The Lifeguards Association of General Santos City!

The training consisted of 2 parts! Part 1 consisted of Standard First Aid with  AR,( Artificial Respiration) and CPR, (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) which took 7 days to complete. Part 2 consisted of  Water Safety and Rescue which was all in water activities both in the pool and in the ocean! This part was a long 6 days, more like boot camp! I had done this kind of training myself many years earlier both as a civilian and in the Army but I still decided to once again show that someone of my age could still complete with the younger students and in the August of 97 we started the training!

The First Aid training was good but the PNRC are very old fashioned in their methods of Training as its more like the Boy Scouts as you have to do correct kinds of bandaging for different kinds of injuries tied with the correct knots etc! The AR and CPR was interesting for most as they had never done it before but by the end of the training week all were quite good and competent to perform on real victims if and when required!

The Water Safety and Rescue Training was another story as this consisted of plenty of stamina training which meant lots of swimming in the pool, a mile a day was nothing, swim swim swim, there are 10 Lifeguard Swimming Strokes and we had to get them all correct even though most would never be used but we all cracked on and mastered them! We learned how to use different methods to assist and rescue people and for our graduation we were taken out 1 mile into Sarangani Bay and told to swim back into Makar Wharf! At the end of this Training we had a great feeling of achievement, the 23 of us who completed the course that was!

All the others on the course worked at swimming areas as Lifeguards and within the first few days of the newly trained Lifeguards going back on duty, several successful rescues took place and the Lifeguards were on top of the world! We decided then to form an association so we had a meeting to iron out the details and elect officers and lo and behold, the white guy (me) became President! During the next couple of weeks we had several more meetings and designed uniforms and a banner of course with our new logo on it and I went to see the Mayor and she agreed that a City Ordinance was called for instructing that all Swimming Areas within the City Boundaries were to employ PNRC Trained Lifeguards! This was great as some of the Resort Owners were not interested in having Lifeguards as they said that they did not have problems, several Resort Owners were soon to change their minds very quickly when they had incidents within their areas and were asking me to supply Lifeguards to them! During the last 4 months of 1997 there were only another 6 fatalities in the swimming areas so everyone was very pleased at the initial results so I decided that in late January 1998 I decided that it would be time for another training as not all Resorts had Lifeguards and others needed more!

I sent out letters of invitation to all Swimming Resorts but was very disappointed that by the Christmas of 1997 I had only got back 6 answers from Resorts who wanted to have people trained! On New Years Day 1998 I was at my lounge when I was called to the pool to address an emergency, a 3 year old girl was not breathing as she had been in the water in between her parents who were feeding her apple! They were talking to their friends and did not notice their daughter slip below the surface! When I arrived, people were wailing and preying but I quickly took charge of the situation and checked the girl for breathing and heartbeat, unfortunately their were neither so I immediately tried to give a rescue breath in order to get Oxygen into her but nothing went in! I looked in her mouth to check her airway and could see a blockage, luckily, with her being small I used a finger to hook out the blockage which was a large piece of apple! I once gain tried AR and CPR on her and after just a couple of rounds she started coughing a bit so I gave her a good nip on the top of her leg and she gave out a loud scream and once again she was back in action! That scream was indeed a wonderful sound and more prayer was given and after checking that the child was OK I picked her up and then her bowels opened and she got revenge on me for nipping her! Some say it was a blessing but I know that it was really a great ending for what was nearly a tragedy even though I had a brown stain down the front of me! I instructed the parents to take the girl to St Elizabeth Hospital and tell them that she had a near drowning incident and should be put on oxygen for 30 minutes which they did! About 5 years later the Mother brought her daughter back to the hotel and the little girl thanked me for what I did! It was a very touching moment for me! Later on that same 1997 New Years Day there was a double drowning at London Beach but unfortunately non of the victims survived! When the next Lifeguard Training Course started there were 57 participants so something good had come out of tragedy!

