The call that didn’t come

Again, this week, I am sharing my column from SunStar Davao here on LiP.  This article is appearing in SunStar on Friday, November 6, and the same day here on LiP.  Enjoy the article.

Does PLDT know what customer service is?  It would seem that they don’t, based on my recent experience with them.

I earn my living on the Internet.  All of the money that I earn comes through my work on the Internet in one way or another.  Because of that, it is important for me to have a reliable Internet connection.  If I don’t have good Internet, I can’t earn money!

Because of the fact that Internet connectivity is so important to my livelihood, I have multiple Internet accounts.  I recently got a third Internet account, through PLDT, with their MyDSL service.  I had been a MyDSL customer from 2002 until 2008 and had always been very happy with the service, until May of 2008 when they cut off my account three times for no apparent reason.  Every time I would inquire, they would get me hooked back up, but it was a hassle to never know when my service would be off again.  Because of that, I canceled the service at that time.  I got two different Internet connections with different companies when I had the PLDT disconnected.

About a month ago, I decided to give PLDT another try, since I had been happy with them for a number of years, so I got a third connection.  Having backup connections made me feel secure that I would always be online, and if one was interrupted there were still two more backup connections.

Well, the other day, my PLDT connection stopped working again.  I figured that it was just a regular outage and would resume in an hour or two.  By afternoon, though, and still no Internet from PLDT, I was a little concerned, so my wife went to the PLDT office to find out what happened.

The people at PLDT informed my wife that they had disconnected my account.  Hmm.  Why?  My wife assured them that the bill was paid, and we owed nothing on the account.  PLDT informed her that indeed the bill was up to date, and the problem was an account issue with PLDT’s computers!  Because there was a problem in their own computer system, they cut me off!  They even told my wife that there were “a lot of people with the same problem” and they were all very angry about the fact that they had been cut off.

I understand that problems happen, and must be worked out.  Here is what I don’t understand, though.  PLDT is the phone company.  They know my telephone number.  Why didn’t they call me and inform me that they were having a problem and would need to terminate my account (hopefully temporarily)?  Is that not the way customer service is supposed to work?  Inform the customer of what is going on.  But, PLDT, as they always have done, just cut off the account without any notice.  A simple phone call would have been so nice, and as I say, they certainly know my phone number.

Credit where credit is due

Credit.  The word can mean a number of things.  It can mean that you are acknowledging what somebody else did.  It can be associated with the lending or borrowing of money.  Lots of things.  In today’s article, I’m going to talk about credit in terms of borrowing money, and also the tracking of your borrowing and pay back habits.

In the USA, and probably most of the western world, when you borrow money, make payments for money owed and such, there is a “credit reporting agency” that keeps track of your habits.  If you are a person who pays your bills late, that is noted, and can be checked on by potential creditors for a number of years down the road.  Then again, if you pay on time, or pay more than what is due, that is also noted in your records, and it shows potential creditors that you have the potential to be very responsible with debts.

In short, in the USA and other countries, it is very easy for a company to check on your payment habits, and decide if you are the type of person whom they wish to extend a loan to.  If you have a good record with borrowing and repaying money, there is a good chance that you will get additional loans.

Last week, I got an e-mail from somebody that has to do with Credit Reporting Agencies.  It’s an issue that I know about and have dealt with before.  Here is a slightly edited version (I don’t want to give the personal information of the person who inquired) of the e-mail I received:

Hi there, I am realtor in Canada and am helping a client who
moved from the Philippines to find a home. The banks are asking for a
credit bureau from the Philippines, but it seems that this is a
difficult task. What is the best way to show a credit bureau or
credit information for the past year. Where would my client request
this information and how difficult is it to get?

Well, you see… the problem this person is facing is that there is no such thing as a credit reporting agency, or credit bureau in the Philippines!  Yes, you read that right, they don’t have a way of tracking you if you don’t pay your bills, or no way of seeing your credit worthiness if you do pay your bills!

