Bob Martin

Good morning.  Today, I want to write something different.  I will also post an audio of this.

Last week, when I wrote an article about pomelo, and I visted a fruit stand in Santa Cruz, I showed a video of the visit there.  Some people commented that they were impressed with my Bisaya.  I was surprised to hear that, because the Bisaya that I used on the video was very simple, and my skills are far better than that.  So, I wanted to write this, and include an audio of myself saying this in Bisaya so that everybody could hear.

I have been studying Bisaya for one year now.  My teacher is Bebe Metillo.  I am so happy with the things that Bebe has taught me, because this has made a big improvement on my daily life.  I really have to thank Bebe for that.

Today, as I write this, it is Wednesday (I am writing on Wednesday, it will be posted on Friday), I have my weekly Bisaya lesson this afternoon.  I am writing the English for this first, and when my lesson starts, I want to translate it to Bisaya, then record it so that I can include it on my website.

For anybody who wants to live here, I really encourage you to learn the language that is used in the area where you will live.  Learning a language is not as hard as you think.  Just a few hours per week of study, and you can speak in a year or so.  You will be happy that you took the time to learn it!

Thank you to Bebe and to everybody who has helped me in my studies.

Listen to this post in Bisaya by clicking on on the gray “Play” button below:

 

 Bob Speaks Bisaya! [2:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you come to the Philippines for a vacation, did you know that you can drive without need of obtaining a Philippine Driver’s License?  It’s true.  As long as you have a license from your home country, you may drive here using that license.  That, however, is only good for 90 days from the time you enter the country.  If you intend to stay longer than 90 days, and intend to drive after that 90 day “grace period” then you will need to obtain a Philippine Driver’s License.

So, if you have decided that you need to (or want to) get a Philippine Driver’s License, what steps should you follow?  Let’s have a look:

1. You need to first go to the LTO (Land Transportation Office) in the City where you will be applying for your license.  By the way, like when you visit the Bureau of Immigration, you should wear long pants (not shorts) when you go to the LTO.
2. When you go to the LTO, you should bring the following items:

• Your original driver’s license from your home country.
• Your original passport.
• A good photocopy of your driver’s license.
• A good photocopy of the photo page of your passport.
• A good photocopy of the Philippine entry stamp for your latest entry to the Philippines in your passport.
• A good photocopy of your latest visa extension stamp in your passport (if applicable).
• A report from your LTO approved medical exam (the medical exam will cost you around P100).
• A report from your LTO approved drug test (the drug test will cost you around P150).

When you go to the LTO with these items, you will have to wait, generally between 1 hour and 8 hours.  All of your original documents will be compared against the photocopies to ensure the accuracy of the photocopies.  Once that is checked out, the originals will be returned to you.

Next, you will have a photo taken for the driver’s license.

You will pay a fee of just over P300, and then you will be given your license.  If you are applying in a small town, they will give you a paper receipt for the license, and the actual laminated license will be sent from Manila.  This can take anywhere from 3 months to a year for you to receive it.  The paper receipt will serve as your temporary driver’s license while you are waiting for the actual license to arrive.

For the medical exam and the drug test, as you see listed above, these services are generally available at small booths located just outside the LTO office.  They are quick, easy, and painless!  For the medical exam, they will generally take your blood pressure, ask you a few questions, and give you the results form. For the drug test, you will be required to urinate in a cup, it will be analyzed,  and you will be on your way in only a few minutes.  In my experience, the medical and drug tests are accomplished at the same office.

Now, your next challenge is to learn how to drive in the Philippines.  It’s not quite the same as back home!

Back in 1990, when Feyma and I got married, I faced a situation that required a little bit of couthness, hard thinking, and wiggling to get through.  It was a sort of test that was placed in front of me, looking to see what my reaction was.  Thankfully, I think I passed!

When I first came to General Santos City with Feyma, after just a day or so, we went to City Hall and applied for our marriage license.  Just like John Miele mentioned in his most recent post, part of getting married involves the requirement to attend a Family Planning seminar.  If you do not attend this seminar, a license cannot be issued, so of course, we scheduled our seminar time.

When we went to attend the Family Planning seminar, which was held at the City Health Office in General Santos, there were maybe around a dozen couples there for the seminar, but I was the only foreigner there.  The teachers took a quick look at the attendees, and she informed me that since I was the only foreigner attending, she would continue with the seminar in the local language, not in English.  She said that she was quite certain that I already knew about family planning anyway, so she wanted to make sure that the other people had a good understanding of the issue, and by using the local language she could be sure that they understood what she was talking about.  I agreed that I had no problem with this, and I sat there listening (but not understanding) anything said.

After about 10 minutes of sitting there quietly, I noticed that the language suddenly switched to English!  The teacher said:

Mr. Martin, we will have a quiz, and you will be the one to answer.  The question for you is this:  Would you prefer that your wife is good in the kitchen, or good in the bedroom?

Oops!  I was on the spot now.  As I considered this carefully, I realized that no matter how I answered, I could be in trouble!  Oh my, what should I say.

I thought for a minute or so, weighing the various answers and the reaction that I might get.  I was totally new here, and knew nothing about the culture here at that time.  I kept considering.  Then, the right answer came to me, I believe.

I responded:  I would prefer a wife that is good in the bedroom.