Now, the Association was doing very well and the annual death tole was reduced to just 2 or 3 per year, I was successful another 2 times resuscitating children! Most in water accidents were caused by people who were Over the limit with alcohol, had just eaten before swimming and choking on their own vomit, unsupervised children getting out of their depth and a couple of medical problems! With Lifeguards being deployed all was pretty good and safe at the beaches, this is when the problems started to happen!

For the years since 1979 to 2005 the City Licencing Office made all resort Owners come to me for a certification that they had PNRC Trained Lifeguards on their Staff, this for some reason stopped! For Lifeguard Training Cources the numbers were reducing with every course, in the end several Resorts did not employ Lifeguards at all! When I asked the Resort Owners why they did not have Lifeguards they said that they did not need them as there were no accidents happening! This was just Foolish Complacency on their part and the good luck could not last forever!

In 2006 I tried 3 times to get new Lifeguards Trained but to no avail as only 1 or 2 students turned up for training, much less than the minimum requirement for PNRC Training so I was now the President of nothing as the Resort Owners would only let what was left of the Lifeguards attend the monthly meetings in their own free time so even the meetings stopped! My letters to the Mayor never got answered and now I was really wondering what to do as I could not see a future at all for the Association as it stood!

The last straw came when one Resort Owner, who had always fought against having Lifeguards asked me to issue her a certification that she had Lifeguards employed which she did not so I refused! All the next night I got hate Texts from her, really disgusting stuff so the next morning I made a transcript of the texts and sent it along with my Resignation as Association President to the Mayor, again i never received an answer from his office!

For over 2 years now there has been no Lifeguard Training in the Gen San Area and only a handful of Lifeguards are left to assist the Swimming Public! As I said earlier its just Foolish Complacency on the part of the City and the Resort Owners which has created this problem! The Lifeguards Association of General Santos City was once a Showpiece and was advertised by the National office of the PNRC of how an Association should be run, what a shame that it no more exists! The most upsetting part of this story to me is the simple fact that there have been over 20 fatalities at the Swimming Resorts to August this year so the clock has been turned back to 1997 in regards to Water Safety in Gen San!

Maybe its because there is no profit to be made so no is interest is being shown!

Crossing madness

Having had the “controlled” traffic rules in the UK all my life, it thus was a shock and half when I first cam to Asia and experienced the NO RULES system. My first stop in Bangkok made me realize London was a controlled traffic flow, and even though had its traffic lights and horns blowing all the time it just does not even match the rules of engagement here in the Philippines.

Now there have been many articles on traffic here, but this time I thought I would write it from the pedestrian of non Pinoy decent, that have to learn to do the Olympic games from pole vaulting over cars that come straight at you, to theb  800m hurdles, where you get chased and have to jump over other pedestrians who are slower than you, no tiome to pass the Baton here. Back in the UK we have a Zebra crossing system that if automated stops the  traffic so you can pass over without thinking you are in the FINAL DESTINATION, and here too in the last few weeks a brand new crossing has appeared, but the rules are a mystery to me.

First of all during it being made the traffic just went up on the sidewalk and scattered the pedestrians in all directions, but it was OK as it was overseen by traffic cops, so we were all in safe hands there.

The first morning of the new crossing, a crossing which is always busy with lane hopping cars,bikes and Jeepney all trying to swerve in front of another vehicle, or stop dead in front of another as to enjoy hundreds of brake lights coming on with the noise of horns to follow. Which incidentally everyone ignores the horns as they are going all the time, so are not classed as anything else but normal traffic noise.Anyway back to the first morning, and several traffic cops were ensuring that us pedestrians did NOT cross the road unless we used the new crossing, and that was great I thought, even when I saw some people who disobeyed getting tickets from the police,pedestrians not drivers.

Then I noticed that the cars shot past you even if you were half way through the crossing, and you still had to keep an eye out for a kamikaze driver who was not going to slow down for a crossing. Funny thing is that these drivers were so quick the police were not able to see them but could see the pedestrians dancing on the crossing trying to avoid the metal. The police just kept calling the pedestrians over.

