I recently read some responses to an essay assignment by a Philipppines school teacher to her 8th and 9th grade students. The assignment to the class was to answer the question: “What is the best the thing I have done for my country?” One of the students responded in her essay with “I actually don’t […]Read More
Nobody Ever Said Life Was Easy… Even in the Philippines! A few months ago I published an article titled “An Expat’s Feelings Revealed!” and it was based on a sub/reddit post titled “What is Wrong With Locals Here?” The bottom line is that not everyone who comes to live in the Philippines is a happy […]Read More
I just finished reading a post on sub/reddit titled “What is exactly wrong with locals here?” and I must admit, based upon the thread comments, the OP of this article really struck a chord – with some readers that agreed with him and others who adamantly defended against everything he said. Below I have inserted […]Read More
Reflections and Realizations. Have you ever just sat back and reflected on things? Your car, your house, your job? Your past? Or how about something greater?… your life, your family, maybe even your country? Sure you have – everybody does it from time to time. It is a natural thing to do. Reflection is a process of […]Read More
If one didn’t know any better, you would think it was Halloween all over again… this time though, without the scary costumes. Christmas day in the Philippines is unlike Christmas day in the west, where children will wake up especially early and rush to the Christmas tree where Santa typically leaves their gifts during the […]Read More
Living With Guns in the Philippines. When I first came to the Philippines in 1983, one thing I readily noticed was the numbers of guys standing around with guns. They seemed to be everywhere. They could be packing anything, from a .38 cal pistol to a .45 cal semi-automatic, to an AR-15 style assault rifle […]Read More
Things That Even Filipinos Misunderstand There are many things that we as foreigners misunderstand about Filipino culture and way of life in the Philippines. Some of us figure it out and go with the flow, and some foreigners never come to grips with all the confusion. Then there many things that even Filipinos themselves misunderstand, […]Read More
It’s been nearly 18 months since we retired and relegated ourselves to a quiet life in Samar Province in the Philippines. Since arriving here, generally speaking, life has been pretty laid back and relaxing. And also wonderfully restful in the sense that when you don’t feel like doing something (anything), you just don’t do it. […]Read More
Much of the reason I like many of the food items on the menu this side of the International Dateline (Far East) likely has much to do with my early exposure to Asian foods. Once I arrived in the Western Pacific (see My Enchantment) at the ripe age of 19, I was immediately exposed to the […]Read More