Additionally, if you have great credit in the States, there is no way that you can “transfer” that credit here, so that people know that you are honorable in paying debts that you know.  Again, if you leave the States owing a bunch of money, that also cannot get onto your “record” here, because basically there is no record!  Now, let me say, if you owe enough money there, and try to skip out on it by moving to the Philippines, that could still lead to trouble for you, because if you owe enough money, they might just track you down, and still come after you here (if the amount owed is enough to justify the cost of doing that).

Now, even though there is no credit reporting here, there still is one way that bad (or good) credit could affect you here.  That is if you are dealing with the same company, or a sister company.  For example, Smart Telecommunications is a subsidiary of PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone).  If you owe Smart a bunch of money, and skip out on it… when you go apply for a landline at PLDT, they will likely have a record of the fact that you owe money to Smart, and they will catch you that way.  But, if you owe Globe Telecom (another cell phone provider), PLDT would have no way of knowing, because they are two different companies.

OK, so if there is no credit reporting, how do you get a loan?  How do companies decide if you are worthy of the responsibility?  How do they know that they won’t be ripped off?  What they do is that they look at your employment, your salary, and they check if you have borrowed from them before, and how you were on the payments.  You will need to supply other data too, such as a statement from the Police or NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), a clearance from the Barangay Captain (sort of the “mayor” of the neighborhood where you live) that will attest what kind of record you have.  Do you have criminal convictions?  Are you currently wanted?  The Barangay will attest to your character – are you an honest person, or not?  Do you cause trouble in the neighborhood?  If so, it might indicate that you are not the type of person that they want to do business with.

Another factor is that if you are a foreigner, it will be very, very difficult to get any kind of loans here.  If your wife is from here, and has an established record here, she could probably get the loan, but not you.  If you are an immigrant, and have been here for a few years, that is when you might be able to start getting some small credit deals, and thus building a record, but only with the company in question.  For example, if you get a credit card at a certain bank, and show a good record of credit worthiness, then after a year or two, perhaps they will allow you to upgrade to a better card with a higher limit.  Your beginning card, though, even though it is a credit card (as opposed to a debit card) will likely require you to keep a deposit at that bank, as collateral for the credit.  The payments will not be drawn against the deposit, the deposit is just there in case you skip town and owe money.

I suspect that in coming years, but possibly many years down the road, credit reporting and record keeping will make it’s way to the Philippines.  I mean, it is inevitable for it to happen.  Companies can minimize the monetary risk they take with people if such reporting is done, and is centralized, as it is in other countries.  We’ll have to wait and see if it happens!

Araw ng mga Patay

Yesterday, November 1, was Araw ng mga Patay, a major holiday in the Philippines.  Literally translated, Araw ng mga Patay means “Day of the dead.”  Additionally, November 1st is All Saints Day in the Catholic Church, which is all related to Araw ng mga Patay, or Day of the dead.  It is the day when the family members who have passed before us are remembered and honored.  But, Araw ng mga Patay is actually only half of the holiday.  The second day, November 2, is also a holiday.  November 2 is All Souls Day.

Another name for the two days combined celebration is called “Undas.”  In previous years, although I have heard of Undas, I have never heard it widely used, at least in the area where I live.  This year, though, the name “Undas” is widely used.  I am not certain why, or for what reason the name of the celebration seems to have shifted more to being called Undas this year than it has in the past, but I have certainly noticed the shift.  Perhaps others will comment that they have (or have not) noticed such a shift this year as well.

As a westerner, the Undas season is the hardest thing for me to really understand when it comes to Philippine holidays.  While in many ways, Undas is very solemn, in some ways it is also festive!  You are supposed to remember your loved ones who have passed, and spend time at the Cemetery to show your love and honor of those who have died, yet at the Cemetery it is often a party type atmosphere!  People get drunk, dance and party wildly at the graveside!  People bring plenty of food and spirits to enjoy a lively Undas!  I find it very strange, and hard to understand.