Well day one teething problems I’m sure. Day two  and the Police have gone so its up to the public to deal with this new format without help. Now the pedestrians try hard to put one foot on the crossing followed by second, but by this time the cras are rocking past them and they have to step back waiting for the never going to happen gap in the traffic.Now I was a little angry over this but being a foreigner I had to try and obey the rules so after a long wait, a long long wait I managed to get on the crossing  with the inevitable horns going from the super powered jeepneys hurtling towards me, and through guts and determination I made it to the halfway point. Some astonished locals were looking at me in amazement, why is he using the crossing? Just play chicken like the rest of us.

Nope, I wanted this to work (Not really sure why), but I was in trouble stuck in no mans land,with cars and jeepneys full of wide eyes looking at this stupid man stuck in the middle of the road.

After a few false tries, I just waited and to my utter astonishment the Jeepneys one by one parked ON the crossing to let people get on and off, and others queued behind. People were getting off on the crossing!!
Now I have metal machines and human beings preventing me from crossing, it makes no sense to me at all.

Over the next few days the road is back to normal, and no one uses the crossing and I play the game of Chicken. I just hope my old legs don’t let me down in the future, or I will be up close and personal with a Jeepney.

The Philippines needs a Hero

Again, this week, I am sharing my Friday column from SunStar Davao Newspaper.  I hope you enjoy the article.

Every country needs heroes.  Every group of  people needs heroes of it’s own.  It’s something in the human spirit, having heroes helps us do better ourselves.  Somehow we want to emulate the person who has achieved hero status.

Politicians, these days, don’t make for good heroes, they are too divisive.  Half the people revere a certain politician, the other half hate him.  It is very rare in this age that there is a politician that is looked up to by a big enough percentage of the populace that they could be considered a hero.  Sure, a certain politician can be a hero to his followers, but not so much to an entire nation.

Who are the heroes of the Philippines?  Without much doubt, the number one hero of the country is boxer Manny Pacquiao.  Manny has another bout coming up in just a few weeks, and you can bet that the nation will come to halt for a few hours to watch their hero go to battle (and hopefully win!).  Manny brings pride to the Filipino people, and rightly so.  But, in the end, Manny is a Sports hero.  Sure, he will contribute some money to some causes in the country, but how much can a Sports hero really do to make the nation rise to greatness, let alone his individual followers make the same rise?

CNN, the Cable News Network, is having it’s annual (I think this is the second year for the event) search for heroes.  Right now, they have narrowed the search down to 10 candidates.  One of those candidates is a Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida.  Efren is on a mission to teach kids.  Destitute kids.  Kids who are not in school, and some of whom have no homes except the streets.

Peñaflorida has his own “school of the streets,” he has a pushcart that he loads up with books and other learning materials, and he pushes his cart around the streets of Manila.  He goes out and finds kids who need to learn, and he teaches them as best he can.  Peñaflorida goes out and finds kids who are in gangs, and he takes them out of gang life by giving them an education.

One of the students said it all:

“I thought I’d get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve,” recalls Fajardo. “I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict — if I hadn’t met Efren.”

Saving kids from going to jail, and instead giving them an education is something that only a hero could do.

Peñaflorida, who is only 28 years old, has been doing this for 12 years already.  Can you imagine, the fellow started at the age of 16?  I wonder how many kids he has saved from gang life, even death in those years?

Where does Peñaflorida find his students?  Well, all over the streets of Metro Manila.  Even at the garbage dump.  Now, in addition to his “pushcart school,” Efren also operates a place where these poor children can get a shower an start off the day clean and ready to learn.

