Live in the Philippines

When we first came to the Philippines, I went to the LTO (Land Transportation Office), showed them my California license, paid some money and was given an 'official receipt' that was good for six months for the real thing, and told to come back for the hard copy. About six months later, the hard copy came. Pretty painless. The next time I needed to renew I had moved to another town and also needed to change the address. This was a little more involved, and they had added a 'medical certificate' to the process. For the medical certificate, I was sent to the Provincial Hospital where I paid 10 pesos and was given a number. When my number was called, … [Read more...]

My husband and I have long been promising to go visit a friend who now lives in Surigao. We finally got it on the calendar and went a couple weeks ago. Traveling from Cagayan de Oro, is is about a six hour trip. Because we got off to a late start, we spent the night at Dottie's Place in Butuan City, and had supper at our favorite place there, True Brew.The next morning we were off to an early start. Once you get out of Butuan, the traffic is reasonable and the cement roads in good repair. The weather was great and the scenery very lush and green. We passed Lake Mainit which was amazingly large, considering it was between the highway and the ocean. … [Read more...]

[Disclamer: I know all families are not like the ones I am telling you about, but my observation is that the arrival of a foreigner into the family nest brings out the worst in many families. It is a Filipino cultural value that all must benefit from the good fortune of one; that there is limited good in the universe, so those who have more must share with those who have less or be considered stingy and a bad person.] I have two friends who have foreign suitors. These are girls I have known since they were in high school. I know their families. Let me tell you some of the problems they have, on this end, when they have a foreign boyfriend. I … [Read more...]

After living in the Philippines for so long, we are used to the fact the our Christmas packages will not be here until some time between January and March. Our friends and family tend to believe the fine people in the US Postal Service when they say that a package mailed December 11th, Global Priority, will surely arrive before Christmas. Wishful thinking on everyone's part! But it used to be worse. It used to be that Christmas packages would not arrive until March or April, unless someone took our advice seriously and actually went shopping and mailed the package in September. Didn't happen. But you should know that packages coming through … [Read more...]

We lived in Gingoog City for 12 years. Our work was primarily among the poor in that city. A friend of ours, Bert, needed to have surgery for a hernia. His livelihood was buying and carrying a couple buckets of fish up into the mountains everyday, and selling them there. The hernia had become a problem. At this time, the Committee of German Doctors was doing clinics and immunizations in our city, so we encouraged Bert to go to them for his surgery. All went well and he was admitted to the Provincial hospital. Three days later we were contacted by Bert. He could not leave the hospital! There was a huge bill to pay, and until it was paid by the … [Read more...]

...and it's not too late to oil the wheels of relationships with a little gift giving. My husband was out yesterday delivering little gifts of chocolate to the bank tellers who had been especially helpful to him this year, and to the ladies who have helped us at the post office.When there was a language school in Butuan and a constant stream of foreigners were collecting mail from the same post office box, we all baked a batch of cookies and took them in for all the post office employees to enjoy. Later we took calendars to all the postal employees when we lived in Gingoog. We have always gotten extra special service in the restaurant where we … [Read more...]

As Westerners, we do not know what this means. We use the words ‘embarrassed,’ ‘shy’ and even ‘ashamed,’ but none of these come close to the meaning behind the words in Filipino languages that are translated to the English words mentioned above. The Philippines, as well as other Asian countries, have a predominately ‘Shame/Honor’ culture.  This means that interactions at all levels are about people being treated with respect, and people being honored appropriately and preserving each others ‘face.’ It is also about avoiding dishonor, avoiding situations where one would look foolish, or have their ignorance exposed, or be made … [Read more...]

Klaus had an article last week on this topic and I had what I thought was an interesting comment to post when a brown out lost it for me. So, here’s the pie, from my American perspective! I enjoy a good sense of humor, and what different cultures consider funny is a fascinating thing to think about. I do not claim to have a complete understanding of Filipino humor, but here are some things I have observed. 1. Filipinos love jokes involving a ‘play on words’ especially ones that involve English and another Filipino language, or about people making funny mistakes with English. Examples: What is this? (Holding your right hand out, wiggling … [Read more...]