Costa Rica Travel Surf Expat blog for Norm Schriever

Your June 2019 Postcard from Norm: A look at our world in 2050.

6/8/2019

Welcome to 2050 - wanna look around?

2050 sounds SO far away; THE FUTURE.

But life comes at ya fast. Remember when you felt like 2020 was so far in the future, it was hard to envision? Or, for you old-schoolers like me, 2000 used to be the FUTURE personified when we looked ahead. (Remember the big Y2K scare?)

Since we’re squarely in the middle of 2019, that means we have “only” 30 years and 6 months until 2050.

To give you an eye-opening parallel, 30 years and 6 months ago was June of 1988 (when I was a sophomore in high school!).

We know that 2050 will be here sooner than later…but what will it look like?

In this ongoing blog series, I’m going to take a close look at what life will most likely look like by mid-century, from demographic changes to (lots) of environmental issues, technology and medical advances that may be our only salvation, SMART cities and yes, flying cars (that are self-driving, of course).

As far back as the Jetsons we thought we had a handle on what the future would look like, but the human stain and the Law of Unintended Consequences always seem to lead us far astray from a Utopian world.

To come up with these bullet points from the future, I did a bunch of research written by a bunch of wicked smart people at MIT, Harvard, the United Nations, Milken Institute, the Smithsonian Foundation, Rockefeller University, Oxford University, Time, World Bank, Popular Science, the World Wildlife Fund, and many more. I also applied some informed conjecture as to which trends, movements, or phenomenon will emerge and continue.

So, if someone uncovers this blog in 2050 and my textual time capsule is spot on, I’ll take all the credit. But if these predictions are far off, don’t blame it on me but the eggheads at Harvard.

Enough chatter already (the English language will be truncated by 20% within 30 years, by the way, with far more emojis and emoticons). Let’s take a look at our world in 2050:

A whole lot more of us
By 2050, the world's population is forecast to reach 9,725,147,000 – or just about 2 billion people more than we have now. For those of you keeping count at home, that's like adding another India and China to our current population.

The slightly good news is that our population growth rates will somewhat level off in the next few decades.

But the bad news is that there will be major consequences to adding an additional 2 out of every 10 people to our already resource-depleted planet.

Urbanization
One of the most significant shifts we've seen over the last fifty years that will continue is urbanization. By 2050, 6.3 billion people will live in cities, or nearly two-thirds of the entire human population, putting the nail in the coffin on the agrarian period of human history.

And we all need to be fed
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ran the numbers on what it will take to feed more than 9 billion people and determined that we’ll need to increase our current food production levels by 60% by 2050.

That’s a tall order (and we haven’t even talked about usable water yet). For instance, wheat and rice production across the world has only increased at a rate of less than 1% over the past 20 years.

However, the task isn’t insurmountable. We already have the technology and know-how to fill about 80% of that need for increased food production by 2050 – it's just a matter of implementing it (and getting away from huge private corporations feeding us).

We’re getting really old
In 2050, the world’s population will look much older than it does today. By that year, it’s expected that one out of every six people on earth will be 65 years or older.

This is due to several factors, but more prominently advances in health and medical care (and less major wars) that are allowing us to live longer, and as well as decreases in fertility rates.

By 2050, some industrialized nations like Germany, Japan, Canada, and, yes, the United States, will have public health campaigns and economic incentives in place that encourage its citizens to have more babies!

If you think traffic is bad now, wait until 2050!
By 2050, there will be 2.5 billion cars and automobiles on the roads (or in the air!), a 150% increase over the one billion vehicles we have now.

Let’s do the math: An extra 2 billion people+ 65% of the world living in cities + 1.5 billion more cars = a lot of traffic jams.

The good news is that self-driving cars and semi-private shuttle vehicles will free us up to use that time wisely, with virtual offices, sleeping pods, entertainment centers, and even mini-fridges and coffee makers all standard features in self-driving cars by 2050! Well, maybe not the coffee makers (read below).

Hot earth
Scientists predict that the world’s temperature will increase significantly by 2050. In fact, our world’s average temperature will be 1.89 C to 2.5 C hotter than it is now, with far-reaching and drastic effects.

We’re going to talk about climate change and the environmental Armageddon facing our world ad infinitum over this series of blogs looking at 2050, as it is THE most pressing issue for the human race right now.

Coffee and climate change
Here’s one example of how climate change can hit close to home.

By 2050, coffee will be a high-priced luxury item, not an everyday staple. Due to shifting weather patterns, rainfall levels, temperatures, soil conditions and more, growing coffee will be far more difficult and possible in fewer locations around the world, leading to a run on prices.

Forget your $2 Dunkin Donuts coffee, your $3 Starbucks, or making coffee for even less at home - the average cup of coffee in 2050 may cost about $12 in 2019 prices!

A world without vino?
The same can be said for wine, which will be far harder to grow. The change in micro-climates also means that Napa Valley and other areas where conditions are perfect – albeit fragile – for growing grapes right now will be barren of vineyards. Our beloved vino will be extremely rare and the price will shoot up exponentially.

A world without coffee or wine?!