This contest to find CNN’s Hero for 2009 is something that you can make a difference in.  You can vote for your hero, and when the votes are summed up, that is how CNN’s hero will be chosen.  By visiting CNN’s Website, you can cast your vote for who you think the hero is.  Hey, let’s face it, any one of those ten who are in the finals are heroes in their own right.  But, for me, Efren is a real hero by helping these kids make something of themselves.  If you agree with me, please go and vote and make Efren the CNN hero.  If he wins, he will get $100,000 to advance his work.  Efren has said that it is his goal to spread his pushcart schools all around the Philippines, and to help more children through the effort.  You can do a small part by going and voting for Efren now!

The Philippines needs more heroes, and you can do your part by voting now!

Dear Feyma: OFW Disappearance

Just a few days ago I got an interesting email from a person in the Middle East. He had a Filipina employee (Domestic Helper) at his house. Somehow early this month she went missing. He was trying to reach out to the family of the employee here in the Philippines and he couldn’t get any response. He also tried to call and emailed the Philippine Embassy in his country and got no reply too. He also emailed the agency where the lady was associated with but got no acknowledgment from them too.

Here’s the email that I got. I just edited the name of the girl because I just don’t want to invade her privacy. Plus, I don’t really know the real reasons why she left her employer.

“Dear Feyma,wouid you please help me to contact any of my employee’s reletives,since she is missing. she worked as a house
domastic maid at my house in the Middle East. i tried to reach her family in philippines but in somehow i got you. for some reason i think you can help.”

So he was trying to find any relative or agency on the web and somehow he came across my name. So, he then emailed me and asked me if I could help him. He even gave me the passport number of the lady for me to search I guess. he didn’t really give me much information about the lady other than her name and her passport number. I then emailed him back of some array of questions.

Honestly some questions he might not be comfortable with. I just don’t know if the lady was treated well at his household. I’ve heard too many horror stories of the OFW in the Middle East. I told him that  I really am sorry for my blunt questions. I don’t know if the lady really went away because she was abused or was she hurt by somebody in the household and was killed? I don’t really know. I was left with too many questions in my mind though. I really hope that the lady is okay. If she ever was abused to report to her agency or in the Philippine Embassy in the Middle East. To be honest I am really bothered by this email.

I know a lot of the ladies that worked as an OFW, some really suffered from the hands of their employers. It is painful to hear sometimes on the news on TV about it. What can we do? The problem is the ladies really just want to gamble their lives to work abroad because they can’t find job here in the Philippines. I really am feeling sorry for the kids they left behind here. I know it must be hard for them, but they will sacrifice to earn money so the  kids can go to a better school and have a better life. I just hope that the kids and the family that was left behind can see the sacrifice of the loved one that worked so hard abroad.

Anyway, I hope that the lady that was missing is okay. I haven’t heard back from the person that emailed me. I will follow up on this and give you guys the update. If any of you had the similar situation when working abroad please share it to the group here.

Thank you so much guys!

Going Bananas Over Rainy Season (Pt II)

It’s been quite a quest to beat the blues of “Rainy Season,” but those blues appear to be on the run.  They’re being chased by a purplish pod – a banana blossom – and little green hands of banana fingers that, when ripened and yellow, should provide delicious entertainment to our taste buds. 

Going bananas?  Seeing colors?  Too much time without direct sunshine and Vitamin D?  Just what is going one here?

Have patience, dear reader, as we unwrap the pedals of this blossoming tale.

Continuing my wordy love affair with a fairer fruit, we resume the log as something afoul approaches:

10/01/2009 - I thought I would get some photos from a different angle.  This shot provides a better view of the hands that have been uncovered and the beginning of their rise toward the sky.  No pedals dropped away today, but a few more seem to be getting ready for the leap.  This blossom is starting to look like the typical bunch of bananas.

 

 

 

-:-

10/02/2009 – Hands and fingers are really popping out all over. As we are expecting a visit from Typhoon Pepeng (Parma), and don’t know when the first band of rain showers and winds will appear, I took this picture a little earlier in the afternoon. Wow! Look at all those fingers – and to think there are more under each of those pedals. I’ll have to ask Emy to dig up some banana recipes. We certainly will have enough ingredients! Also might be able to sell some at the tienda (palengke) [market].

