One of the places aside from the Philippines I have lived is Thailand.  I spent several very happy years there and I love the country and the people.  My wife also lived and worked in Thailand … it’s certainly on our list of places to re-visit … after we get tired of touring the Philippines … only 7105 islands to go …..

I brought up Thailand because I learned a very worthwhile expression there … in English it is “Keep a cool heart”.  It’s often said between friends when one person is upset about something … usually in an attempt to head off a loss of temper … or even a display of temper … because in the Thai culture if you want to be respected and remembered like a movie star … keep your $100 USD bills in your wallet and learn not to show emotion when others would lose their temper.  This is a very highly valued trait.  That’s what “keeping a cool heart” is all about … not about being cold hearted, but about not being hot blooded.

In the Philippines the average person is “allowed” to show more emotion … but not much.  You can go to the mall in cut-off jeans and worn flip-flops.  You can play your stereo too loud, let your dog run around the neighborhood and park your car in almost any conceivable location … most Filipinos won’t take offence and if you are obviously a foreigner they will likely make extra allowance for you … but don’t lose your temper!

No bear in mind I am writing this as advice … I’m not trying to tell you I always live up to my own advice …. one of the cool things about having a blog is, I can say “do as I say, not as I do”, but seriously, I’ve tried it both ways and not losing your temper is by far the best way to go.

Not long ago a fellow blogger wrote a post about getting cheated by a taxi driver.  This fellow and his friend got into a shouting match with the driver on their way to the airport, made the driver stop on the street, hauled their luggage out of the cab (one of the guys sat on the hood to keep the driver from leaving … I couldn’t help but think what would have happened had the driver driven off with a huge “kano” hood ornament, gave me a good chuckle anyway) … told the crowd that gathered to gawk at the argument how bad a person the cab driver was … and generally made themselves “memorable” to say the least to who knows how many of our hosts.

I would be willing to bet that virtually every cab driver has a bolo knife, a club or a gun under his seat … taxi drivers are routinely beaten, robbed and shot dead and I sure wouldn’t drive without a weapon on board.  And anyone in the crowd could have been drunk and decided to “avenge the honor” of the embarrassed and insulted cab driver with a knife in the ribs.  Dangerous situation it seems to me.  A knife in the gut for a couple hundred pesos?

Let’s suppose for a moment that driver really was a “bad person” and he was having the sort of day where he consciously decided to annoy the first foreigner he saw.  Regardless of who was right or wrong I think he succeeded.  Why make a rotten SOB’s day successful for him?  Talk about playing into someone else’s hand.

What would I have done?  Simple in this case …just proceed to the airport as if nothing was wrong and when you get there, call a policeman over … there are always plenty of cops at both the domestic and international terminals …ignore the cab driver and explain to the cop where you got in and what you think is wrong.  At the very worst you’ll have to pay what’s on the meter.  Consider it an unjust tax … we all pay them.  But very likely the police officer and the cab driver will have a little chat and things will go your way.  One thing for sure.  You won’t get beat up, you won’t leave a bad taste in perhaps hundreds of people mouths and you won’t shorten your own life by straining your heart and raising your blood pressure.

A few “cool heart” tips:

• Carry a camera phone to record things you see that are going wrong
• Load the taxi abuse hotline number in your phone’s calling list (it’s written on every cab)
• Use the police for what they are paid to be there for .. if you think the police are “out to get white folks” I strongly suggest you leave the Philippines … you’re in the wrong country
• And if you really think losing your temper is the only way to respond … calculate how much you’re being cheated for versus the cost of a trip to the hospital and ask yourself if it’s really worth the expense.

Keep a cool heart!

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