Hell no! We won’t go!

We’ll all use Bitcoin
It hasn’t earned mainstream appeal as anything more than a speculative investment…yet…but many of the world’s top economists think that the rise of e-currencies is inevitable. In fact, they anticipate that Bitcoin will finally break out and take over FIAT currencies as soon as the next global economic crisis (which may be only a couple of years away).
Even if it takes a decade or two for Bitcoin to become the preferred method of payment, savings, and investment, by 2050, we’ll think of traditional banks as an archaic token of a bygone era.

Other e-currencies will come and go, but they’re anticipated to make up only about 10% of total use compared to Bitcoin’s domination.

Late in 2018, the United Nation’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced that we’ve reached a notable milestone where 50% of the world has Internet access.

They anticipate meteoric growth in the coming decade, most of it on mobile devices. But, the ITU also projects that we won’t reach the high-water mark of Universal Access – defined as Internet access for 90% of the world population – until 2050 – or later.

We finally have Universal Internet access
By mid-century, 97.5% of the entire world will be online, or 8 billion people. However, reaching the last 20% (from 70-90%) will prove to be the most challenging jump since the vast majority of internet access (78%) is now in wealthy nations, as opposed to only 32% in developing countries.

This vast disparity in Internet access mirrors a phenomenon called the Great Cognitive Divide, with literacy levels, education levels, job opportunities, modernization, and much more following that same chasm.

The Pope will be black
This may seem like a random event, but a black pope in 2050 is both a sign of demographic shifts and of huge socio-political significance. For two thousand years (as long as there have been Popes!), the euro-centric Catholic church has tapped their own as Popes. Sure, a few of the early 266 Popes throughout history were from the middle east or Northern Africa, but not African or black in the sense we think of today.

But within 30 years, Africa will hold one of the highest populations of Catholics thanks to Nigeria and other growing countries, spawning the naming of a Pope of color from that continent and a seminal event for inclusion and religious leadership. It might even signal the official end of a post-Colonial era!

The U.S. is a true melting pot
In 2000, the United States census allowed people to select more than one category under "Race" for the first time ever. That year, 6.8 million Americans checked more than one box, claiming multi-racialism.

By the 2010 census, that number had increased 30% to 9 million Americans who registered as multiracial.That demographic and racial shift is expected to increase exponentially, jumping 176% between 2018 and 2060.

In fact, by the year 2045, Caucasians will become a minority in the United States for the first time, comprising only 49.7% of the population.

One out of three people under thirty years old will be multi-racial, which will (hopefully) provide an inevitable salve for some of the wounds and racial divides in our nation. But those divides don’t just disappear, as classism will be the new racism.

So…will we have flying cars in 2050?

Of course! That’s like so 2040!

I hope you enjoyed this look at the not-so-distant future and look forward to more analysis of 2050 in future blogs. Until then, have a great month and thanks for sharing!

-Norm 2050 :-)

According to computer aging projections, this is how I'll look in 2050. The scary part is that's exactly how I look in the mornings now!

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Your March 2019 Postcard from Norm: Why don't they clean up the clothes in the photo? A case study in social change.

3/26/2019

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Last year, I posted this photo taken on the island of Boracay, a tropical paradise that has been voted the top island in the world several times. However, I wasn't on the idyllic white beach that's spotted with luxury resorts and sun-worshiping tourists, but the "local" side of the island (actually, right across the narrow seaway that separates them) when I took it.

On a "walkabout" one day, I stumbled upon on this seaside hamlet where I saw crumbling hovels, flooded mangrove swamps, and a whole lot of poverty along the battered shore.

I snapped a photo, which I posted on social media with this caption:

"Wandered into a poor fishing community in Caticlan directly across from #Boracay. I saw all of these clothes in the water and at first, thought they were doing laundry (but that would make no sense in sea water, of course).

But one of the ladies told me that those were just the discarded garments that washed up from Boracay — basura, or trash."

To me, it wasn't a big deal, as I see this kind of thing every day here in the Philippines. So, I was surprised by the wave of outspoken opinions, condemnations, and even outrage that followed.

Scott, a UK expat living in the Philippines, commented, “Why aren't they picking them out of the water?”             

Voytec from Nicaragua commented, “‪I know there is a problem with education and culture, but for me, they are just dumb and too lazy to pick it up. We have the same here in Nica.”

But it wasn’t just foreigners that were perplexed, as Filipina Alijane expressed her disbelief with, “Why is this!?”

Bray, scuba diving tour guide in the islands, followed that with, “No one has the initiative to pick it up?!”
  
On it went, but only one or two people tried to paint these villagers in a different light and float a reason why it was, if not right, then understandable. My old high school friend Barbara from the U.S. offered, “‪Maybe their island dump is already full of other people’s trash? If it happens often, they may just get tired of looking for places or ways to dispose of it.”

Again – no one is “wrong” in this discourse, but it fascinated me that this one photo could evoke such strong opinions. So, I wanted to dig deeper into the issue not from an environmental perspective, but a cultural one.