 

-:-

10/3/2009 – We had heavy, periodic rain overnight accompanied by some stong wind gusts. Today is mostly overcast and periodic downpours and gusts. During a break between rains, the sun came out and so did the digital camera. Last night’s weather helped clear a few pedals from the blossom and reveal the hands hiding beneath them. There are quite a few hands attached to the stem, and still a lot of pedals left to shed. The plant next to this one is showing signs of a possible blossom, too. Oh, the bananas!

 

 

-:-

10/04/09 – Typhoon Pepeng visited us last night, and demanded bananas.  We bartered all night long – he was quite windy – and we came to an arrangement.  Pepeng would take the banana plant that was just starting to show signs of a blossom.  I could keep the banana plant that I had been documenting, but . . . .  So others would know that he drives a hard bargain, Pepeng tipped my banana plant about 45°.  The fruit should continue to develop but it’s as if the plant has a sign that says, “Pepeng was here” hanging about its branches.  For the rest of the day, Pepeng danced all around the neighborhood, making a bargain here, taking something there, breaking something way over there, etc.

-:-

10/05/2009 – The typhoon is lingering about 245km away, and weather conditions let up enough for a close-up of our surviving banana plant.  The hands look healthy, but I still wonder if all will be well.  There is word that Typhoon Pepeng may return.  If so, will Pepeng demand more bananas?   After all these days, I’d hate to give them up.

 

 

 

-:-

10/06/2009 – Typhoon Pepeng must have liked his bananas.  He made a U-turn and came back across Pasuquin and Ilocos Norte.  My small banana grove now consists of four small (less than a meter tall) plants and the plant that I’ve been tracking.   All I can do is to wait and see whether my survivor is on Pepeng’s menu.

 

 

-:-

10/07/2009 – The storm left us heading south.  Pepeng must have taken someone else’s bananas as my survivor is still hanging in there.  Unfortunately, the winds associated with Pepeng’s return removed some of the blossom’s pedals prematurely.  You can see the under-developed fingers near the blossom.  All with be touch-and-go from this point on.  I don’t know if there was any internal damage to the plant.  Gee, what a way to chase the rainy season blues away!

 

 

-:-

10/08/2009 – We had to remove the plant’s blossom from the bunch.  It is no longer producing fingers that would develop into edible fruit.  While the amputation was a rather sad occasion, something positive resulted as well.  When a blossom has produced all of the fingers it has, its remaining part is edible as well.  Like an artichoke, peeling away the remaining leaves reveals a “heart.”  Though one can eat it raw, the heart is a great ingredient for making a delicious soup.

 

-:-

10/09/2009 – The remaining hands of banana fingers on the bunch are in need of sunshine.  Overcast skies remain from the weather systems that passed over us.  Whether or not these remaining hands will survive and become fruit will be up to the sun.  Having gone a week without sunshine (and mostly harsh winds and rain) can’t be too good for fruiting.

 

 

 

-:-

10/10/2009 – Finally, the sun is out.  Birds are singing. Farmers are gathering in their rice fields to assess storm damage to their rice crops.  Me?  I’m looking at what’s left of my bananas.  Perhaps another story may come from this plant.  Another story may come from its twin that was starting to show those familiar signs of motherhood right next to my plant, until Pepeng knocked her to the ground and took her bananas.   Who knows?  For now, however, it’s time to end the log.

 

-:-

All should be convinced by now:  I’ve gone bananas over rainy season!

A little surprise

I got a little surprise on this past Saturday evening.  Feyma and I were watching a movie on TV with the kids.  While watching, Feyma was also playing with her laptop, surfing the Internet a bit.  Suddenly, she told me… “you won an award!”  “What,” I said… “what kind of award?”  She went on to tell me that I had won the “Globe Digital Tribe” award.  Hmm… I never heard of it, what is it, and how did I win it?

