholding the rights of our OFWs is at the heart of our duties and responsibilities as career diplomats.

If I were to add one more subject in the FSOE, I would definitely push for a written and oral exam for Mother Tongue/Local Languages simply because if we are expected to truly uphold the rights of our OFWs, we must also take it upon ourselves to help them adjust well, to help them feel at home in a country that is foreign and strange to them.  Having transferred residences several times becuase of my work in a multinational company, I know how it feels to be alone in a place where everyone speaks a different language.  It can get tremendously lonely such that I find myself getting all excited whenever I would hear some random stranger talk in Cebuano only because it's a much-awaited glimpse of home.

Language is that powerful because it is one of the simplest indicators that make you feel and know that you are not an outcast.  That you belong to the group and this has a profound impact in helping people adjust to a new environment.  Language helps people settle in and be comfortable.  When you are in a foreign land, talking to someone in your mother tongue can make the loneliness and the homesickness a little bit more bearable because somehow, you know that even if you are far away are not on a solo flight.

I was told that several OFWs don't only pay a visit to the Philippine Embassy wherever they may be to simply process their passports or other documents.  Many of them visit the embassies/consulates to talk about other important concerns especially about their work and about settling in.  We all know that not all of these OFWs come from the Greater Manila Area or the Tagalog-speaking regions in the Philippines which means that many of them, although they can communicate in our national language, Filipino, are more comfortable talking about these concerns using their mother tongue.  We have so many OFWs who understand and who are more conversant in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, and other major Philippine languages more than Tagalog.   Wouldn't it be a greater service to these OFWs if their career diplomats are able to converse with them in a language that they are comfortable to converse in?  Wouldn't that enable them to truly voice out and explain their concerns?  Wouldn't that small action make a big difference in their hopes to adjust and feel at home in a foreign land?

Here is how I see this happening.  Aspiring Foreign Service Officers will be asked to pick out one local language from a list of predominantly spoken regional lamguages in the Philippines in the same way that we were asked to choose a foreign language from a roster of choices.  The examinees will then be tested for their proficiency in this chosen language both through written and oral exams.  The most important test for this would be the oral exams where the examinees will be tested on how conversant they are in this chosen language.

Later on, an FSO's mother tongue can become one of the bases in his or her future assignments.  Data from the different embassies will be gathered to list down the most widely-spoken regional/local languages/mother tongue of the OFWs in a particular country.  In Spain, for example, particularly in Barcelona, there is a community of Ilocano OFWs who I ak sure would be delighted to talk to someone in the consulate who speaks in Ilocano.  The list goes on.

We shouldn't just stop there.  Using this data, FSOs who will soon be assigned in a particular country must be given an intensive course on the top 3 regional/local languages/mother tongue being spoken by OFWs in that country.  This improves communication and feedback and more importantly, it helps  big time in making the OFWs feel the presence of their diplomats and the efforts of their diplomats in helping them settle in.

This is one way I think career diplomats can truly live out our commitment in upholding the three pillars of Philippine Foreign Policy.

The Weird Comments People Say About Being in Foreign Service

When people knew I was a Key Accounts Executive and ergo into sales, they would trivialize my work as that of selling shampoo, soap, cheese, of chocolates.  Later, when they learned that I had passed the Foreign Service Officers Exam, they think the bulk of my job is about stamping passports. I don't know whether to be amused, annoyed, or both.  But let me share with you some of the common misconceptions that people have about this new chapter in my life.  If ever you decide to take the FSOE someday, take heart.  People can make weird, sometimes insensitive comments and I suggest it is better to laugh these things off than to make them feel your wrath.  Not worth thee ffort, I swear.

Weird Comment #1: Foreign service!  That's my dream job!  I've always wanted to stamp people's passports all day!