For me, I am a Christian, but I believe that we can remember our lost loved ones any time that we choose to, just by thinking of them, or maybe saying a short prayer.  But, here, they go way beyond that during Araw ng mga Patay.  As I said earlier, food and spirits are brought to the cemetery.  And, do you know, a plate of food is even dished up for the dead person, and served at their grave!

Early this morning (Nov. 2), Feyma rode the bus to GenSan to be with her family for the All Soul’s Day part of the celebration.  Feyma and her family (at least the part of the family that I know) have never been into the whole party scene at the graveside.  But, they will just be paying their respects to Papa, Mama and Feyma’s siblings who have already passed.  Feyma will be gone just one day, and return tomorrow.  I planned to attend the event myself, but I still have some lingering effects from Dengue that cause me to get pretty worn out if I over-exert myself, so both Feyma and I decided it would be best for me to remain home this year.  Mostly, Feyma wanted to be there, though, because this is the first year since Mama passed, and she feels it is important to show her respects at this time.  I support her in that too.

Even after living here for a decade, though, I feel that I cannot fully understand Undas, or even grip a small portion of what it is all about.  It seems so different to me, and unlike anything that I experienced in the West.  November 1 and 2, also, are probably either the second or third biggest holidays of the year in the Philippines.  Easter (Holy Week) and Christmas being in the top three as well.  To be honest, among those three holidays, it would be hard for me to classify which of them is most important to Filipinos.  Holy Week and Undas are solemn (with spurts of festivity, as I’ve explained), while Christmas is more cheerful, to say the least.

Early November is certainly an interesting time in the Philippines.

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!

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!

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.

Coming to grips with Philippine languages

This is my weekly column that appears in SunStar Davao every Friday.  I am publishing a copy of it here for LiP readers to enjoy too.  Much of this information has been covered in my many previous LiP articles on the subject of Language, but perhaps this has a bit of a different angle that you will enjoy.

In my article a couple weeks ago, I told you that I have been studying and learning how to speak Bisaya.  I started learning the language a little over 2 years ago, despite the fact that I have lived here for nearly 10 years.  When I first moved here, in 2000, I figured that I could get by with only knowing English, since almost all Filipinos speak English as a secondary language.

Living here for a while, though, I started realizing how much I was missing out on by not being able to speak the local language (or should I say, “one of the local languages”).  When people specifically wanted to address me, of course they would speak to me in English.  However, when there was a group of people, the language would often shift to Tagalog or Bisaya, unless a comment was directed toward me in particular.  It left me uncomfortable, and feeling like I was not fully part of the conversation.

One day, some Americans were visiting me at my house.  They were not residents of the Philippines, only visitors.  They mentioned the old thing that so many Americans always say…

Immigrants coming to America are rude because they don’t learn English!

Oops!  Suddenly it hit me.  I am an Immigrant to the Philippines, but I have not learned the local language.  I decided that I needed to do something about it.

My first decision was a tough one, though.  What language should I learn?  Tagalog is the National Language.  My wife, and her family, though, mostly speak Bisaya amongst themselves.  Most of the “common people” around the area seem to speak Bisaya, although certainly not all.

Well, I decided that since I don’t live in Manila, or anywhere “up north” that I should go for Bisaya.  So, my language learning journey began.  I went through a few different teachers before I found the one that was right for me.

Being able to speak Bisaya (not perfect, but I can do pretty well), has opened a lot of doors for me, especially among my wife’s family.  Some of my relatives on my wife’s side don’t even speak English, or very little at least.  My mother-in-law, before she passed away, could not speak much English, only a few words.  Mama and I had a nice relationship, but could never directly speak to each other!  Once I learned enough Bisaya to hold a conversation, a lot of the relatives became much closer, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Still, though, sometimes I still feel “left out” of conversations, though.  Why?  Because I am among Tagalog speakers sometimes, and I can’t speak Tagalog!  Knowing Bisaya helps me to understand a bit of Tagalog, but not enough to participate in the conversation, though.  So, now I am starting to think that maybe I need to learn Tagalog too!  I just don’t know, though.