Some things to put it in context:

To start, do you notice how we always condemn the end user or last person on the daisy chain? For instance, NO ONE seemed sympathetic that these people were the victims of such pollution. Someone else manufactured the cheap clothing (probably China), creating even more pollution in the process, someone else purchased them, shipped them, sold them, wore them, etc. Ultimately, someone else threw them out – in a landfill, on the side of the road, or, as is too often the case here, right in a local creek or waterway that serves as a big trash receptacle and eventually washes into the ocean.

The people in the photo – poor locals living in shanties and surviving on a few dollars a day – were complicit with none of those actions, yet everyone blames them because the waste happened to wash up in their "backyard."

If these poor fishermen and their families did go through and pick all of the clothing that washed ashore, where would they put it? There isn't waste management in this tiny village (a trash truck would never make it through their impossibly-narrow sand paths!) and no dump nearby.

For people who spend most of their time eking out a meager existence, trash is a part of life and the backdrop to their surroundings and always has been.

And if they did take the time to collect everything, wouldn't it just ash up again tomorrow? Why should these impoverished locals take the initiative to clean up after rich tourists from the other side of the island (Boracay).

Do we hold up to our own scrutiny?

Conversely, show these same humble villagers a photo (or headline) about Flint, Michigan, and they'll be twice as shocked and perplexed why the wealthiest country in the world doesn’t even
provide clean, poison-free water to its citizens.

Superimpose this scenario onto your own lives, and we might not hold well under our own scrutiny. Do you clean up trash that isn't yours? I'm sure you would if someone littered in your front yard, but these people don't own the beach (or the land their huts stand on).

When was the last time you went to a public park and started picking up trash? Or a pile of trash that sat at the end of your street?

I try to do my part, but I'm guilty of this too, of course – selective indifference.
I just walked by a discarded soda can and a pile of cigarette butts on the way to a coffee shop to write this.

It's hard to save the world on an empty stomach – Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

There's another, more clinical way to look at this one snapshot – or any social issue on a larger scale: through the prism of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

In summary, this psychological theory states that if people are hustling daily just to eat, keep a roof over their heads, or stay safe, then we can't expect them to be "self-actualized." That's a fancy way of saying that they're concerned with more lofty precepts like the Greater Good, personal development, the meaning of life, etc.

This is a perfect real-life example of that theory as, to the people in the photo, there’s no tangible benefit to picking up the clothing and trash (unless Philippines’ Pesos start washing up!).

Is it a matter of edu-ma-cation or poverty?

So, are they just uneducated and that's the problem?

While there may be a correlation between a lack of education, poverty, and litter or blight, we can’t attribute that to causation – and it doesn’t tell the whole story. Wealthier or educated people may be more ecologically conscious on the whole (just an assumption), but they don’t necessarily pick up the trash and clean up themselves – they pay for others to do it most of the time.

Additionally, there are a whole lot of CEOs and politicians that went to Ivy League schools who are choosing to do the wrong thing and pollute our world just to squeeze out a few extra dollars.

The Broken Windows Theory

But we can take clues from something called The Broken Windows Theory, a sociological study that earned its merits by helping transform New York City from a cesspool of crime, filth, and community hopelessness in the 1980s into the (relatively) safe and shining example of a major city it is today.

Broken Windows Theory was an academic concept introduced by Stanford University researchers, James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982. It proposed that even minor "disorder and incivility” within a community opened the floodgates for more serious crime.

Wilson and Kelling's theory was based on a study where they placed two identical cars in two vastly different neighborhoods – one in the South Bronx and the other in a nice area in California. While the car in the Bronx was quickly broken into, had its tires stolen, etc., the abandoned car in California stood undisturbed.

That is, until the research team came back to the Cali car and intentionally broke one of its windows and then, left it again.

What happened next laid the groundwork for their theory, as the previously-untouched car was quickly vandalized and broken into, too. This reinforced (if not proved) their assumption that when people see and experience minor transgressions that are obviously tolerated or unpunished, far more chaos will ensue - and escalate.

The Broken Windows Theory became the premise for sweeping change in New York City under Police Commissioner William Bratton from 1990-1992, when he ordered a massive crack-down on impropriety in the Big Apple’s notorious subway system, including swarms of visible police and a zero-tolerance policy on relatively minor infractions like panhandling, graffiti, turnstile jumping, drinking in public, urination, and more.

They also took their efforts to the streets and trains above, where they cleaned cleared the sidewalks of petty drug pushers, prostitutes, beggars, solicitors, unlicensed vendors, and scam artists like those who jumped out and started washing your window at traffic lights.

Of course, many questioned the common sense behind this all-out war against PETTY crime, since muggings, murders, major drug deals, rapes, and serious theft was rampant. But the Broken Windows Theory proved sound and the transformation to the city was nothing short of miraculous.

In fact, by the time Bratton resigned as Police Commissioner in 1996, not only were the subways, sidewalks, and street corners safe and civil once again, but major felonies were down 40 percent and the homicide rate was cut in half!

It turns out that social depravity – no matter how seemingly minute – was such a slippery slope that the whole city inadvertently snowballed down it.

Can government fix our environmental problems?