Laughter roared in the room.

The teacher followed up:  Why?

My response:  Because, I figure that if my wife is bad in the kitchen, I can always hire a cook.  If my wife is bad in the bedroom, I don’t think it would be right to hire somebody to take care of that!

Ah, I got approval from the teacher on that one!  And, the other students in the seminar seemed to like the answer too!

I must say, it was quite a shock to hear that question, and I advise John Miele to be ready for some sort of trick question like this when he attends the Family Planning seminar in preparation for his wedding.  In a society like the Philippines, it is very important to handle a question like this with a bit of class.  I think that the question was asked specifically to me just to see what a foreigner would say, how he would handle the question, etc.

I’m glad that I got approval from my answer!  It was really an (almost) un-answerable question!

Remember, a couple of weeks ago I posted a column about the agreement between the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and the Government of the Philippines (GRP) concerning Ancestral Domain?  Well, a lot has happened since then.  It all started last week when a “mini-war” broke out in North Cotabato.  A group of MILF combatents took over certain Barangays in North Cotabato, took farmland from farmers, and generally caused trouble in the areas.  They were ordered by the GRP to vacate the areas that they were holding, and move completely out of the area.  Some of the rebels moved out peacefully.  Others stayed and fought, or moved to other areas and fought.

Last week, when Feyma and I went to Digos, as I reported in my post about Pomelo, on our way home to Davao, we saw a LOT of Army vehicles, including armored vehicles moving toward North Cotabato.  The skirmishes there were quite real, believe me.  This past weekend there was more action.  On Sunday, Iligan City experienced three bombings, one of which was in a hotel there.  There were plenty of injuries there due to the bombings.  A lot of people are speculating that MILF people perpetrated these bombings.

Yesterday (Monday) was a big day, though.  Many attacks happened all around Lanao del Norte Province, including in Iligan City.  Seven farmers were killed in cold blood by MILF, six other civilians, and seven Army personnel.  President Arroyo addressed the Nation on TV at mid-day and said the the actions of the MILF were tantamount to a declaration of war in Mindanao.  In addition, MILF rebels attacked Maasim town in Sarangani Province.  I have been to each of these places that came under attack, and have visited each of the places multiple times, so I am quite familiar with not only Maasim, but the areas in Lanao del Norte that were attacked as well.

For their part, the MILF spokesman stated that the attacks were not “sanctioned” by the MILF.  At the same time, though, the MILF leadership ordered their people to stop the attacks.  By making this order, it would seem that the MILF is admitting that it is their people who are behind these horrid actions.  This means that either the MILF sanctioned the attacks, or that they do not have control over their people.  No matter which is the reason, should the GRP be negotiating with the MILF if they can’t even control their own people?  Giving away part of Mindanao to these people?  What is the MILF giving in return.  Supposedly, the MILF is giving peace to the government, but what we are seeing right now is not peace, you can be certain of that.

I have a lot of very good friends in Iligan, and I wish them nothing but the best.  I hope that they and their families remain safe, and that nobody is injured or killed.

So far, I consider Davao to be very safe.  But, some of these things (particularly the problems in North Cotabato) are getting close to the City.  I have a lot of confidence in Mayor Duterte, though, and if anybody can keep the city safe, Mayor Duterte is the one.  Right now, I have no reason to think about leaving the area, and I doubt that it would come to that.  But, things are getting somewhat worrisome for the area, and hopefully things can be calmed before things flare up any further.

You know, different cultures mean different values, different ways of looking at things, different practices.  No culture is right, and no culture is wrong, they are just different from each other.  Some people prefer one culture, some people prefer another.  Nothing wrong with that at all.  Variety is, after all, the spice of life!

One thing in Philippine culture, and also in most Asian cultures is that respect is automatically given to certain people.  Older people get respect.  People with certain jobs get respect.  People with money get respect.  On the other hand, in most western cultures, respect is something that must be earned, it is not given automatically in most cases.

Here in the Philippines, family relations are deeply respect-based.  An older brother or sister will be given a “title” (Manong, Manang, Kuya, Ate, etc.).  The exact title used varies depending on region, and also varies from one family to the next.  It would be considered unusual for a younger sister to call an older brother by his name - that lacks the respect that should be shown.

However, what if an older brother or sister is not such a good person? What if that person does not show respect for others?  What if that older brother treats his parents in a poor manner?  Should the younger sibling still show respect for such a disrespectful elder sibling?  Well, in my culture, respect would not be given to such a disrespectful person.  But, here in the Philippines it would be considered poor behavior to withhold such respect.

For example, what if “Kuya” treats his mother poorly?  What if Kuya has a good deal of money, yet he refuses to buy medicine for his sick, elderly mother?  Does he deserve to be “Kuya” (the title itslef denotes respect for him) any longer?

In the west, “Kuya” would not be respected, at least not to the extent that he used to be respected, if he was a bad person.  Respect in the west must be earned, and if Kuya is not helping Mama, he no longer is earning the respect.  Here in the Philippines, not only must Kuya continue to be respected, and addressed with respect, but actually to not show him respect would be downright shameful!

I find that a basic cultural attitude like this is very hard to adjust to.  I cannot show respect for a person who does not deserve it.  No matter how hard I would try, this kind of thing is an adjustment that I simply cannot make.

How about you?