Well, as it turns out, she was right, I indeed was one of the winners of the Globe Digital Tribe award, which was given out by Globe Telecom, at the Philippine Blog Awards over the weekend in Cagayan de Oro City.  The Philippine Blog Awards actually held three different award ceremonies over the past month or so, one for Luzon, one for the Visayas, and this past weekend’s event for Mindanao.  I was actually one of the judges for some of the Mindanao awards.

Well, when I found out that I had won this Globe Digital Tribe award, I was really surprised, and for several reasons:

1. I didn’t know that I was even being considered for any award.
2. I was unaware of being nominated for any award.
3. I didn’t think that foreigners were eligible for such awards, based on some of what I have read in past years.

To be honest, I am still not 100% certain what this Digital Tribe award is given for.  From doing some reading on the Internet, it seems to me that it is given to people who have had some kind of impact on digital advancement, or fostering understanding or participation in digital activities in their region.  Globe Digital Tribe awards were given for each of the three regions – Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, and I was one of the winners!

I suppose that I will be hearing more about this in coming days, at least to get a better understanding of exactly what it entails.  I will say, though, that I am happy to have been recognized, and to have my efforts recognized as having made a contribution in the Mindanao Region.  It is flattering, and was fully unexpected.

The thing that I find most rewarding about this is that there is recognition for foreigners who try to contribute to the society here.  In the past, I have often felt somewhat “left out” or looked down upon because I was not a Filipino.  There have been blog awards in the past where it was specifically said that “foreigners are not eligible,” and Filipinos (even though not living in the Philippines) took prizes for their blogs, but foreigners who live here (not just me, but other foreigners whom I felt were deserving) in the Philippines were not considered to be eligible for the awards.  That always kind of felt bad to me, and I am so happy to see that foreigners are now being recognized, and accepted as part of the community.

Even though, as I said, I sort of felt “left out,” I never really cared much about the award itself, but only the ability for foreigners to be made part of the community, for the contributions of foreigners to be considered “of value” to the Philippines and her people.  So, even though an award is not what I ever asked, or desired, I do feel proud to have some recognition from a Philippine organization for my efforts to advance the digital lifestyle of the country, or at least the part of the country where I live.

I will say, too, that the readers of this site deserve recognition as well, because LiP would not be what it is today without reader participation on the site.  There are not very many blogs (even the very popular ones) that can garner 50 comments for each post, or even up to 250 on certain posts.  Because of the willingness of LiP readers to participate in interaction with the writers, LiP is special, and unlike probably more than 90% of other blogs on the Internet today.  I would also like to recognize the other writers on the site, both writers that are writing now, and those who have contributed their articles over the past 3 years.  Without having multiple viewpoints, through an array of writers, LiP would be only one-dimensional, and that is simply not as interesting as what we have today.

So, thanks to Globe Telecom, The Philippine Blog Awards, LiP Writers and LiP Readers (as well as those who participate on my other Blog sites – particularly Mindanao Magazine) for their contribution!

They’re Only Seven Once

Why is the seventh birthday so important? I’ll never fully understand the why of it, and I decided to be quite and go along with.

It’s Mid September sitting at my kitchen, and those discussing the planned party are, 1 Great Grandmother, 2 Grandmothers, 1 Mother, 1 Grand Daughter (soon to be seven) Plus 1 Father, and not to be left out, me the Grandfather. (In the dining room and living room, were assorted Aunts, Uncles and cousins not involved in the planning, but voting present) I admire you folks, who are taking the time to learn the local language, yet once in awhile it’s a blessing to be ignorant of what’s being said, and believe me this was one of those times.

Chris (my son-in-law) feeling sorry for me, disappeared and returned with a frosty bottle of, San Magoo Beer. (You knew that was coming!) Then came the important part, the plans are set, all goes quiet, all brown eyes are peering into the blue eyes that my folks burdened me with, and for the first time that evening English was spoken and I was informed that my part was P24,500.00.

