Are you easily inspired? I have to admit that I am. Sometimes the simplest things spark inspiration for me, and I get kind of enthralled in them. Just recently I stumbled upon a person who inspires me. In fact, I had visited his website several years ago, but after taking note of it, I brushed it aside until the fellow came up in conversation recently, and I want and had another look.
The person I am talking about is Matt Harding. Matt used to be a video game developer, and a number of years ago he gave up his job and started traveling the world. After a bit of travel, Matt came up with an idea to dance in every country he visited. His dances were videotaped, and he put together a compilation of his videos, showing all of the places he had visited, and with him dancing in each video.
After putting up the video on the Internet, a company called Stride Gum saw his video, and they offered to sponsor him for a 2nd World trip. He gladly accepted their offer, and made a second such video.
During the time that he did this and posted his videos on the Internet, Matt got a lot of e-mails from people all over the world, as you can imagine. Matt got an idea for a third trip, and asked Stride to sponsor the trip again, which they agreed to. This third trip would have a twist, though. Matt e-mailed all of those people who had been in contact with him over the years, and asked them to participate in the video when he visited their country again. This resulted in Matt’s third video, which has been online for a few months now.
As I said, Matt’s video inspires me. It sparks off two things in me. First, it is humanity at it’s best. He inspires people all over the world to come together and celebrate. Secondly, Matt personally shows that he is a guy who had a dream and went for it. Matt is not a good dancer, but he dances like he doesn’t care about what people might think. And, you can tell by looking at him that he loves what he is doing.
In many respects, I can see myself in Matt. A lot of the things that I have done, packing up and moving to Mindanao, traveling all over Mindanao and such required much of the same spirit that Matt shows. In fact, after viewing what Matt did, I want to do someting along similar lines. I am toying with the idea of traveling to every Province in the Philippines, and doing something. I am not sure what I would do yet, but not dancing. I don’t want to copy Matt, but rather to do something else that would be similar, inspired by Matt’s story. Feyma and I have talked about this, and I am thinking maybe going to each place and eating their “specialty” food in the area, or something like that.
If I made such a trip, do you have a suggestion of what I could do on the Video? I’d love to hear your suggestions!
Wow
Very nice. We've been to some of those places in the Paciifc Ocean and brings me back memories. I didn't take videos but have pictures of raising the country's flag when we arrive.
Thanks for sharing.
Come on Bob anybody can eat 😛 ..its the PHILIPPINES !!! you wanna unite people do it the pinoy way…SING !!
Hi jonaky – glad you enjoyed the video!
Hi Ellen – while watching the video I also realized that I had visited quite a few of those places, and it felt a little bit like going home. I really enjoyed the video, and it really inspired me a lot, I'm glad you enjoyed it too.
Hi brian – the problem is, I want the video to be popular. If I were to sing, nobody would watch more than about five seconds. 😆
Hello Bob,
I watched Matt being interviewed here in Australia by one our top interviewers. Matt certainly does seem to want to make you throw of those self imposed restrictions, doubts and just do what makes you feel good.
It is good to kick the doom and gloom crowd up the arse, there should be a lot more like Matt, the world would be a better place for it.
It goes to show that the simplest of things are what makes us laugh the most.
An idea for you, a special shirt or vest with colours of the philippines and use that when doing your videos.
Steven
Hi Steven – thanks for your comment, and I agree a lot about Matt. The world does need a lot more Matts.
Good suggestion about the clothes, I think I might incorporate that.
hi Bob, the video is really WOW …..maybe singing and eating will be great
just start singing the rest will follow….
salamat sa video Bob
Hi evelyn – yes, it's one of the best videos I've ever seen on the Internet. I'm glad you enjoyed it too. You guys are really pushing that singing, you've never heard my voice before!
profesional training at the bubba gump school of dance
Bob: dress up in the traditional dress of each province and learn a local tradition (dance, learn language, make a basket, or whatever) Approach UP or Cultural Centre of the Philippines for assistance, offer a portion of the proceeds towards furthering RP cultural awareness.
Otherwise, you could get a midget, fire eater, circus freaks, etc. And do a Lmagical Mystery tour" type thing… Film people's reaction as you pass through the provinces.
Hi bubba – he should get a refund!
Hi John Miele – interesting thoughts there. I like the idea of doing some cultural thing, making a basket or whatever. I had considered possibly going to different festivals around the Philippines, but that could get costly, because I can only visit one place at a time, festivals may be separated by many months in neighboring provinces. But your idea has merit.
Bob, if you decide on " Food and Cuisine" of each province, when you are in Marinduque, our chicken adobo sa gata( adobo in coconut milk) and our laing-taro roots and leaves in coconut milk are two of Marinduques favorite dishes I highly recommend. How many provinces are there now in PI?
How about pictures of you with as many mayors or governors as you can in the Philippines? Might be interesting to see how many would want their picture taken.
Hi David B Katague – thanks for those tips, those foods sound good too. I've never had adobo with coconut milk, but in my mind, it sounds good.
I'm not sure how many provinces there are now, but more than a hundred I think. I know there are 28 in Mindanao, and I think less than 20 in the Visayas. I think Luzon has over 70, but I'm not sure about that.
Hi Tom N – that would be interesting. It's funny, because in my travels around Mindanao. I spent time with the governor wives, in many provinces. These guys might be after me for spending so much time with their ladies. 😆
Hi Bob, There are so many fruits and vegetables in the Philippines – how about picking a different one in each province, showing it in its natural state, and then how it is used in food dishes. With all your readers you are going to be swamped with suggestions!
