While I was in Burundi, I spent a lot of time getting familiar with Kirundi, which is a really beautiful Bantu language. One thing that stood out to me was how many of their compliments and greetings were all cow related.
“Have cows and children!” (Urakagira inka n’ibibondo)
“That guy is all cows in the field.” (Inka n’imirima)
“You have the eyes of a cow. Beautiful.” (Amaso y’inyana)
I had to confirm with my friend Emile whether I was understanding these phrases correctly. One thing is for sure. Having cows in Burundi is a very big deal in terms of your status. Cattle is wealth. It’s one thing to afford a cow, but once you do, you’ve also got a natural source of fertilizer for your field.
I love languages, and I love that there’s always so much more to switching languages than just translating sentences. The variations in how you compose thoughts and ideas result in different ways of seeing the world.
Congo Basin Forest
The worst environmental news I heard this year was most likely the announcement that the Congo Basin Rainforest would be open for drilling. It’s a rainforest that holds about a tenth of the earth’s carbon, and hosts so many species that can’t be found elsewhere. That seemed like a huge blow to climate and biodiversity.
Getting to talk to Birori, who promotes ecosystem restoration through working directly with communities was a valuable reminder for me.
Even though his team was fully aware of how unfortunate the news was, he knew that forest protection is best when local communities own the process.
Hopefully the next time I’m in this part of Africa, a visit to the Congo Basin Rainforest could be in order.
Halloween Roundup
When you have one kid born on Halloween and a set of twin babies in the house… costumes are a really big deal.
We’re kind of at a good age for group costumes, especially since two of the kids are two young to debate over what to dress up as. We mostly went with an Asian restaurant theme:
A sriracha
A soy sauce
A sushi roll
A maneki neko (those lucky cats with the waving paw)
and
A ghost.
Rhys was obsessed after seeing It’s a Great Pumpkin. Classic costume. But I guess the group theme is now *haunted sushi restaurant*
Rhys Turns Three
RHYS. Piecer. My man.
In a life where so many good things have happened to me, getting to be your dad is about as good as it gets. You’ve got sweetness and fight and heart and energy… and three whole years of that in my life has been a literal dream come true.
Your third lap around the sun was a pretty big deal.
You became a big brother.
You went on your first international trip.
You climbed ruins in Guatemala and glaciers in Alaska.
You went from the Monkey Room to the Ladybug Room.
I love your geography skills, your taste for eating plain lemons straight up, and your fascination with caves.
I love the person you’re growing into, but I also think you’re an incredible person right this moment.
Happy birthday. Let’s do halo halo again soon.
How Diverse is Toronto
This is my favorite thing about Toronto… it feels like North America’s portal to the world.
Toronto is home to over 200 different ethnic groups. Over 140 languages are spoken in the city, which includes many different international neighborhoods like Chiantown, Greektown, Little Italy, Little Poland, and Little India. Many of these neighborhoods host cultural festivals throughout the year.
I love how this allows you to experience so many things from different cultures, from food to film festivals… but better yet, it introduces you to new people and perspectives.
The Phillies!
Shoutout to baseball for the important life lesson that sometimes two opposites are simultaneously true.
The ending of that World Series sucked AND the 2022 Phillies were such a weird and wonderful chaotic bunch that made this baseball season perhaps the most fun in my life.
Once the sting wears off, the reality sets in that this team coming two games from winning it all is leaps and bounds beyond the expectations of the most optimistic Phillies fan. Like most of us, I was just hoping for a return to relevance after eleven straight years missing the playoffs. Now it looks like we’re just getting started with a new era of a really fun team.
Best part, of course, were all the people I got to share this with. The group chats with co-workers, watch parties at church, and friends who know to text me during these games. Getting to see game one of the NLCS at Petco was the cherry on top. Not to mention, seeing the inner baseball-fan in Deanna take off!