Now I knew why my beer was never empty, and I just agreed. The party was set for October 3rd (made sense, as it was the Childs birthday) the Sunday before the big event we must go to SM Mall in San Fernando. From my house in Bataan, it’s an hour drive. 9 am with my wife and I, birthday girl and her parents in the car, we’re on the way. In Lubou the traffic is very heavy and a truck hits my Honda on the rear left door and fender well, and sails off down the road.

Panic ensues, I’m instructed to race after the truck, and find a policeman, and to stop and inspect the damage. I just want to get out of this traffic and go to the mall. The truck is gone, the police have the day off (It was a Sunday) and I’ll check the car at the mall, as it was driving just fine. Why had I not followed all the great advice I’d received? The truck was long gone and if I had caught up with it the driver would deny, deny, and deny again. The police, if I could have found one would have keep me for an hours or more filling out paperwork, and answering questions that I could not answer. Like, what’s the name of the other driver? Who owned the truck, where was the truck purchased? I think you get the drill.

Now we’re at the mall, birthday presents in tow heading to my car, when my wife informs me my granddaughter was in a Barbie fashion show and would be done sometime after 2pm. I smile; I wait, because it’s what grandfathers do. Return trip to my house and a well deserved cold beer. Hitting 50 MPH, left front wheel hit a pothole the size of a crater on the moon, and blows the tire off the rim. Son-in-Law changes the tire, and at 6pm I’m safe at home. Cold beer at the ready!

The shopping at the mall P7, 000.00, the new tire P2, 700.00, bodywork and paint on the car P5, 500.00, then there’s the original cost of the party, the look in my granddaughters eyes the night of the party! Absolutely, positively priceless! I’d do it all again.

Of Bellies and Shirts

This short posting is about a serious topic, and everyone reading this should take me absolutely seriously. Well, I am kidding around (So, no offense folks), but this is about something I find most unusual. When you travel around the Philippines, one thing you immediately notice outside of every carinderia, bar, or sari sari store, is the way that the men are dressed. What’s that, you might ask? Why should I notice?

Well, Filipino men have a most unusual habit of walking around with their shirts pulled up over their bellies. Don’t believe me? I’ve seen at least two guys walking around like this wherever there is a group of more than 4 guys standing around drinking beer. Think, “King of the Hill” in the States.  An interesting habit, and one unlikely to catch on outside of the Philippines, and, save for the most redneck parts of America, a mode of dress that I’ve never really seen too much. What am I talking about? Well, here’s a picture of me wearing my shirt in said fashion…. Lock up the kids, avert your eyes if you have a queasy stomach, and get the eye bleach ready… You’ll need it….

>>>>>>

>>>>>>

>>>>>>

Ready?????

>>>>>

Not kidding about the eye bleach….You’ve been warned!

>>>>>>>

Well, here goes….

OK… now, to truly wear your shirt in proper Pinoy style, scrunch it up just below your nipples, and stand there with both hands looking like they are clawing at your belly! Thrust the belly out for proper posture, and don’t be shy! Now, you may not be granted entrance to Malacanang Palace like that, but when drinking beer with the guys outside the sari sari store or with the tricy drivers, you’ll fit right in. It also is certainly cooler, and the shirt acts as a sort of sweatband, keeping your lower extremities dry.

Just one of the happy, unique aspects of life in the Philippines!

That’s What Friends are For

That’s the words recently sent to me from someone on this web magazine, you see first I have to apologize to the readers of my column here on LIP but last week was a busy one for me and having computer and Internet issues didn’t help.

That’s what brings me to this article this week though, I thought I sent word to the editor of this fine medium, that I had company his week, my mother in law and some family members came from Leyte to stay with us and sell thier farm there in Maragusan. But the message never went out, I don’t know why.

So a week later our Editor sends me a e-mail asking if I am OK, not saying “hey wheres last weeks article” or anything like that but more of a, hey are you OK are you sick ? is there anything I can do for you ? so I thought to myself, yes this group of people that are in a foreign land far from thier original roots do have a genuine concern for one another. The same is to be said for those who are part of this community that are affected by the wrath of mother nature all of us LIP community members have a concern for you and your family and well being.