Of course, the United States is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to consuming non-renewable natural resources, creating greenhouse glasses, and producing waste. What’s even scarier is that many politicians on one particular side the aisle still don’t even acknowledge climate change or the environmental disaster we've created.

But this problem won’t be solved by regulations and policies alone (although those are sorely needed), as governments are usually just the tail that wags the dog.

For instance, the island of Boracay – the #1 tourist destination here in the Philippines - was recently shut down for six months when Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte observed it had turned into a "cesspool" and ordered it cleaned up.

With Boracay closed for an environmental overhaul, thousands of locals making a humble living as taxi drivers, waitresses, tour guides, and clerks lost their only source of wages. Many of them were barely making it to begin with and sending money back home to support their families.

Still, despite the hunger, hard times, and uncertainty they faced over those six months, they supported the cleanup for the most part. These brave unwitting activists championed the cause, taking pride in their island that would soon be one of the cleanest in the world.

Once Boracay reopened as a textbook example of conservation in action (and a stern warning to offenders), others took notice. More islands and communities started "cleaning up their act" proactively, worried the government would come in and shut them down, but also because they now realized the potential for change.

A matter of culture

We are largely products of our environment and adopt the norms, mores, and expectations that are placed upon us – a base anthropological definition of culture. Without getting into the whole debate about nature vs. nurture (go watch Eddie Murphy’s Trading Placesto learn about that!), people in any society, neighborhood, tribe, or even family will conform to the culture of that group.

So, in order to clean up the beach in that photo…and this part of the world…and our entire globe eventually, we have to initiate a culture shift, first.

We have to make it unacceptable to litter, pollute, deface, vandalize, and harm our planet. And there needs to be social status and affirmation awarded to those who do act as agents for change.

So where does that culture change start?

Any true solution will come from people, as we basically need to “make it cool” to care about the environment. Expectations need to be raised and universally adopted. Children need to be taught to love, respect, and care for the world we live in, and, in many cases, children need to teach their parents, too.

Consciousness is the start of that, and already there’s a small glimpse of hope as environmental action is the #1 political concern for Millennials in the United States.

I also see the early days of a massive culture shift here in the Philippineshumble environs, too.

In Dumaguete, where I used to live, I saw patrons implore their favorite local restaurants to start using metal straws instead of plastic ones (cleverly labeled 'Straw Shaming').

On the idyllic little island of Siquijor (rumored to be haunted and rife with witches!), a few of my local friends started organizing clean-up days at their beaches, invite tourists to join in. These became fun, must-attend events, and they even cooked big feasts for the volunteers.

The photos, stories, and friendships returned home with these tourists, and beach cleanups became almost a bucket-list item for conscious travelers.

Tour guides, dive masters, and locals started to push back when people did litter or violate conservation standards, spreading their messages through social media and word of mouth alike.

One by one, municipalities are cutting down or eliminating their consumption of single-use plastics, too. Electric vehicles are slowly but surely popping up on the roads.

When I traveled to the incredibly wild and remote island of Batanes last year, far in the northern sea, I was dazzled by how the locals kept their island spotless and organized when it came to waste and recycling, despite a stark lack of resources, education, and technology.

From remote islands to Manila Bay to mainstream media

Here in the Philippines, the movement is growing organically, picking up steam at a faster rate than I ever anticipated.

Recently, Manila Bay, a toxic stew of plastics, trash, chemicals, and other waste, became the cause célèbre when thousands of volunteers - especially youth – mobilized to pick up trash and start the long road to rehabilitation.

On my birthday in February, I met two really cool Filipina sisters at a bar. Chatting over (many) drinks together, they told me that they had a clean-up event to attend early the next morning, shattered my preconceived notions. (And gaining my respect when they actually made it there, despite the hangovers!)

These new friends even travel (on their own time and dime) to outside of Manila on the weekends, volunteering to clean up the beaches there, too.

Bolstered by media coverage and social media sharing, the concept has mushroomed into a movement. Don’t get me wrong – these micro-efforts probably haven’t even amounted to more than a drop in the bucket, and we need to magnify that effort by 1,000 – no, 10,000 – to see the real impact.

But regular people – and particularly Filipino youth - are starting to feel empowered. They realize that they can immediately and directly affect their surroundings in positive ways without waiting for the government, politicians, corporations, or even each other to sign off.

This momentum (and measured progress) will continue to grow until we reach a Tipping Point, as author and social statistician Malcolm Gladwell calls it.

Thanks to these small sparks that ignite a blaze of consciousness, the culture of how we treat our Mother Earth will truly have changed.

At that point, we might look back at the photo in this postcard and think not, “Why didn’t THEY clean it up?” but, “Why didn’t WE clean it up?”

-Norm :-)

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Your February 2019 postcard from Norm: Moving to the Thrilla in Manila!

2/20/2019

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I was here before, way back in 1999, an experience that left me remarking that Manila was one of the absolute worst cities on earth, like a bomb went off where a civilization once stood, and the jungle was starting to take it back.