The only downside (well, other than the bats going cold since Wednesday) was having my kids be a little too young to get what was going on. Shoutout to me for not missing an inning OR a tuck-in time! There’s something pretty special about watching your team go on a run as a kid. Guess that means you gotta keep this up for years, Phillies
A Lesson in Global Poverty
From the perspective of someone living in one of the world’s wealthiest nations, it’s easy to look at poverty all around the world without much nuance. We often overlook the difference between a low income country and a middle income country. Or a modest living standard versus extreme poverty.
Does that matter, though? Isn’t the goal simply to end poverty? Period?
It matters because of that goal.
It shows us that it’s possible. And what it might look like.
Thanks to Hans Rosling and Gapminder for the graph.
Ingoma
Just imagine it’s late in the day. The daylight is almost burnt up, except for that last orange glow. You hear an elongated shout, then some thumping. Then it explodes into a rhythm.
The drummers emerge. They’re in line. But some cut to the front. And others follow in a pattern. One moves to the center to leap.
Burundi’s the country of big beats, largely because of their tradition of ingoma drumming.
These drums were used in royal ceremonies, like crowning a new ruler or mourning a funeral. Because the drums were made of cordia africana, or Sudanese teakwood, their sound could travel a far distance. Right up close, however, it simply thundered.
Today the big beats are also used to honor and welcome special guests. I kept trying to find out if they were ever used for war. It seems possible, but I never found that explicitly stated. The ceremonial reasons were the main priority.
But i do know the sound of those drums is a bigger pump up than any locker room anthem I can think of. If I was an opposing army and heard the way those sounds echoed… game over.
Congo Closed
One of the year’s biggest disappointments: I was supposed to visit Congo this summer, along with Burundi.
I ended up spending more time in Burundi because three days before my scheduled DRC visit, violent protests broke out in the area I was staying, targeting outsiders.
This was the second time in three years I’ve had to cancel a planned trip to DRC, a country I’ve wanted to visit for years.
I’m thankful I still got a chance to see my friend from Congo, Birori, while in Bujumbura.
NLCS
I never thought I’d see the Phillies and Padres face off for a pennant!
Been a lifelong Phillies fan. I was just old enough to catch the buzz around their ‘93 team. It’s mostly been tough times since then, with the exception of the 2007-11 golden era.
And the Padres… one other long-suffering fan base, often ignored by the league. While the Phils always come first, it’s hard not to feel good about that squad too. Though, don’t get me wrong, I want the W.
Anyways, at first I wrote off even thinking of going to a playoff game. I assumed it cost a gazillion bucks. Turns out, it was only half-a-gazillion, so I bought tickets not knowing if I’d see this again.
The Marvelous Musk Ox
I had a hunch Rhys would enjoy getting to take a tour of an Alaskan Musk Ox farm… and I was right. And I loved it too. It doesn’t take much for me to be enamored with a large prehistoric herbivore.
These guys date back to the last Ice Age, which puts their dinosaur-like low growl into perspective.
After diving a little bit deeper into Arctic ecosystems, it translate out they are impressive guardians of biodiversity, who once almost went extinct. Glad they didn’t. Charisma beasts.
The Most Livable City
Vienna was named the most livable city in the world
Vienna’s first place ranking comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Index and here’s the criteria they use: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Here’s what makes Vienna a winner.
Philosopher's Walk
Nested between the Royal Ontario Museum and the campus of the University of Toronto, the Philosopher’s Walk is a cool example of what a green corridor is capable of.
This spot is right in the middle of the city, mind you. But it feels pleasantly covered by trees, and carpeted by lush grass.
I catch two older ladies looking up. Turns out we’re under a horse chestnut tree. As of the past four years this tree is under risk of extinction, which is what happened to the American chestnut. Good to see one looking healthy.
We also find melanated squirrels. Squirrels in Canada have a distinct black fur, and you can mostly find them around Toronto.
Supposedly the dominant genetic mutation gives an advantage in the cold. It’s also linked to more testosterone and these squirrels really aren’t that shy.
Back to Wien
I’ve long claimed Amsterdam as my favorite European city, but man, Vienna’s making a strong case to try and claim that title.
It’s sometimes called the City of Dreams. And I totally see it. There’s a romantic vibe to it, but it’s also a place that manages to ground you and keep you present. It’s like a long walk around town, late at night, simply being in the moment.
