Five years ago, 2005, life was pay cheque to pay cheque. Working in a job that was going nowhere. I was spending a year out of university. Life was pretty much all about getting by and saving money for teacher's college.
Now its 2010 and life couldn't be more different. I've been living in South Korea for 2 years. I've visited China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The blessings continued to flow this summer as I got to continue my travels by visiting the Philippines.
The main purpose of choosing to visit the Philippines was to learn how to scuba dive. The Philippines has been gaining a reputation as a world class dive location and compared to many places (including Thailand) gaining your open water certification is rather cheap. I did some looking and chose a nice resort on a very tiny island in Visayas called Malapascua.
Malapascua was a tiny island in the middle of the Visaya Sea a half hour north of Cebu island. Other than dive resorts there is only a few small fishing villages. In fact the island doesn't even have electricity 24hrs a day. Wandering around the island was wonderfully informative. Seeing tiny villages, families living in small little huts, poverty that I have never experienced and smiles everywhere. Watching children swim in the sea hunting for urchins and tiny fish. Living hand to mouth, day to day all the while laughing and playing. It was wonderful to see.
Scuba diving was amazing. I had gone snorkeling once when I was in Jamaica but have never come anywhere near this. The resort that I chose was in partnership with National Geographic which was one of the reasons I chose them. They were professional and responsible. My teacher was an excellent diver from Singapore who loved diving and enjoyed sharing her passion with others. She was very patient with me which I appreciated.
The biggest problem for me was equalizing the pressure in my ears as I went under. I had to go real slow. My teacher was extremely patient and let me call the shots rather than putting pressure on me to speed things up or calling the dive early. Things were allowed to progress at my pace which I really appreciated. I've got no pictures, other than those in my mind but I can say that it was one of the best experiences I've had. Simply amazing.
It was a great week of relaxing evenings, beautiful beaches, nice people and diving during the day. Perhaps the best week of vacation I've ever had.
My second week was spent relaxing in Panglao Island, a tiny spec of an island off of Bohol island. This week was all about doing nothing, just relaxing. I stayed at a nice hotel near Alona beach. The hotel had a nice pool that I was able to swim in every day. Walks along the island roads, along Alona beach, beautiful weather and a venture off to the Chocolate Hills. Nothing too exciting during this week which exactly what I was looking for.
All in all the Philippines was exactly what I wanted.
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One of the things that struck me the most was how the children on Malapascua acted. In the west we are told that happiness comes through possessions. Not happ?, Buy something. Still not happy? Buy something else. We work hard on eliminating personal interaction. Socializing has become texting or chatting online. Instead of being face to face, its face to screen. Walk down the average street and most people isolate themselves through mp3 players and smart phones. Eye contact is a rarity.
We are so friggin' rich in the west by comparison its impossible to truly comprehend. GDP (gross domestic product) per capita in the US was $46,000 in 2009. They rank 11th in the world (in case your wondering 1st is Liechtenstein at $122,100). Canada's GDP per capita was $38,200 in 2009 (ranked 27th). The Philippines by comparison was $3,300 in 2009 (ranked 162nd). I'd be surprised if the people living in those fishing villages on Malapascua even had half that much money. Yet they were friendly. When walking through the villages, they would say hello and smile. Never put a hand out. Never even hinted at money. Kids running around laughing and playing. Smiles on their faces. It was rather striking. People with so little should be sad; depressed even. They aren't though.
Money doesn't equal happiness.
Possessions don't equal happiness.
That is a lesson people in rich countries need to relearn.
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