The traffic was so thick and choking that even when I headed in a taxi to a local mall, the driver suffering a nervous breakdown after three hours of inching and pushing through only five kilometers of local streets, declaring that he was giving up in favor of a new profession after turning around to deposit me at my hotel.

Back then, I would have put the odds at one-in-hell-no that I’d end up actually living in Manila, and even a few years ago, the capital city of the Philippines was a place to be suffered as I passed through, but no place to call home.

And yet, in an ironic twist of fate, it’s Manila that I now call home.

So, why the hell did I choose to move here?

So much has changed in Manila over those 20 years, and so much hasn’t. Today, I wanted to break down a peek into my new life in “The Thrilla” as I call it, referencing the third and final super-fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier here in 1975.

The traffic is even worse, if you can believe it, and has come to define the Manila experience for so many. That’s the first thing people will respond if you mention Manila anywhere in the country (followed by the pollution and then the crime), and it’s so bad that people refer to it as if it’s a catastrophic act of nature like a typhoon or an earthquake, as in “we have a Traffic” today.

Rush Hour is its own fang-bearing hungry animal and dictates most life choices in Manila. For instance, the drive from my neighborhood to central Makati, which is only 5 km as the crow flies and walkable if you didn't mind breaking a serious sweat, may take two hours at 5 pm but then only 20 minutes at 9 pm.

I'll get back to that soon, but there are other changes. The megacity has also become "mega-er" (turning Spell-Check off), mushrooming to over 30 million people (no one really knows and it's certainly impossible to count in the endless slums), making it one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world!

It's also one of the most densely populated – or even the top by some estimates.

For instance, Manhattan has a population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²), but Manila dwarfs that with 38,000 people per square mile (14,500/ km²).

They’ve actually long-ago broken Manila into sixteen sub-cities, like Makati (the international business and Red Light district), Quezon (where the Thrilla in Manila fight was held), Pasay (where the airport is located), and Taguig, where I live.

In my perfect world, I live on a white sand beach on some tropical island – and I’ve tried. However, the lack of Wi-Fi, modern infrastructure, etc. make it impossible.

So, my best bet is to have a cool and comfortable home base where I can work my ass off, get shit done, and enjoy the modern conveniences, but then bounce out to the airport every time the mood strikes to go find that white-sand beach or the next natural adventure.

Manila checks the box on several of the criteria I look for in that home base:

Food
I would characterize food in the Philippines as…how can I put this delicately?...a mix between prison gruel and refried dog chow – only far less healthy. It really is that bad in most places, where everything is pork or meat-based, deep-fried, doused in sugar or MSG powder called “’Sarap, or soaked in oil.

It’s SO hard to eat healthy here, and a travesty that you can find a good variety of fresh fruit but almost no vegetables. The food can even be downright unhygienic in many places and make you sick. But Manila has countless restaurants with better quality grub and more options.

It’s still not easy to eat healthy in Manila, and definitely not cheap, but at least it’s possible not to blow up to 400 lbs. or contract Scurvy while living here.

Arts and Culture
To me, a fulfilled life means plenty of art, culture, music, and the dynamism of ideas around me, and Manila offers that in spades. From vibrant street art to gallery showings, funk and fun cultural experiences, museums, and music all around you in all its forms, Manila allows my best creative self to feel inspired.

Modernism and intellectualism
While you're always aware that you live in an overcrowded, poor Developing Country, Manila is also home to the majority of international businesses in the nation, as well as the country's middle class or elite, a higher education level for the average person, plus plenty of movers and shakers. So, you get a fantastic mix of different cultures, languages, and modern attitudes, a far cry from the traditional and conservative societal norms that can be confusing and constricting.

Social scene
I did love a lot of aspects of Dumaguete, but the social scene was not one of them. Manila, on the other hand, is the big city, and there is never a lack of cool things to do or interesting people to meet. Of course, the bar and nightlife scene is insane and borders on Bacchanalian at certain places, but I’m way too old, hardworking, and tired for all of that craziness.

Instead, I enjoy the array of more chill lounges, cocktail bars with old school hip hop, and beer joints with live bands.

Here's a video I shot entering a seemingly-normal 7-11 store that turns into an upscale nightclub called Bank Bar once you walk through the Employees Only door.

There are also endless festivals, fairs, concerts, events, night markets, and places just to hang out and drink coffee while mixing and mingling. I can get used to this once I change my inner workaholic/hermit ways and get out and about more.

Parks and green spaces
I lived in the Philippines' seconds largest city, Cebu, before, but was shocked and disappointed to find a total lack of any parks. Manila, however, despite being much larger and crazier, has some nice public parks and outdoor plazas that are actually clean, safe, etc. I'm a huge fan of public parks to chill, read, workout, or enjoy nature, so that was a must-have before I decided to move to Manila.

Health and fitness
Speaking of recreation areas, I also love the active workout scene in the city, as there are some nice, modern gyms and such. I found a modern, clean and convenient Golds Gym only two blocks from my house and got a killer deal by prepaying for a year.