This is probably one of the most common comments my batch mates and I keep on receiving from time to time.  Really now, people, I believe it's not a career in Foreign Service that you want.  It's a career in Immigration.  FSOs will not be stamping passports.  Hang on a little bit more and I'll get to the part on what an FSOs job is really about.  Suffice to say, FSOs will be taking care of stuff like high level negotiations and making sure that everything we do is aligned to the 3 pillars of Philippine Foreign Service/Policy.  This includes making sure our national territory is protected and secure, the rights of our OFWs are upheld, and that we forge partnerships with other countries to inspire economic growth.

Weird Comment #2: Great that you are in Foreign Service and that we know each other!  I can finally get my passport processed fast!  Hope you can prioritize me.

*dry, sarcastic laughter here* isn't it funny that we complain so much about nepotism, red tape, and favoritism in the system when in fact some of us are patronizing and perpetuating this kind of culture? Please do me, yourself, and the country a favor.  Please fall in line and wait for your turn.  We can't expect others to be disciplined if we can't discipline ourselves now, can we?  Good that we have an understanding.

Weird Comment #3: Can you help me get my US/Canadian/whateverelse Visa approved?

My batch mates and I work for the PHILIPPINE Foreign Service.  This means that we only get to issue PHILIPPINE VISAS.  For US/EU/Canadian visas, kindly check with the embassies and consulates of the country you wish to enter.  Apologies, but our job has its inherent limitations.

Weird Comment #4: You're gonna be rich!

Rich with travel experience, I'm sure.

Weird Comment #5: Can I send some stuff I'm going to sell in the Philippines under your name?  It'll help me lower down the costs since you get to send things for free and thus increase my profit margins.

Oooohh...I smell smuggling.  Check out House Bill 1694.

How Not to Go Broke Over Your Filipiniana

This is a special post for the ladies, especially to those of you who will make it all the way to the Oral Exams.  I really hate to break it to you, girls, but taking the Foreign Service Officers Exam isn't just about investing your time into something that could possibly change your life forever.  Honestly, taking the FSOE also means investing your hard-earned cash into the uncertain.  Allow me to highlight this if you're not from Manila because apart from the Qualifying Exams, you need to psyche yourself for the inevitable truth that the rest of the other stages will take place in (*drum roll*)--yes, the capital city.  The only exception might be if there is a substantial number of examinees from any of the next wave cities in the Philippines like Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, or Davao.

I'm not just talking about spending for plane tickets, though--which is already a given.  And mind you, the flights don't come cheap since the changes in test schedules can be both abrupt and unexpected.  I've had batch mates working abroad who needed to rebook flights just to accommodate the exam schedules and everyone knows that those elusive promo fares pop up months before your desired travel date.

It wasn't until the Orals when I realized that the other item that requires you to dig deep into your pockets is your outfit for the Formal Dinner.  The Formal Dinner is the finale of the entire FSOE.  This happens on the third day of the Orals and is coupled with the Public Speaking Exam.  I swear I've never felt more nervous in my entire life.  I was so nervous my knees were shaking involuntarily and I could feel a cough trying to crawl up my throat.

Anyway, the Formal Dinner has a particular dress code.  The gents are required to wear either a coat and tie or the classic barong tagalog.  The women, on the other hand, can either choose between an evening gown or a Filipiniana.

Almost all of the ladies in our batch donned resplendent Filipinianas.  I chose an evening gown though for the reason that I was pressed for time and I was seriously scrimping.  In fact, I opted to take care of my own make-up, and I opted for a hairdresser who can help me whip up a classic chignon for only Php 300--quite a steal, considering I was staying in Makati at that time.

This post is for the ladies who have all plans of scrimping their budget for the Formal Dinner getup without having to sacrifice quality.  A few designers here and there might get iffy about this little cheat sheet but what the hey?  Every girl needs to know how to dress to impress without busting her bank account--especially if it's only a one time event.

If you're the type who wants to wear a classic Filipiniana without borrowing one from a friend or spending more than Php 5000 to buy a new one, the secret is no secret at all.  I realized this little cheat when I was placed in a situation that required me to come in a Filipiniana for an event that was about to take place roughly a week after I had received the invite.