For an American, learning a second or third language is not common.  You know what a person who can speak two languages is called, right?  Bilingual, of course.  A person who can speak more than 2 languages is called multilingual.  You know what a person who can only speak one language is called?  American!  Ha ha…

When it comes to the ability to speak multiple languages, Filipinos are certainly way ahead of us Americans!

Reminiscing about something I never did

I had an interesting day yesterday.  I spent much of the day working on different projects that I have going right now.  Pretty much every one of those projects is work related – things that will earn me money.  Every one of the projects involves the Internet too.  Oh, I didn’t work all day long, though, I did other things too.  I talked to my Mom on the phone, which is sort of a daily thing.  I like to stay in touch with her, and hear how she is doing.  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen her, but with my Vonage Internet telephone, I can talk to her and it sounds like she is just down the street.

The other night, I had two friends over for dinner.  One of the people that came for dinner is a Filipino, whom I met over the Internet about 15 years ago, and he is a close friend.  The other person who came to dinner is a foreigner who recently moved to Davao.  I met him because he was a long time reader of LiP.

Have you noticed a trend in what I wrote above?  Well, the common denominator is that all of these things are possible because of technology.  Internet technology mostly.

I have lived in the Philippines for more than 9 years as I write this… almost 10 years.  It’s a long time to live in the Philippines, but I certainly know many expats who have lived here much longer.  One person that I know has lived in the Philippines for nearly 45 years now!  He is American.  I can hardly imagine what it would be like to live here for nearly half a century!  Even though I have no plans of ever going back to the States, I will probably never reach an age that would have me living here for 50 years!  I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have lived here 50 years ago.  I have another close friend who has been here for about 25 years now, and still going strong.  So, as you can see, I’m just a short timer.

The first time I came to the Philippines was nearly 20 years ago, in 1990.  Back then, I visited Manila, Cebu and General Santos City.  General Santos was just a backwater town in those days.  Many of the roads were dirt roads in the town.  The town was very dusty, like the wild west.  If you hung around town, you could see horses in the streets.  That was only 20 years ago.  Imagine what it was like 50 years ago!

Anyway, getting back to my “tech” life here in the Philippines, the day I described at the beginning of this article is actually quite typical.  Some days my life even involves much more technology than that.  Certainly, such a life was not even available in your wildest dreams 20 or 50 years ago.  How would anybody be able to live here during those days?  I know, the truth is that the kind of tech I am talking about wasn’t available anywhere 50 years ago.

Being able to just pick up a telephone receiver and dial my Mom or my friends in the States, and not have to pay anything above the basic flat rate monthly bill is astounding.  It has gotten to the point where we can live basically anywhere in the world, and be able to cheaply and reliably keep in touch with any other part of the world.  It makes like more pleasurable, I think.

As I think about this, it also makes me wonder what people will be saying in 20 more years… I am sure they will look back at the year 2009 and imagine how we could have possibly lived without all the “2030 gizmos” that will be available.

I don’t think I could have lived here in the 1960, or even 1990.  I sure enjoy the lifestyle that technology in 2009 makes possible for me, though.

Thoughts about moving

The other day, I got an e-mail from a friend.  He is thinking of making the big move to the Philippines, and he had some questions to ask me.  His questions primarily were about the age old decision of whether you should move all your stuff with you when you come, or if you should just replace it when you get here.  And, of course, how much does it cost to move the stuff!

