HELLO. I’m Atom, and you’ve received my Travel Notes, which I send out once a week, every week:
→ On the weeks I travel, I share stories, reflections, and lessons.
→ On the weeks I stay home, I share tips, tools, and templates.
This is a short story, but I find it worthwhile to share because since returning from Japan, it seems I haven’t noticed anything except how great Japan is compared to the Philippines—kinder, faster, cleaner, funner, cooler.
We were walking back to my car, Joanne carrying Panda, her three-year-old Shih Tzu- Maltese-Lhasa Apso, then me carrying our bags.
Earlier in the morning, we joined the Green Run in Vermosa for a 5K fun run and a 1K dog run, so I had a lot of bags: Panda’s bag, our bags, and some leftover food from breakfast.
Our hands were full, so when we got to the car, we had a problem. I was fumbling for the keys while Panda was getting heavier in Joanne’s arms.
Eventually, I found the keys, unlocked the car, and was about to put our bags down on the ground so I could help Joanne with the door when the parking lot guard, sensing our distress, ran over and opened the door for Joanne.
It was a simple act, one you could say is part of his basic responsibility as a guard.
But the thought that first came to my mind was, Wooow that was so nice of him… That’s something a Japanese would do for us.
If only the Philippines could be more like Japan, right??
Then I realized, no, this is pure Filipino kindness in its own right.
And that got me: It’s not that Filipinos should be kind and clean and fast like the Japanese. Filipinos are already kind and clean, and fast.
Japan isn’t the only place to be overwhelmed by kindness. The Philippines is full of it, although admittedly, it might be harder to find with all the trash and traffic.
There’s nothing wrong with appreciating another country (or destination) as long as it doesn’t come with putting down your own.
Until next week,
Atom
Are you interested in exploring the Philippines too? Here are some ways I can help...
Travel can be expensive. Here is my list of hacks to spend less on PH travel and a spreadsheet template to help you budget your next trip.
I make a spreadsheet for every trip. Here’s the guide to my Google Drive with all spreadsheets.
Visiting Japan? Here are the links I’ve found most useful during my research.