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A Pox on the Internet?

August 30, 2010 By Paul Thompson 74 Comments
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Back in May I signed on to Facebook, only because after Googling an old friend and I found him on Facebook. Some people swear by Facebook, me not so much. A lot of friends and relatives did show up, and that was a good thing. But my ex-wife? Please! The one thing I’ve worked so hard to do, is to keep continents and oceans between us (i.e.; North Carolina to the Philippines). The Ex shows up on Facebook asking to be my friend. Like that’s gonna’ happen. Say what? I’d sooner stick my hand in a blender and hit the puree button (see how I cleaned that up for our readers). Please understand, I wish her no harm, only distance. And Facebook … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Paul T Tagged With: Communication, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Living in The Philippines, Paul Thompson

I passed the test! With new Podcast!

August 27, 2010 By MindanaoBob 41 Comments
Oh no! Test Time!

Today, I'll be sharing a new podcast with you, but that will have to wait until the end of the story. It's been a while since I did a podcast, so it feels good to put one up again. Over the past 3 weeks, I have been having examinations as part of my Bisaya Class.  For new readers who don't know, Bisaya (or Cebuano) is the main language used in the Central and Southern parts of the Philippines. As the name implies, Cebuano originated in Cebu, but much of the Visayas and Mindanao speak this language, or a variation of it.  For the past 3 years I have been taking Cebuano classes and learning to speak the language. The textbook that I am using … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Communication, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Language, Living in The Philippines, Podcast

The Mieles and the Martins

August 23, 2010 By MindanaoBob 34 Comments
Bob & Feyma Martin with Juanito Miele

This weekend was a great LiP get together!  One of our popular LiP writers, John Miele, and his family came to Davao for the weekend.  John was accompanied by his wife, Rebecca and their son Juanito. John came to Davao to sort of enjoy a get-away from the city, and all that is associated with it.  John and Rebecca chose a great time to visit Davao, because this past weekend was the climax of the famous Davao Kadayawan Festival!  John and Rebecca, along with Juanito were able to watch the Kadayawan Street Dancing festivities right from their hotel, and from everything John said, I think they enjoyed it!  I am not going to get into details … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Communication, Daily Life, Davao, Expats, Food, Living in The Philippines, Relationships, Travel

Complaint? – Sorry, Next Window

August 19, 2010 By PaulK 28 Comments
m-150a_complaint_department

I've been writing about adjusting, re-adjusting, discovery and rediscovery in recent articles.  While on "vacation," I've been observing the similarities and differences between two homes - my first one and my last one. One of the reasons for vacationing was along medical lines.  My 60,000 mile maintenance was long overdo and I needed a complete inspection - body, frame, fluids:  the works.  Rather that putting up with the endless problems other military retirees face when trying to obtain medical benefits in the Philippines, I decided it best to head back to the USA and get my medical needs resolved at an MTF - a Military Treatment Facility, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Paul Tagged With: Adjustment, Communication, Daily Life, Expats, Health Care, Living in The Philippines, Paul Keating

The Big Adventure

August 16, 2010 By Paul Thompson 52 Comments
One of the Stores that my daughter manages

Prior to our youngest girl “Ymir Thea” moving to Singapore to work last year, she had a job with a large Japanese Electronics Firm on Subic Freeport, as an assistant administrator in the main office. Her supervisor tasked her with updating the company’s instruction manuals. She brought them home and worked on them, on our computer. I asked her if she would like me to proof read them and correct the English. “Of course Daddy!” she exclaimed.  As any former military person knows, writing manuals and instructions are what we do at every duty station. She wrote in a very lengthy and flowery style, and all I did was condensed them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Paul T Tagged With: Communication, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Living in The Philippines, Paul Thompson, Relationships

Remembering Childhood

August 12, 2010 By Feyma 28 Comments
A small fishing boat on the beach in Samal

A few days ago I went to Samal with my oldest son Chris and my nephew Deo. I went there to get some pictures of a real estate property that I am working on. Someone from the States wanted to see some photos of the place.  After we went to the area that was of interest, the 3 of us then went to the beachfront property of my friend because I want also to take some more photos there. As we were getting to the beach, I saw some people on a boat, not too far away. They were fishing, I also saw some people who were swimming on the beach and other people sitting in the cottage. As we approached the cottage I could see 4 kids sitting there. Ages … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feyma Tagged With: Communication, Daily Life, Feyma Martin, Filipino Culture, Filipino Kids, Living in The Philippines, Relationships, Schools

No news today

August 3, 2010 By John 34 Comments
BBC News

Not sure if you guys were like me, that when we were in our home countries, you were a  a News Junkie, I mean with rolling national and international news it was easy to be involved in anything from a fire in Russia to a disgraced Politician in the UK. It did not seem to matter that nothing really changed on the story for hours and hours, we stayed tuned just in case  it did,and it was a topic of conversation with family , friends and co workers. On arrival four years plus ago, I stayed tuned to BBC World News, and CNN and followed everything as before, but I began to notice that when I was speaking about world events to my Philippine friends, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: John G Tagged With: Communication, Entertainment, Filipino Culture, John Grant, Living in The Philippines

One person can’t really make a difference

July 28, 2010 By MindanaoBob 69 Comments
As a foreigner, you are an Ambassador here in the Philippines, so act like one!

You hear it all the time - One person can't really make a difference. When it is election time, a lot of people don't vote, and when you ask why they say... One vote can't change anything.  Frankly, I don't think it's a good habit to get into having that kind of attitude. How does this apply to the subject of this site, living in the Philippines?  Well, just keep reading, and you will understand. The fact is that as a foreigner living in the Philippines, you are part of a very small minority.  Yes, there are tens of thousands of foreigners here in the Philippines, but on a local scale, you are often a very small part of the population, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Adjustment, Bob Martin, Communication, Daily Life, Expats, Living in The Philippines, Mindanao, Relationships, Travel

Bike crash

July 13, 2010 By John 22 Comments
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My friend from the UK is staying here for a few months, and  its his 5th or 6th visit, so he purchased  a motorbike that he keeps here in Davao . It is true to say that the rules of the road in the Philippines are a lot different from what the US and the UK have, so its important to take your time and get to know the unwritten rules of the road, of which there seem to be thousands. He has with his bike all the paperwork, all correct insurance and everything is all official, as being a white guy on a bike, he rather sticks out, and has been subject to Police stops that seem to involve money to get on the road again. But, he was always, always … [Read more...]

Filed Under: John G Tagged With: Adjustment, Communication, Daily Life, Davao, Expats, Filipino Culture, Financial, John Grant, Living in The Philippines

Good rage!

July 9, 2010 By MindanaoBob 48 Comments
Beer is OK, but not a yard full of bottles!

I just did something, which ordinarily I would not consider a good thing, but this time, well, I think that what I did, and the way I did it was just right. What did I do?  I got mad at our maid.  I did it in a sort of different way, though. Lately, we have had our carpenter from GenSan staying with us, actually he's been here for several weeks now.  He has been taking care of a few jobs that needed to be done around here.  I really like Jun-Jun, he is a very nice guy, and a very industrious person too.  He can literally build anything.  Jun-Jun enjoys having a bit of drink every night.  He either drinks beer or he drinks Tanduay … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Adjustment, Bob Martin, Communication, Daily Life, Filipino Culture, Language, Living in The Philippines
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