The next day was consumed with logistical concerns such as acquiring a ticket to Taiwan, getting laundry done, arranging for a pre-dawn taxi to MNL, moving to a quieter room (parenthetically, the staff at Euro Tour excels.) By nightfall I was ready to claim my prize, but Apple was nowhere to be found, and the mamasan’s excuses for her absence were vague. Ever practical and enthusiastic, Cutie suggested I simply take her, but it seemed that the whole story was not being told, so I mumbled that I’d be back and moseyed on down the road. Too many fish in the sea.

I soon noticed a tall, slender (a theme develops?) dancer. And boy! Could this gal dance! Those of you who’ve been in AC will recognize the common scenario where a few extroverts busta move and the rest shuffle listlessly. Some old farts maintain that it used to be different but nowadays many girls get started young in the local bars, and by the time they show up on Field(s) at 18, they’re already burned out. At any rate, another common sight is a girl breaking loose for a few moments, then stopping to giggle, hand over mouth.

Dancer was having none of this - she was having instead a ripping good time, paying little attention to the sparse clientele and cutting up something fierce. She seemed almost surprised when I called her down, but exuded the same unabashed enthusiasm offstage as on. I told her I’d be back. We all know the “bird in the hand” axiom, but we also know how much greener the grass can seem, especially with forbidden fruit.

And the apple of my eye was indeed back, in street clothes, playing pool. The encounter was at first awkward; she didn’t seem to know what to say. I assured her it was okay if she wasn’t interested, and she felt compelled to spill the beans: her doctor had instructed her “not to go with men” for a while. I didn’t ask the details. We chatted briefly, she offered to send a picture, and scribbled her email address.

Apple went home and I slid back up the street, summoned Dancer out of her gyrating world, and savored the most gymnastic night of my trip.

Dancer is a fine example of what’s so good about AC. Everyone in Dancer’s family fishes for a living. She is strong from pulling in nets all day, but her grandmother was hobbled by a lifetime of endless labor. And, face it, fishing doesn’t pay much, or for that matter guarantee anything.

Dancer, like many 18 year olds, just wants to laugh and drink and dance and screw. In AC she can do any or all of that every night that she wants to, and in the process earn more money than her father ever dreamed of making. Like Cutie and Apple and many others, she can send money home to help her family.

Exploitation? In the Philippines, the minimum daily wage ranges from about $3.75 to $5. The Cambodian garment industry clamors for orders from The Gap and Wal-Mart, trumpeting that it meets international anti-exploitation guidelines that stipulate monthly pay of at least $45.

These women may be uneducated, but they can do the math.


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