After Indonesia, let me talk about the Philippines.
When I first started working in Manila, I was a little braced for it. Everything I had been told in advance — the traffic, the paperwork — sounded exhausting. And yes, the traffic really was terrible. I can't defend it. I will probably never forget the day we didn't move on EDSA for two hours.
But almost every other memory I have is about the warmth of the people.
Filipinos laugh a lot. They laugh through blackouts. They laugh soaked to the skin in a sudden downpour. At first it puzzled me. Working alongside them, I began to understand: it isn't that they are carefree. They see hard things exactly as hard as they are — and then they choose to be cheerful anyway. That is strength. That strength rescued me more times than I can count.
I have someone who showed me that strength up close. A Filipina colleague I met in Manila — I'll keep her name to myself — who takes every unreasonable request I throw at her with a smile, and somehow has the groundwork finished before I've even started. Between me and my Indonesian teammate, who speaks no Japanese, she is the one who always bridges the language gap; without her, our conversations might still be nothing but hand gestures. Meticulous, patient, and more loyal than anyone. Getting to work with her is, I think, the single greatest piece of luck the Philippines gave me.
Many of the people I worked with were working for their families. On payday I would see them send money home, quietly proud. There is a word here, bayanihan — the old image of a whole village shouldering a house together and carrying it to a new place. Pulling together for family and neighbours isn't an ideal in the Philippines; it is simply what people do.
English everywhere, a population still growing, a workforce that is young, diligent and famously hospitable. Anyone who has actually worked in the Philippines can feel the country's potential in their bones. I am one of them.
Indonesia and the Philippines. What these two countries gave me is the foundation my company stands on.
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If any of this resonates — you're building something in Indonesia or the Philippines, or you're thinking about it — I'd genuinely like to hear from you. Business questions or just a chat, either is welcome.
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