There are also a few boxing and martial arts studios in the area, but the one in my neighborhood, Fight Factory, is super expensive. Luckily, I live right near the Philippines Army base and they have a recreation center, so I can walk 15 minutes over there and get in a boxing or Muay Thai workout for only 70 Pesos - $1.50 or so.

Airport
There are plenty of cities or island throughout the Philippines with their own airports, but outside of Cebu, Clark (about 120km north of Manila) or Manila. Itself, there are very few direct flights. When I lived in Dumaguete here in the Philippines over the last year and a half, I loved their little local airport but had to fly to Cebu first before grabbing a connection, which usually meant getting a hotel and staying overnight, etc.

But from Manila’s NAIA airport, which is only about 5km from my apartment (a 20 minute to two-hour drive!), I can hit every single airport in the Philippines. In fact, I travel as often as possible since airfares are also ludicrously underpriced, running $30 to $80 one-way or so to fly anywhere in the country. From Manila, I can also jump all over Asia on cheap direct flights, and there are non-stop flights to San Francisco or even New York City.

Comfort and convenience
I'm not talking about luxuries, but just being able to buy things, get better healthcare, and basic amenities. In Manila, it’s not hard to find air conditioning and bathrooms [they call them Comfort Rooms] with toilet paper and soap. And while it’s still alarming how few establishments have serviceable Wi-Fi, it’s always possible to connect somewhere.

It’s not just about convenience, but safety. You’ll also find a startling discrepancy between wealth and abject urban poverty, with tens of millions of people living in slums and shanties among unimaginable squalor, while the robust upper class of Philippines’ society does business in glass skyscrapers, eats at fancy restaurants, and shops at luxury U.S. and European stores.

I never need to be reminded that I am incredibly fortunate have it better than most people on the planet, and bearing witness daily to the poverty, homelessness, and gritty living conditions in Manila will always keep me humble and appreciative.

Even the average educated or service worker with a "good" job still has to commute several hours each day via crowded Jeepneys and buses, endure long work shifts, often during the night in call centers or the BPO industry, and just scrape by as they try to support their extended family or children - who often live back in the province. This environment creates unfathomable stress, isolation, and even hopelessness for so many, and I have a whole lot of respect for these folks and I'm proud to have a few of them friends.

As you now understand, the specific area you live in Manila is so crucial to the quality of your life. The little red dot on the big map I now call home is at Morgan Executive Suites, Florence Way, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig….in Manila.

I was introduced to the McKinley Hill enclave by my good local friend, Laarni, who used to in the same apartment building where I now reside. It's a small community consisting of call centers, high-rise condo towers, a few international schools, and a mall.

But it’s also one of the safest and cleanest areas in Manila because it sits next to the whole national military complex, conjoined with the massive Philippines army base, and then Airforce, Navy, etc. in a row.

My studio apartment is simple but functional, as has a rare view. It encompasses 34 square meters, which is roomy by Manila standards but only as big as three prison cells stacked together.

The apartment came furnished with a solid bed, green couch that I never sit on, and a kitchen table that's uncomfortable to sit at that serves as my workstation. I'm slowly by surely filling out the place and making it livable, although I do need to add an electric burner because I don't have a stove or even a microwave as yet.

But it does offer a view of the pristine jungle and a big pond that serve as training areas for the Army base next door, and that full natural panorama from my window is invaluable in this concrete jungle.

When my neighbor and friend, Laarni, moved to Australia shortly after I moved in, she was kind enough to donate all of her kitchen stuff, house plants (I've only killed one of them so far), and even a guitar, which I don't know how to play but sure makes a nice prop.

My building also has a lobby that looks pretty luxurious, air-tight security, a gym that’s good enough to throw a few dumbbells around or take a treadmill jog when you don’t feel like venturing out, and not one but two small swimming pools on the rooftop.

But a nice apartment building and a mall does not an existence make, and the main benefit of McKinley Hill its proximity to Bonifacio Global City and then, Makati a few kilometers further, two of the most desirable areas in Manila.

McKinley Hills features a small shopping mall called the Venice Grand Canal Mall, and the whole structure is supposed to mimic being in Italy, including an ornate canal running through the center made to look like Venice, complete with gondola boats with oarsmen in black striped shirts, Italian opera music piping throughout.

Cheesy? Yes. But it actually looks pretty damn cool, attracting horses of selfie snappers from all over Manila.

It’s at the Venice Grand Canal Mall, not even two blocks from my apartment, that I’ve found my gym, supermarket, barber shop, and a lineup of five or more coffee shops that I frequent.

(The only reason I considered a move to a place that looks like a 2050 post-apocalyptic Big Apple on steroids is because I don’t have to commute to every day since I can work from home, a coffee shop, waiting at the airport, or anyplace that I can open my laptop and may have Wi-Fi.)

I absolutely love the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) area that’s only a 15-minute walk from my hood (I’m thinking of getting one of those electric scooters, which make it easy to tool around and you don’t even have to park), but the rents there are insane.

This is the part where you’ll think that I’ve been in the sun too long, because these rents will sound low to you, but consider that this is for a comically-small studio or one-bedroom apartment in a relatively-poor Developing Country.

