My feet take one slight step outside of the box and I am propelled into that exotic, humid misunderstood jewel that lay just across the Pacific Ocean. A turn around in mid-air to drop off a sick passenger in Anchorage and a sprinting stopover in Taipei later, I arrive in the former Spanish colony turned US Navy playground...the Philippine Islands.She receives you with the warmth of Puerto Rico and the opportunity of India. She greets, feeds, and checks your moral compass. You will breathe in her economic contrast of cathedralesque shopping malls just blocks away from children begging in the streets for change. You will eat first class meals at every kind of restaurant from Greek to Brazilian to Japanese yet wonder why there are multiple armed guards at every bank and provincial youth parade.
You, my friend are in the new third world. The sun is setting on the old concrete Asia and rising on the burgeoning middle class. Next time you have to contact customer service there is a good chance you're calling the Philippines. Bilingual, culturally adept to Americans (moreso than other Asian countries) and an open embrace to international cultures, the Philippines is an ideal target for U.S. companies that want to outsource labor.
I was fortunate to get to see the urban as well as the provincial on my trip. I spent time in Manila, Cebu City, Sumilon Island, and Boracay. There is certainly a marked shift in culture, language, landscape, and socioeconomic reality when traveling throughout the islands. My initial impression of the Philippines and her people is one of strength, struggle, warmth, and opportunity. This was my first trip to the Philippines but it certainly won't be my last. More to come in subsequent posts.
My quest for fabulosity lunges forward.