What I basically did was to pick out one of my read-made long gowns (something I purchased on a discount at a mall in Cebu) and had my designer friend, Josip, transform it into a Filipiniana by simply adding Filipiniana sleeves that perfectly matched the original evening gown.  This only cost me less than a thousand pesos for everything from the materials to the labor.  The great thing about this was that I wasn't only able to save big bucks from having a brand new Filipiniana sewn for a one-time event, I was also able to recycle a gown I had only really worn twice since the day I bought it.

So if you really want to don a Filipiniana for the Formal Dinner without breaking the piggy bank, you can simply grab a nice RTW gown (make sure it looks decent and respectable enough) from your favorite boutique or department store and simply have the classic Filipiniana sleeves sewn on them.  The best type of gown for this transformation are the spaghetti-strapped or the strapless gowns.  This gives your designer or seamstress enough room to give your gown a new lease on life.  There are several gowns that cost less than Php 3000.  I even tried picking up a very elegant one for only Php 800.  Sleeves can cost you anywhere between Php 300-600.  Just make sure you pick someone who knows how to make and attach those beautiful sleeves.

The moral of the story is that a little creativity can go a long way.

A Little Tip on World History

Just moments before our pens touched the paper for the World History test during the Foreign Service Officers Exam, one of our proctors cleared his throat and said, "Our batch back then used to fear the World History test because it is the most difficult subject among all other subjects of the Written test."  Nothing like a nice, reassuring note, really.  I gripped my pen tightly when I heard those worlds and I could feel my stomach make a slight somersault.

There is a grain of truth when past batches would say that the World History test is one of the hardest--if not the hardest--and that is because the test can, at times, get a little bit too objective for anyone's taste.  Yes, there is a chance that you might be asked about people whose small actions made a big difference in the pages of history and it doesn't stop there.  You might be asked to enumerate their contributions, the explain the significance of a tiny event, maybe even at some point to discuss how the dawn of farming gave birth to the wars of the 21st century.

The bigger challenge here is that not all history books will have you at the edge of your seat.  Believe me, I've come across so many history books that can pass off as willing substitutes to sleeping pills.

Like all other subjects covered in the FSOE, the trick to preparing isn't just about working hard.  It's also about working smart--of covering as much ground as you can given the limited number of months you have to prepare for a test with a high level of uncertainty in tow.

As far as World History is concerned, I ditched nearly 80% of the books I hoarded at the beginning and instead resorted to what was then my new found best friend--History Channel.

History Channel is a treasure trove of documentaries on countless milestones in World History.  The beauty about the History Channel documentaries is that they don't just give you a presentation of what happened.  Each documentary is carefully crafted to explain how slight ripples of actions were more than enough to create waves in the story of humankind.  I like how History Channel's documentaries are able to humanize the stories that we have heard time and time again in our History classes.  These documentaries are able to give depth to issues and to people we have long ago passed our judgment on.  Sometimes, I find it quite fascinating that in certain events, the villain and the hero are one and the same person.

Here are five documentary series I highly recommend any reviewing examinee to watch.  These stories will not only help you gear up for the exam.  It will change the way you look at the story of all of us.

Mankind: The Story of All of Us

Mankind is my all-time favorite documentary on World History simply because the storytelling is unbeatable.  If schools used this documentary series to teach kids about World History, I'm pretty certain no one will doze off.  Mankind is a 12-part documentary series that manages to capture the most important milestones of World History in a nutshell.  I'm tempted to spill the spoilers but I guess I'll have to zip my mouth or I'll run the risk of ruining your entire viewing experience.  Mankind's strength is its ability to bring to the forefront profound lessons from real experiences not just of history's greatest leaders but even lessons drawn from the experiences of people, places, and events many of us have overlooked.  This documentary will serve as a great supplement to any history book you are currently reading.