In BGC, that same studio starts at 35,000 Pesos ($750) per month and one-bedrooms probably average 50,000 or so ($1,000). Most people who live there are either making huge salaries from their foreign national companies or even have their housing allowance paid for by the company, but that number is far out of reach for even most professional Filipinos (call centers and Business Outsource Processing – BPOs- are the major employers here).

I’m a notorious cheap-ass, so I refuse to pay that much for rent abroad, even though I could make it work. Instead, I was happy to find a studio for 20,000 per month – or $400, which is still a steal for my area. I was able to negotiate an even better price of $340 monthly by prepaying for the whole year!

Anyways, you don’t want to listen to me bitch and whine about the prices here (and I could go on all day if I get started), but I just barely sneak into Manila’s elite neighborhoods based on my budget.

And I find BGC to be unmistakably DOPE!

If I just dropped you there, you seriously would think you're in the business district of Miami or San Diego or something. It's a well-planned community in an otherwise urban snake pit, and home to a whole lot of high-dollar international business people, corporate expats, and well-to-do Filipinos.

In BGC, you can walk past a Ferrari and Bentley auto dealership on your way to get a decent salad, two things that are virtually impossible anywhere else in the Philippines! The area even features a spotlessly clean outdoor jogging trail called the Green Belt (very rare in the Philippines), and a massive golf course in its midst.

BGC is defined by High Street, a stunningly-nice outdoor plaza that extends about six city blocks, lined with two stories of upscale cafes, restaurants, shops, and boutiques and filled in with green areas, sculptures, fountains, pop-up food kiosks, and even concert and event stages, decked out to the nines for every holiday.

Needless to say, I've slightly upgraded my regular attire of flip flops, board shorts, and a basketball jersey, and I actually find myself putting on jeans or a shirt with buttons now and then (gasp!).

I can seriously just go hang out at High Street all day, getting a coffee or meal at the Canadian-owned St. Louis coffee shop and restaurant as I people watch. One evening every week, I'll go drink Dark & Stormies and listen to old school hip hop at the secret bar located in the back of the California-inspired Pinks Hot Dogs (no, it's not a gay bar – I swear!).

I already feel that my foray into Manila will be worth it based on the friendships I've formed, old and new.

I ‘ve connected with some really cool folks here, like a California-born hip hop DJ named Mark Afrika, a professional basketball player in the Philippines league, an old friend who retired from his orthopedic surgery practice in San Francisco to open up a microbrewery in Manila (Bruddah Brewing), and Dead Aim Amy, a Canadian gal who's a professional boxer who also teaches little girls from the slums how to box as a way to boost their self-esteem.

Ironically, I find that people are more open to meet and converse here, once you get past the big-city guardedness. Just in my dozen weeks in Manila so far, I've struck up random acquaintances with a guy named Pancake who's an online sneaker dealer, a model I met at the airport, a buddy from Saudi Arabia who's a student here, two sisters who volunteer to clean up Manila Bay in their downtime, and many more eager and interested Filipinos or foreigners of substance.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s still a crazy place that can chew you up and spit you out if you’re not careful and thick-skinned, but there’s no shortage of people, places, and things to sate my intellectual curiosity here in Manila, helping me feel connected to a greater community and passionate about my small, inconsequential time on this planet.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Manila is now home.

The Thrilla!

-Norm :-)

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Your December postcard from Norm - Bringing you Christmas traditions from around the world.

11/28/2017

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As you read this, I’m 30,000 feet up in the skies, flying from New York to Dubai to Bangkok, and then back to the Philippines. I’m eager to get back “home” to the Philippines in December for Christmas, since it’s the most spirited, vibrant, and colorful season there.

Looking out this little window at the solemn, cold night sky, I’m thinking about all of the countries and the people I’m flying over, and what they do to celebrate Christmas. (Actually, I’m thinking about why I was too cheap to pay for an exit row seat and when the flight attendant is coming back with the drink cart, but the first version sounds better.)

So I decided to research and jot down some fascinating Christmas traditions from around the world, reminding us that through our many differences, we are all really the same.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

(Ohhh…here comes the drink cart!)

The Philippines
Although the Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia, its residents are about 90% Christian and 80% Roman Catholic due to Spanish colonization, so Christmas is a BIG deal. In fact, they celebrate the longest Christmas holiday in the world, spanning from September until well after New Years.

Aside from ubiquitous light shows, malls filled to the brim, and decorated trees, there are many great Christmas traditions in the Philippines.

Many Filipinos practice the tradition of Simbang Gabi, where they attend church service at 4 am for the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve.

On Noche Buena - Christmas Eve - the whole extended family gets together for a feast of lechon, or a roasted pig.

Singing is always popular in the Philippines, but even more so around Christmas, when children go door to door singing carols.

There’s even a Giant Lantern Festival (Ligligan Parul Sampernandu) in the country, held the Saturday before Christmas in the city of San Fernando – the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines.” Local residents, visiting Filipinos, and even foreign travelers gather to witness hundreds of paper lanterns lit and send aloft by candles, or even electric-colored bulbs these days.