It really is a warm feeling that although we are not related and really have not spent any considerable time together, we as part of this community that our Editor had knitted together have each others back so to speak. This is just another facet of living here in the Philippines. I participated in many other forums when I lived in the US, mostly race related and not so many social sites but never did I once get a mail saying hey are you OK after not signing on for a week and I just wanted to say in public Thank You Bob and Feyma (the birthday girl) for caring enough to ask about my well being.

It really is wonderful to belong to this community. I will resume my regular articles next week and thanks to all of you for being supportive.

Mabuhay !

The girl of my dreams

Some years back I met a girl.  She was special, and has never left my heart in those many years.  Even today, I cannot get her out of my mind.  She changed my life, and certainly changed it for the better.  Of course, I’m talking about my wife of 19+ years.

Today’s a special day here in the Martin household, because it’s Feyma’s birthday.  I’m not going to reveal her age, although I think it’s already known here on LiP, but, you know… it’s a respect thing – you just don’t reveal a woman’s age.  So, I won’t.

I met Feyma in Cebu City, in 1990.  She was studying at the time, nearly finished with college.  We had been corresponding with each other (snail mail… the Internet was not really available to the public yet at that time) for only about 6 months when I came to the Philippines to meet her.  I was here for only 3 weeks, and we got married while I was here.  Many people told me I was crazy, an idiot, or worse for marrying a girl that I had only just met.  Well, after 19 years, I can only say that history proved my actions right.  I was lucky, yes.  I continue to be lucky to this day.

We’ve had our ups and downs in the past 19+ years.  What couple has not experienced ups and downs in the course of a marriage?  None.  But, the ups are way bigger than the downs ever were.  Feyma does everything she can to make me feel special.  I do things for her too, but to be honest, I am far more often on the receiving end than the giving end of that.  I feel guilty sometimes for that too.  But, I hope Feyma knows how much I love her.  I always will too.  Sometimes, if we are having an argument over something, even as tough as I might try to make myself sound to her, inside I think to myself – “what would I do if I didn’t have her?”

So, today, I will be doing what I can to make Feyma’s day special.  She deserves it, after all.  I’ll take her out for lunch, just the two of us.  My only problem is that whenever I take her out for a meal, I never can get her to choose the place!  She always says, “you decide,” even though I want it to be special for her.  But, that is her nature, I suppose.

Feyma is not the same girl I married those many years ago, though.  She is very complex.  Back in 1990, she was that typical quiet, shy Filipina that we have all met here.  Then she spent 10 years in the States, and that changed her a lot.  She is much more assertive now, much more confident.  She is now Feyma 2.0.  I’m OK with that, though.  Yes, she has changed a lot, but I love Feyma 2.0 as much as I loved Feyma 1.0.

As I think about it, maybe I’m wrong.  She is probably Feyma 3.0, I guess.  Feyma 1.0 was that Feyma that I met in Cebu in 1990, and fell in love with.  Feyma 2.0 was the woman that she grew into after living in the States.  The new Feyma 3.0 is the Feyma that came to be after returning to the Philippines.  It took her a long time to adjust back to life in the Philippines.  She didn’t revert back to Feyma 1.0 either.  How could she?  No, she took the best from Feyma 1.0 and Feyma 2.0 and combined it into the best version yet, Feyma 3.0 that we all know today.

A lot of foreign men will say that you should never bring your lady to live in the West, it will change her, take away the special part of her culture, or whatever.  I find that if Feyma had not lived in the States for 10 years, she would not have the understanding of me that she possesses.  Now, Feyma is not a Filipina, nor an American, she is a combination of the two.  I suppose I have also become a combination of the two after nearly a decade of living in the Philippines.  I suppose that we have somewhat grown together through our life in my culture and hers.  I like that.  It works well for both of us.

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart.  I hope we can celebrate many more birthdays together!  I love you very much.