9.11: A Third World Perspective

"I think we look better in this cold weather."

Unfortunately, this was my only contribution to our discussion the day after the World Trade Center attacks happened, ten years ago. Don't mind my title. I just thought it sounds very intellectual so I put it there.

But I still remember how we got news of the terror attacks. We were in Baguio for a school project. We were there to make a documentary about the city's booming wagwagan a.k.a. ukay-ukay industry. We were having some kind of a pre-prod, planning our itinerary the next day, and then text messages suddenly started to came in our Nokia 5110s.

"Have a good night!" said the first one with an SMS art of a bear, or a dog and with some of the text blinking.  The next ones are from my brother, telling me what they're seeing on CNN right that moment.

We were startled at first and I remember us looking for a tv to confirm the news.

And while the world watched in shock, I went back to my room to dry my shoes that got wet in the rain that day with an electric fan.

Days later, I realized the impact and gravity of the event, thanks to Time and CNN.

Also, our footage and photos confirmed we look better in the cold weather.