Travel Standouts
A bunch of travelers have taken this trend and added their twist and so I wanted to play along. Here are some standout countries in all my years of traveling.
Of course, this was impossible to do without overthinking. Morocco could’ve just as easily been the most hospitable. The Colombian people I met were so inspiring. And those Icelandic landscapes?
I’m not even gonna start any debates about whose got the best coffee.
Vienna
Twelve years later, I’m back in Vienna.
Just like that last visit, the chance to spend time in the city came as a bit of an unplanned but welcome surprise, and this time, I got to spend a bit more time… allowing me the chance to get to know it a bit better. I was completely impressed by the city this time around.
And just like my last visit, Vienna was the perfect site for me to take a few steps back from my regular life and to see it with a lot more clarity. It’s a good city for that.
The Nyakazu Rift
My Burundian teammates did such a good job of showing me some of the most beautiful spots around the country. One of them was the Nyakazu Rift.
It’s so hard to do this place justice through photos or even videos. There’s a real vastness to this rift that is completely breathtaking in real life. I loved being there with the community of Nyakazu, too. Incredible place, incredible people.
What places have you been that photos seem to never do justice?
Tell Deeper Stories
Part of being a storyteller is being deeply, deeply thankful to the people whose stories I get to tell.
I don’t take for granted that when people offer me a window into their lives, particularly some of their hardest and most challenging moments, and then trust me to tell that story to others, it’s a huge act of vulnerability and generosity.
I do my best with ethical storytelling and I promote having some pretty high standards when it comes to that, but I think one of the most essential parts to being able to tell a story properly is true appreciation and gratitude for that trust.
Reintroducing Myself
Seems like a good time for a little reintroduction for any new faces around here!
🇵🇭 I’m Philippe, I was born in Illinois and grew up in Philadelphia and San Diego, the latter of which is currently home. But! I have also been shaped by Filipino ancestry and other places I’ve lived, including: Argentina, Oregon, South Africa, and Italy.
🌳 I married my best friend from college, Deanna, and somehow it’s been 7 years already! We’re raising three kids under the age of three, so things are always pretty wild.
🏕 I absolutely love nature and travel. Basically, I love people and places. I’ve found that efforts to protect nature and preserve culture are deeply intertwined.
🌍 I’m passionate about ethical storytelling, especially for climate and social justice organizations. I’ve worked in that space for ten years.
🥭 A lot of the work I do is tied to serious and heavy topics but I honestly prefer to not take myself too seriously. I think that’s why one person I’ve really looked up to is Desmond Tutu. Dude took on apartheid while subversively giggling.
🎥 When I travel I love to make videos investigating things that have deeper origins or stories than we often realize, like mezcal, recycling, or moss! Did you know zombies originate from Haiti? I would love to make a whole docuseries on stuff like that someday.
✏️ You’ll probably see a lot of my visual art on here. I started using digital drawing as a form of wordless prayer for some of the heavy things going on in the world. I also use it to celebrate bits of culture and life.
🏔 I’m pretty motivated by how life is a pretty miraculous gift but also by how quickly it goes. I enjoy pushing myself and so at least once a year I try and do 1-2 big bucket list level things. This year I checked off visiting my 50th state: Alaska. Soon? Maybe a food-focused visit to India or getting a traditional Filipino tattoo.
🗺 I also try to ‘always be a rookie’ by always having something in my life I’m a total beginner at. Recent rookie year projects have included: boxing, Japanese cooking, and making animated maps on AfterEffects.
The Vibiest Taco Bell
This felt like an old Spanish monastery mish-mashed with a day spa.
But actually… it was a Taco Bell!
A bit before going to Antigua, I did my usual thing of pre-exploring via Google Maps and letting my little street view avatar guy do some walking around for me. He walked me into this rustic alleyway that I couldn’t believe was actually a Taco Bell. But sure enough, I was able to get in there and snag a chalupa.
I know there’s the fancy ocean-view Taco Bell out in Pacifica, and then there’s the one that’s also a luxury hotel in Vegas… but this is probably my favorite of the weird Taco Bells.