Hi Bob,
Each provinces has its own unique traditons and cultures, aside from especialties on foods/cuisines. Why not have a video of any fantastic festivals which I believe each provinces has in any month of the year. Then at the same, taking videos/pictures of the breath-taking scenic attractions.
And with the cooperation of local officials and DepEd, why not have a workshop or seminars too on how to earn money online. Of course, it's not for free. How about that?
Hi Bob
There are 81 provinces. As some said before maybe doing something that is native or unique to that particular province. I think it can be anything and not one specific thing like dancing to show the variety of Filipino culture. I think that would would make a great video to show the wonders and uniqueness of the Philippines. To save money you might be able to get assistance such as advice or to be able to stay with some of the readers here who live in different provinces and their perspective living in those provinces. Just my thoughts on this, but a wonderful idea to see all the provinces in the Philippines.
Hi John in Austria – there certainly are a lot of fruits in the Philippines. That's an interesting idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi Laura – this particular project is one that I'm not looking to make money on, but maybe I could work in some kind of seminar for free. Thanks for your suggestion..
Hi Neil – thanks for your count on the provinces! Saved me the trouble. Yes, a mixture of different cultural events or cultural doings is a good idea. Thanks for sharing that.
Kamusta ka Bob,
No Bob, if you or when you come to Southern Leyte we must see you dance..lol.
Ok..I will be serious..that sounds like such a great idea, would love to see you and Feyma come to Maasin City, the capital of Southern Leyte. Not sure what "special" foods or dishes are prepared there yet, that may be considered unique or different, but will ask Rose, maybe she knows.
Salamat,
Danny
Hi Danny – I thought all of you guys were my friends…. dancing? singing? You'll make a fool of me! 😆
Hi Bob- Wow what a great video to watch when I am only 1 week away from visiting the Philippines. There are a lot of places I have visited in the video, but you cant beat the smiles on the kids in R.P. ( maybee the kids in Vanuatu, officially the happiest place in the world.)
On the subject of your video, dont forget to include Feyma and even your kids, as they seem to be pretty happy people 😉
Hi anthony – great ideas! Thanks for sharing.
Bob
That sounds like a great idea, traveling to each Province and sample their local food, and you could do a walk through the village and stop by at a Local Bar in each Province while your at it.
You had better start looking for sponsors or donations as im sure this would cost a bundle, and as you wrote about in the past, travel in RP not done as easy as it is said.
Don't get offended but I think realistically you will never complete this task,the logistics of this would be crazy. Maybe you could scale it down a bit and somehow compile a small video from each Province that you could post here. As long as the video's were of home made type they would be very interesting.
Just my 2 cents
Hi Neal in Ri – Don't worry, your comment doesn't offend me. I will say this, though, I am the type of person who completes things when he sets out to do them. Last year I set out to visit every Province in Mindanao (28) and since then I have visited 25 of them. I feel rather certain that I can complete this if I make a final decision to go for it. I have already kind of mapped it out in my mind, and it would be a 3 year project.
I think this kind of adventure would be wonderful, I hope you do make the decision to go for it. I found all of your travel articles to the Provinces of Mindanao to be excellent.
That is quite a commitment indeed 3 years.
Hi Neal in Ri – I think that it is likely that I will do it, and I am looking forward to it. I think that over time, with advertising and such I would actually make money on it (I have an idea for a couple of sponsors too).
If there is one thing common among Filipinos especially in the provinces Bob, it is the celebration of the town Fiesta! Here, there is food galore, cultural presentations that features the place´s unique and best features. If you don´t feel comfortable singing and dancing to the world, how about having fun joining these cultural parades and have your video taken among the townspeople. You can even volunteer to be one of the judges. You can contact the mayor of each town beforehand to make certain arrangements. I am sure they will be happy to accommodate you.
For example, nearby Bansalan, Davao del Sur, will be celebrating its 56th Anniversary on 18 September. But as early as 15 Sept., they are starting the celebration by showcasing the several uses of coconut products in its “one barangay, one product” theme. You may check out http://bansalan.com/photos/Bansaulog/Bansaulog.ht…
to see what I mean by these fun parades.
Hi I.M. Schneider – I would like to do the festival thing, that's something that I talked about with Feyma, but there are logistical problems. For instance, if I'm doing festivals, let's say I traveled to Batangas for a festival there, the festival in Laguna might be three months from now, and I have to make a second trip. If I'm going for some other purpose, I can go to Batangas, Laguna and five or six other provinces on the same trip, saving a lot of money in airline travel. That's the only problem I have with festival things, otherwise I really like the idea.
Yes Bob – doing the festival route – dress up in their tribal wear, dance and hop along, eat their specialty concoctions. That's a great idea. In fact, I've seen those tribal traditional wear that is most interesting – the G string!
Hi Ellen – I would really love to do the festival thing, it's really at the top of my list, except for the fact that it's financially not feasible. The cost of doing such a chore would increase tenfold, at least if doing the festival's, because of the fact that you could not combine many provinces into one trip. If I were able to line up some good sponsors to pay for it, in exchange for advertising on the site, I do the festival visits in a minute. I just don't think it's going to workout though.
do what ever u want Bob .. I 'm sure everyone will enjoy it, but while I'm on i will put in my 2 cents ..maybe u could go to a small village or town and enjoy there hospitality ..Eat , drink and be merry and film it …..Phil R.
Hi phil R. – I was kind of thinking that about a very small village or town Phil. That could make for some real interesting video.