It's just not possible. Where did it all go? How could this be? No, I'm not referring to one of those television ads talking about hair loss. I'm talking about how many small business owners find themselves in situations where they become dangerously short on funds. It happens a lot more often than you might think. Small business owners face pressures on their pocketbook just like everyone else. Rapidly depleting financial resources can result in disaster for many small businesses in the Philippines, even to the point where they just might they have to close their doors for good. While small businesses can run into financial trouble for a … [Read more...]
Socialization
October 31, 2008 By 47 Comments
Yesterday, Thursday, I had a little lesson in socialization. Instead of my normal Bisaya language lesson, Bebe (my teacher) and I took a trip to the Bankerohan Public Market in Davao for a little social interaction with some local folks. It all started last week during my normal langauge class when Bebe and I somehow got into a conversation about Filipino snacks. She was telling me how she enjoys the snacks at the Public Market, and I suggested that maybe for our next class we should go visit the Market and have a snack together. During our conversation, Bebe set some ground rules for such a visit. We were not to drive a car to the market. … [Read more...]
Try Durian
October 30, 2008 By 21 Comments
One of the surprises in living in Mindanao is that this Island is full of fruits, some I have never heard of before. One of these is called Durian which reminds me of a scene from the film Alien where the husk is removed to show a milky coloured substance with a high pong factore. I have tried it several times and its just not for me, however on a recent visit to my friend Rick he offered it to my friends Steve and Migs!!! [youtube rPl4XBi4ugw&hl] … [Read more...]
Show some pride, Pinoy!
October 30, 2008 By 107 Comments
You know, one thing that I noticed since the first time that I visited the Philippines back in 1990, and all through the years is that when you enter the house of most Filipinos, it is very clean! Even the most poor of people who have not much more than a shack display the utmost of cleanliness. It always made me feel good to see this in Filipino households. If you accept my statement that Filipino households are kept very clean and sanitary, I wonder how we can reconcile that with my next statement... Did you ever notice that if you go to the beach here, or some other "nature spot" there is trash everywhere? Certainly, this is not true … [Read more...]
A jewel for the eyes
October 29, 2008 By 21 Comments
Today's Guest Blog is from Jason Dance. Jason intends to write a few guest blogs in the future for the site, and I'm sure we'll enjoy them all. Welcome aboard, Jason! Most people coming to the Philippines usually visit some of the well known places such as: Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Davao among other big names. What about the lesser known places where Filipinos hardly see any foreigners? Well, for all the expats in the Philippines or for the undecided minds wondering where to go; let me describe to you a small island in Samar called Santo Nino! The first three words that come to my mind are "Peace and quiet". I have never been to a place … [Read more...]
I made the right choice!
October 29, 2008 By 57 Comments
You know, there are dozens of widely used languages here in the Philippines. Sometimes it seems that every time you make a ride to the next city it's another language in use! Well, I am exagerating a little bit there, but honestly, there are at least 70 or 80 languages in general use. Thus, when I decided to study a language, it was not an automatic decision on what language to learn. For me, the choice came down to Tagalog or Bisaya. Tagalog is one of the national languages, the other being English. However, in the region where I live, Bisaya is the most widely spoken language. I chose to study Bisaya for a number of reasons. … [Read more...]
Samal, Global Crises, atbp
October 28, 2008 By 21 Comments
Hi, I am back from a week's time out on Samal Island. Sure, I stayed in my favourite resort, the Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort. First time I came here was in 1982... . I don't wanna give any promotions for this place, but I still get the service here I love to enjoy during those holidays...:and, great food, affordable prices, very clean surroundings and a wonderful beach... . While staying there I was informed about a comment of Tourism Council President Araceli Ayuste, of the Island Garden of Samal, the official name of this island-city: "We don't want this island to become the next Boracay because we know it can become much better … [Read more...]
Evaluating Life
October 28, 2008 By 40 Comments
A week or two ago, I wrote a column of miscellaneous items, one of which was about a visit from my niece, Sweet, and her fiancee, Heart. They were to be married soon, and I was one of their Primary Sponsors (Ninong). This past weekend was the wedding, and Feyma and I, along with all 4 kids went down to GenSan for the event. It was really a great weekend, and turned out to be much more special than I realized it would be. In fact, attending the wedding caused me to re-evaluate my life, my family, and our family history in many ways. You see, Sweet, my niece, was one of the flower girls at our wedding in 1990. Not only that, she and … [Read more...]
Intramuros Video
October 27, 2008 By 2 Comments
Over the last few weeks I have been coming across some videos related to the Phil. and I am going to share just a taste of those with you over the next few articles. This short clip is from Manila a couple of weeks ago where I met up with fellow LIP man Migs Bassig and some friends who took myself and my friend Steve who is visiting from the UK for a long hot walk. [youtube EyAOLeHeODw] … [Read more...]
Mayor Rody
October 27, 2008 By 32 Comments
Here in Davao, our Mayor is Rodrigo Duterte, commonly known as "Rody". Mayor Duterte is a law and order man, sort of a Dirty Harry (which is a nickname that he does have) for Davao City. Let me just say that no matter who you are, you would never want to do anything to end up on the wrong side of Mayor Duterte. Have no doubt about that, because being on his wrong side would not be a comfortable, or likely a safe place to be. Duterte was Mayor of Davao during the 1990's too, and then he ran up against term limits and could not run for re-election again. At that time Duterte ran for Congressman from Davao, and won quite easily. He served … [Read more...]
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