Declassified

Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, and Fidel Castro are among the few people deemed as some of the world's greatest 'villains'.  At least that is how some people would like us to think.  But as they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.  At the end of the day, it may be just a game of perception.  It may depend on who the storyteller is and from whose eyes one is viewing history.  Declassified is a documentary series that tackles the rise and fall of many of history's most striking dictators and 'terrorists'.  It also sheds light on some of the greatest conspiracy theories of all time so that everyone may get a glimpse of who the puppet master and the puppets truly are.  I find this documentary essential to watch because it will help you understand the roots of some of history's greatest conflicts and why some men resort to the dark side to realize what they believe are noble intentions.

Engineering an Empire

Empires are yesterday's superpowers.  These are the powerful civilizations, on the shoulders of which today's superpowers are standing on.  This documentary tells the story of World History from the paradigm of technological development.  It's a tour through Egypt, Rome, Russia, and China to name a few in an attempt to show us that no civilization, no empire has the monopoly of all knowledge and technology.  The main point of this series is that technology is the heritage of all mankind.  The development of technology is a constant flow of one idea being built on top of another in an attempt to foster continuous development for the benefit of humanity.

America: The Story of Us

One's study of World History will never be complete without digging deep in the history of today's most prominent and most influential superpower--The United States of America.  Created in the amazing storytelling tradition of Mankind , America relives the story of how the United States, a former colony of Great Britain, came to rise and surpass the glory of its mother nation.  It's the classic story of zero to hero--a common theme one finds in many American stories.  This documentary takes you through the American psyche.  After watching this series, you will come to understand why the North Americans are some of world's greatest risk takers and innovators.

Innovators: The Men Who Built America

How exactly did America reach superpower status and when did it all begin?  Not a lot of people realize that the USA's status as one of the most technologically-advanced, and one of the most influential nations in the world started from the dreams of five men who pushed the boundaries and the limitations of technology and commerce during their day.  From the creation of massive railways (Vanderbilt) to the development of automobiles (Ford), business, industry, commerce, and innovation form the foundation of America's success.  The best part is that these five men don't even realize the impact their competition would have not only on the USA but on the entire world as well.

On a final note, when you study for World History, don't just stop at the usual overview.  Go full-circle by studying the history of today's most influential nations and international organizations.  Include the history of the USA, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the ASEAN in your study list and try to find how each of their histories overlap.  The secret to World History is about finding the threads that tie all of mankind together.

Serendipity and The Great Migration: How Social Psychology Saved My Soul in the FSOE

When people prepare for the Foreign Service Officers Exam, they either turn to a degree in law in order to prepare for the International Law subject in the test, or they opt to pursue a Master's degree in International Relations.  

Personally, it was a different path for me and the best part was that it was never intentional.

It was 2011 and the FSOE was the last thing I could think of.  I was in the midst of the flurry of my job in a multinational company busy trying to hit each month's targets (which kept getting higher every month!) while balancing it with my part time job as a travel and lifestyle correspondent for one of Cebu's major dailies.  In between all that, I'd usually hang out at the mall until it hit me:  there's a better way for me to use whatever remained of my spare time instead of simply spending it to go window shopping every day.

That's when I decided to pursue a Master's degree.  I did not have any particular course in mind at that time because honestly, I just really wanted to do something more productive after work.  I browsed through the website of the University of San Carlos and the first thing that caught my eye was the Master's degree in Psychology.  After giving it a good, hard though for the next ten minutes, I made my decision.  I am going to take up the program that people would least expect me to take.

The first choice was Industrial/Organizational Psychology but halfway through the first semester, I had made good friends with the Social Psychology people that I opted to make a great migration to Social Psychology instead.  That's where the real fun started.

It wasn't until October 2012 when I decided to take my chances in the FSOE that I realized what a huge blessing that was.  

Social Psychology doesn't exactly ring a bell to most people which is ironic because everything that happens in our world from the way we choose the products that we want in the supermarket to how we think about an issue to how we make our close relationships work is the concern of this field in psychology.