Well, when Feyma and I moved here back in 2000, we moved almost everything we owned.  Today, after having lived here for 10 years or so, I would do it a little differently if I had to do it all again.  I would move less stuff, I would sell much of it, or give it to family and friends.  One thing that I would certainly not move with me, which I did bring with me 10 years ago, is small appliances which require 110V power supply.  Let me say, there are a lot more appliances of this kind available in the States.  You can purchase transformers here to step the voltage down from 240V to the 110V that is required by US electrical items.  As long as you use that transformer, you have no problem.  However, it is inevitable that somebody is going to plug the thing directly into the wall, and the “magic smoke” will come out from the appliance.  It will either have to be fixed, or thrown away.  You can get it fixed, but after a few times of fixing it, it really doesn’t work like it used to.  For me, the solution on that is to just purchase such appliances with the correct voltage here, and be satisfied with what you can get here.  It’s not like you can’t live without that super duper electric slicer/dicer that is the rage in the States right now!

Anyway, here is the message that my friend sent to me a few days ago:

Hope you’re feeling better now and back to your old self.
Question:
I have a lot of personal belongings that I would like to bring with me to the Philippines but I’m finding it incredibly expensive to send even a small package. You had mentioned in your video tour of your house that you moved your furniture from the U.S. to the Philippines and I was wondering how you did that. I live in south western Pennsylvania.

Also, will a laptop made in the U.S. work on the higher voltage electric current in the Philippines? The ac adapter says input 100-240v-1500ma 90 watt, output 20v-4500ma
I appreciate your help.

And, here is the answer that I sent to my friend:

So, you are planning to make the move?  That’s great!

First, let’s start off with your laptop (or anything else with a similar type transformer).  If it says “100-240v” then indeed it will work fine for you here in the Philippines.  That is a universal voltage item, and should work just about anywhere int he world without a hitch.

Back in 2000 when we moved here, we brought basically everything we owned.  It filled two containers – one 40 foot container and one 20 footer.  It was a lot of stuff!  In retrospect, there was some of that stuff that I would not bring with me if I were doing it all over again.  Basically, decide what you really, really need, and cannot replace when you are here in the Philippines.  Family heirlooms that you want to keep in your life.  Things that you want or need, and use regularly, and are not available here.  That kind of stuff, you should bring with you.  Other stuff that can be replaced here, or is not used anyway… well, sell it, give it away, or whatever works best for you.  Just don’t pay to move it here.

By the way, moving those two containers of stuff that we moved cost us $10,000 in 2000.  I can’t say what it would cost today, but it would likely cost more now than it did a decade ago.

There is, though, another solution that you might consider.  If you can narrow your items down to smaller stuff (not like furniture and such), you could ship the stuff in a bunch of Balikbayan Boxes.  A Balikbayan Box can be shipped here for $75 to $100 or so, and the weight of the box doesn’t matter.  For the price of $10,000 that it might cost to ship your stuff in a sea container, you could ship 100 Balikbayan Boxes, and I just don’t see any way that you would ship that much!  If you don’t know what a balikbayan box is, check here.

I hope this helps, my friend.  If you have other questions about making the move, please let me know, and I will gladly answer if I can.

Get it now!

OK, folks… I am sure that most readers of this site are familiar with my book, 49 Ways to Make a Living in the Philippines.  This is my best selling book, by far, and a lot of people have given me very positive feedback after purchasing the book!  I know a number of people who have purchased the book and are actually putting an idea or two to use and are earning real money by using the methods that I have recommended!

Whether you need to completely earn a living while living in the Philippines, or if you just need to supplement your income to make a Philippine life possible, this book can help you!  You have my personal promise on that!

Well, as of this morning (October 17, 2009 in the Philippines), I have put the book on sale!  That’s right, instead of paying the regular price of $49 for the book, for a short time you will be able to get your copy for just $39.  This deal is only available to those who order through my Auctiontopia Bookstore, though.

So, go order your copy today.  When you order, this electronic book will be downloadable through the website, or I can e-mail you your copy for your convenience.

This book covers a number of methods to earn money here in the Philippines:

• How to earn money on the Internet
• How to earn money in the Philippines without using the Internet
• How to earn money in a hybrid manner, where you will do a combination of Internet earning and non-Internet earning

So, get over to the Auctiontopia Bookstore and order your copy today!  Just $39 for a short time!