But I have my own new Christmas tradition in the Philippines, as I dress up like Santa Claus and visit sick kids with cancer as well as give out food to street kids. It’s damn hot in that suit!

China
The Christians in China, who celebrate Christmas, decorate their homes with ornate paper lanterns, all lit up for the big day. The Chinese version of Santa Claus is called Dun Che Lao Ren.

Turkey
Turkey is now a predominantly Muslim nation, although moderate, and their winter holiday revolves more around New Year's Eve, called The Great Day. But they also hold the distinction of being the historical home of real-life Santa Claus, or Noel Baba in Turkish, a monk named Saint Nicholas that lived in 280 A.D. Some Turkish people and visiting foreigners still visit Saint Nicholas’ ancient home for the Christmas season.

France
In France, Santa is known as Pere Noel and is always attended by Pre Fouettard, who keeps the list of who has been good and bad for him. Pere Noel comes to deliver small gifts to the children on December 6 and then returns with more on Christmas day, but the adults wait until New Years Day to open theirs.

Ghana
Christmas is a huge celebration in this part of Africa, with preparations and festivals for many weeks beforehand. Everyone tries to get home by December 24 to visit their ancestral birthplace. Huge feasts of goat, mangoes, cashew fruits and chicken stew are prepared, and a mango, guava, or cashew tree in the center of the courtyard is decorated with lights and paper ornaments.

Italy
The exchange and opening of presents doesn't happen until the 6th of January, the day believed to be when the Wise Men reached the baby Jesus. Instead of Santa, the Italians have La Befana, a women who gives gifts to those who have been good and punishes bad children, based on the woman who refused to help the Wise Men with food and shelter.

India
In India, they decorate their houses with lights on windowsills, a star hung outside, and strings of mango leaves. The tradition is to make thali, a sweet holiday dessert, and give it to friends and neighbors.

Denmark
Santa Claus is called Julemanden, and his elves are Juul Nisse, but they live in the attic of their homes, not the North Pole. Children leave out rice pudding and saucers of milk for them, not cookies.

Japan
The Japanese are not a Christian nation, but celebrate a form of Christmas with the giving of gifts from a Santa Claus-like figure called Hoteiosha. But an even more colorful Christmas tradition is their affinity for feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken for the holiday, with special menus, lines around the block, and a Japanese Colonel Sanders wearing a Santa Claus outfit!

Mexico
Mexicans call Christmas, Navidad, celebrated for nine days with Las Pasadas. They follow a tradition of dressing like Mary and Joseph and going door-to-door reenacting events of the Bible, when there was no room, and then celebrating with food, song, and a Pinata for the children. Finally, on the ninth night, they are told yes, there is room for Mary in the stable, and everyone heads to church to celebrate.

Belgium
The children here believe in a Saint Nicholas who delivers their presents, but this one rides a horse. So it’s a tradition to leave hay, carrots, and water outside the house on December 6 for Saint Nic’s horse.

Russia
The Russians used to celebrate Christmas with great glee before the revolution of 1917, carrying sticks with stars on them through the streets, representing the Stars of Bethlehem. After it became the Soviet Union, religion was banned so the traditions went dormant for many decades. But now, they've been reintroduced with slight differences – Saint Nicholas is now known as Grandfather Frost and wears blue, not red, and they decorate a tree and celebrate on New Years Day.

Sweden
Santa Claus is actually called Tomte, who is a gnome that emerges from under the floor of the house or barn, carrying a sack of presents for the kids. Tomte rides a sleigh, but it's pulled by a goat, not reindeer.

The Netherlands
Santa Claus is known as Sinterklaas and rumored to originally come from Sweden by boat, after starting out on December 6th in Spain. Sinterklaas goes house to house on horseback delivering gifts and fills the children's shoes that are put out with candy and nuts by Christmas morning.

Venezuela
The South American country of Venezuela may be in a state of emergency right now, but they still have some serious fun for Christmas. In fact, residents of Caracas, the capital, lace up their roller blades and skate to church for Christmas Eve mass. No one really knows how this started or why, but the rollerblading Christmas celebrators have become so popular that roads are even shut down so they can skate to church safely.

Iceland
For 13 nights leading up to Christmas, the children of Iceland leave their best shoes by the window, hoping that the Yule Lads visit them while they’re sleeping. The boys and girls that have been good receive gifts in their shoes, while the bad ones get rotting potatoes.

South Africa
Since it's sits far in the southern hemisphere, Christmas comes in the middle of their summer, so people enjoy the outdoors with camping, swimming, gathering in parks and for festivals, and other outdoor activities. But they also have many remnants of UK Christmas traditions, like dressing trees, singing carols, and gift giving, called fir. Boxing Day - the day after Christmas - is just as big!

***

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just a great holiday! I'll see you in the New Year!

-Norm :-)

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Your June 2019 Postcard from Norm: A look at our world in 2050.

Your March 2019 Postcard from Norm: Why don't they clean up the clothes in the photo? A case study in social change.

Your February 2019 postcard from Norm: Moving to the Thrilla in Manila!

Your December postcard from Norm - Bringing you Christmas traditions from around the world.

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