What is great about social psychology is that it provides you with a meta theory which deepens your level of analyses just when you thought that it was enough to talk about the territorial disputes from a political or economic paradigm.  Through evolutionary psychology, social relations, cultural psychology and other sub-fields, you get to dig deeper into the issue where you get to start talking about motivations and tipping points in human emotion.  That's only a start as far as social psychology is concerned.

One of our required readings in class

 This book is a treasure trove of ideas.  Pick out the topics that are of great

interest to you if you don't have time to read everything.

I'd like to give credit to two of my professors from the University of San Carlos who have crucial in preparing me for the Written Exams--without them realizing it.

It was Sir Glenn Glarino who introduced me into the world of Social Relations, a subject that's very useful when one studies International Relations.  Broadly, Social Relations talks about how a person constructs his identity in relation to his or her various interactions and ties with other people and groups.  One of the theories that we talked about was Relative Deprivation. Loosely, relative deprivation is when a person feels that he or she is unable to get something or experiencing something that he or she believes he or she is entitled to.  This theory is able to explain why groups like al Qaeda are able to attract an ever increasing number of followers and this theory basically forms the framework of the NPA's strategy as far as wining the sentiments of the rural poor go.

This is Sir Glenn.  I love his class to bits!

More than this, Sir Glenn emphasized almost every meeting that it wasn't just important for social psychologists like us to be aware of what's happening in the social and political scene in our country and in the world.  Our role goes beyond that because our responsibility lies in making sense out of these events.  Like journalists, social psychologists need to help people understand why these events are taking place, why certain people resort to terrorism, or why some world leaders opt to take what would seem like the irrational route.  

One practice that I will forever be grateful for was when Sir Glenn would ask us to explain and process certain issues highlighted by the national and international media using particular theories in Social Relations and Social Psychology in general.  I can't thank him enough for this particular discipline especially when I look back to the International Relations part of the exam where we were asked to explain the implications of certain issues.

Another teacher I'm grateful to is Ma'am Delia Belleza.  Ma'am Dels, as we fondly call her, was my professor in Social Cognition, Applied Social Psychology, Filipino Psychology, and Cultural Psychology.  These four subjects were far more important than studying the theories of international relations because the moment I shifted my attention to international relations and economics, I realized that the analyses offered by both subjects were a little bit wanting.  In economics, for example, one can never simply disregard human motivations as mere animal spirits because as far as making decisions go, it all takes root from deep-seated emotions that fuel these motivations.

This is Ma'am Dels and Mallows.  I love the way she handles

her classes.

Social Cognition is basically the love child of psychology and cognitive neuroscience and it explains how people make sense of the world around them.  This was very useful when I took a second look at China's alleged Middle Kingdom mentality.  Applied Social Psychology explained the psychology behind International Relations and International Law--from the study of dictators and terrorists to the conflict between Isreal and Palestine to territorial disputes and even as far as how the justices in international tribunals reach particular decisions.  Filipino Psychology was very important in the Filipino culture part of the exam because the subject specifically tackled the roots of utang na loob, hiya, nepotism, political dynasties, and patronage politics--topics that definitely came out during the exam.  Finally, cultural psychology was the last piece that helped me understand prejudice, stereotyping, and the role of culture in negotiation and the like.  Being a diplomat is playing the game of perception and playing that game well which is why one must never underestimate the role of being able to create strategy from a cultural dimension since diplomats are expected to interact in a very multicultural playing field.

I'd say that if you don't have a lot of time to review, run to Social Psychology as you read up the news.   Don't ever forget that states, nations, and international organizations may be super organisms but these groups are still made up of people.  You'll realize that when you strip down the issues in our world to their bare essentials, almost all issues boil down to very basic, very common psychological issues and motivations.

If I were given a chance to choose a Master's program again before taking the FSOE, you can bet your bottom I'm going to make the same decision.