Made it through another Saturday, and I’m happy for the opportunity to have experienced it. There was nothing out of the ordinary or particularly exciting to report, but I enjoyed it just the same. Let me show you what I mean:
Our walk was short (5K) and sweet. A lazy afternoon, and then it was time to make our way into town.
When we left BarCelona, Swan went into the market and bought some chocolate milk snacks for the kids.
We visited Jewel Cafe for our dinner, and enjoyed our usual:
We did our nightcap at Wet Spot and had a good time with our waitress friends, Beth and Irene. Beth came along on our Candy Walk this morning. Tomorrow is the SOB pool party at Treasure Island, and I bought two tickets to attend from Beth (she earned a commission). So, I’ll be taking a break from the Hash tomorrow and will not feel much sorrow about missing a Guenter trail that once again finishes at the end of Rizal Extension. It’s nice to have options.
Back home a little after eight, enjoyed a Jell-O dessert, and off to bed to prepare for another day.
Today’s memory comes from a 1962 Peter, Paul, and Mary album cover:
Today’s YouTube video purports to reveal the “secret” to living in the Philippines. To me, it is no secret that you can live rich in a relatively poor country if you have a moderate retirement income (I personally wouldn’t want to live on less than $3,000 a month). This guy lives in BGC (Bonifacio Global City), an upscale area in Metro Manila. If you watch the video, he does a nice street walk through town, and you get a taste of what high-rise city life is like there. Not for me; I prefer living richly in my little town, where once I leave my subdivision, I’ll experience what life in the Philippines is really like. As I am wont to say, I may not live in the Philippines, but I can see and hear it from my house.
Perhaps you’ll enjoy the humor in these:
And it is always fun to rag on Facebook:
I’ll be doing my usual Sunday routines once again: a Hideaway feeding, some time on the Arizona floating bar, and then dinner at John’s place. The life I’m living has all the excitement this old man requires. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Tell me why you're crying, my son
I know you're frightened, like everyone
Is it the thunder in the distance you fear?
Will it help if I stay very near?
I am here.
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
Day is done, Day is done
Day is done, Day is done
Do you ask why I'm sighing, my son?
You shall inherit what mankind has done.
In a world filled with sorrow and woe
If you ask me why this is so, I really don't know.
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
Day is done, Day is done
Day is done, Day is done
Tell me why you're smiling my son
Is there a secret you can tell everyone?
Do you know more than men that are wise?
Can you see what we all must disguise
through your loving eyes?
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
And if you take my hand my son
All will be well when the day is done.
Day is done, Day is done
Day is done, Day is done
While I can see the vlogger’s point of view about wanting to live an American lifestyle while in the Philippines, his attitude strikes me as the attitude of foreign expats who insist on not interacting with their local environments, e.g., by learning the language and appreciating the local food. You know this is a long-standing attitude problem of mine; I don’t like seeing, for example, the way Koreans go to a foreign country and immediately seek out Korean restaurants, bars, etc. What’s the point of living in another country (or even visiting it), then? Then again, at least the guy is being honest and saying he prefers an American lifestyle. In the comments below the video, though, at least one commenter takes him to task for not telling the full story, to wit, that insurance while overseas can actually be expensive, and cost of living in the Philippines, when compared with expensive places in the US like New York or L.A., might seem cheap, but what about comparing the PI to cheaper places in the States (they do exist!)?
My basic prejudice is that I’m not a fan of cocooning oneself when abroad. Sure, I get the urge to eat Western food if you’re a Westerner; I do it myself quite often. But in my case, I also eat plenty of local fare, and over the decades, I’ve made forays into Korean culture through interactions in Korean, participation in activities with the natives, etc. This guy sounds like someone who’d rather wall himself off, thereby depriving himself of a fuller experience. Well, I hope he enjoys himself and his chosen life. For him, it seems that being an expat = retreating into one’s protective shell. To some extent, I understand the urge to do that because I’m an introvert, but his spiel in favor of living American-style in the PI isn’t about introversion at all. It’s no different from the Koreans who immediately seek out the local Koreatown.
To be clear, I don’t advocate the other extreme, either, i.e., going native. People who do that strike me as embarrassingly pretentious. A Buddhist middle ground is best.
Kev, I pretty much agree with your assessment of the vlogger’s motivations. I certainly wouldn’t be happy in the environment he’s chosen. I recall looking at housing on the old Navy base, just like a place back home. But I wanted to live in the Philippines! Granted, I’ve taken a middle-of-the-road approach–chose an English-speaking country so I wouldn’t have to learn the language, live in an upscale neighborhood but be able to walk to the “real” world in five minutes, and have a large expat community to hang with. I think my biggest failure has been not making many Filipino friends (other than the female variety), but now I’m part of Swan’s family, so that’s a new aspect. When it comes to food, I like what I like, and almost every restaurant in my town offers lots of options besides the Filipino favorites. So, I tend to stick with what I know. Hell, even after all those years in Korea, I never acquired a taste for rice.
As for the cost of living, yeah, a Western lifestyle and imported goodies will come at a premium price. I could pay a lot less than $750. a month for rent, but I’m willing to pay for the comfort. You’ve seen my grocery bill at Royal every week. Still, I can live the lifestyle I’ve chosen cheaper here than I could in South Carolina (or Korea).
At the end of the day, I have few regrets about this life I’m living in the Philippines.