And Now For Something Completely Different…

I can’t write about cooking all the time, even I get tired of sitting in front of a stove all day especially in the heat over here in the Philippines.  What I have really been thinking about lately is a house.  My wife and I have our eye on a piece of property, 168sqm at a good price in a very nice subdivision.  Not one of those guarded and gated subdivisions mind you, just a normal middle class neighborhood.  Once we acquire this property I’m going to have the daunting task of building a house on it.

We decided long ago that it was better for us to just build a house, that way we could get what really wanted and not what someone else built.   If you plan on living over here it’s something you will have to think about as well.  The real estate market is very slow over here since the banks keep a tight reign on credit.  Plus the standard 30 year mortgage is nonexistant here.  So most houses are bought and paid for on a cash basis.

We looked at houses for sale but most suffered from “Pinoy House Syndrome” as I call it. In other words, the house was built then nothing was ever done to it for upkeep.  The tropical environment is very harsh to houses, and regular maintenance is needed to keep them from falling apart.  I had to laugh at a couple of people who offered us houses that were 10 years old and looked a wreck and they still asked over P4 million for it!

So here we are waiting to design and build our house.  Luckily I have a friend who was an architect in the States so I already have someone that can put my rough design into paper reality.  I really don’t want the standard house that is built here these days.  Hollow block and concrete with metal or wood frame casement windows.  That type of house builds up heat in the afternoon sun and it takes days for it to radiate out.  So, for me it’s time for a little historical research.

How did they do it in the old days before air conditioning?  The answer is simple, the Bahay ng Bato or house of stone.  To be sure only the first floor is made of stone with and upstairs made of wood.  The stone gives a stable foundation and keeps the termites from getting into the wood upstairs.  This design dates back to the early 1800’s and originally the downstairs was the carraige house, offices or family store and the wooden upstairs was the living area.  The windows were large wooden sliding panels with capiz shell instead of glass and the whole design of the living area was open to allow for breezes to cool naturally.  Wood also doesn’t have the heat retention problems of stone or concrete.

Even though I am in love with this design it may be hard to put into reality.  In my research I found only one manufacturer of Capiz Shell windows in the Philippines and it’s “price on request” or as my grandmother used to say “If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.”  For now the cost of building will be in the future so I can dream on about having a house that needs little or aircon.

When to challenge and when not to

I have become very aware that as a guest in this fine  country, that  it can be daunting when to say something in a situation, or just to leave it , as you will only cause more problems for yourself or look a fool when your blood boils over.

I am often told that Filipinos do not like to complain and in the main I believe that to be true, except I think the more money you have the more you see more Filipinos complaining, especially in Manila,  but not so much where I live in Mindanao.

This week I was shopping, and as always I ensure my iPod is strapped to my ear and playing ,as  the checkout procedures can be a little challenging, even with the excellent packers at each till working very hard. The problem is mostly with coupons, method of payments and recording of items on the till and on paper. So I accept it and listen to a few tracks until , eventually its my turn.

This week I went to the “Basket only” checkouts, but as I walked forward a very determined lady pushed her trolley in front of me full to the brim, followed behind by two employees carrying cases of drinks. Remember this is “basket only.”

I just gritted my teeth and ignored it, mainly as no one else said anything and I did not want to be the silly foreigner complaining.

Then my landlady walked up with her basket and immediately said to the cashier, why is this happening, this is a basket only checkout and this lady was holding up many other customers, to which a groan of agreement from the queue supported her words. The cashier just put her head down, but the determined customer said she was in a hurry.  As she said this ,another employee came to the checkout carrying tubs of ice cream to be added to this ladies shopping.

I let out a laug , this led to other customers making “tut tut “noises, not sure if it was at me or the determined shopper, and then my landlady said something in Tagalog and moved to another checkout.

The lady behind me, who was well dressed asked me if my landlady was a nice lady. I of course replied yes and she said she loved her attitude, and wish she could be as strong as her and complain. I was surprised as although everyone supported the complaint, nobody else would initiate the complaint.

I explained that my landlady had spent several years abroad, to which my fellow  shopper said “Oh, that explains it.”

Now, why does no one complain? Is it because the assumption is that the person is powerful,aggressive or is t that complaining in the Filipino culture has never moved things forward, the absolute opposite to the west point of view.

What do you think?

More Shopping Adventures

So I left you last in my shopping adventures with me arriving at NCCC mall and discovering my camera missing on my way home, but wait, there’s meat in that sandwich, the actual event of shopping. Trust me it really is nothing like shopping in the US. I recently read an article where someone was writing to complain about a big box store I forget which one, Costco or Sam’s, and they were complaining that they had to wait 15 minutes in line and there were 2 registers that weren’t open, well ma’am, I have news for you!  Ha ha, first off the need here is tremendous for general household goods, this area of Mindanao is way under-served in the way of stores to shop for general household goods and groceries, there is basically two options, NCCC mall or GS Gaisano and the latter is somewhat lax in their hygiene to put it mildly.  So here we are at the NCCC supermarket. We arrive through a turn-style manned by a lady security guard / greeter and she checks purses and bags once again after the security point at the door but in this case redundancy is a good thing, then there are the shopping baskets and shopping carts, but before you notice those items the one thing that stands out are THE CROWDS! Yes folks commerce is alive and well here in Tagum City, there are about as many employees as customers all very busy stocking ringing the registers or packing your goods for the trip home, but more on that later.

There are the usual items there that you can find in almost any western style supermarket plus the things only available here in the Philippines, jiff peanut butter, Oreo cookies, frosties (frosted flakes complete with tony the tiger) but when selecting your goods you really have to have a sharp eye. You see pirated and blatant outright copy goods are so flagrant here, you remember Ritz crackers, well here they have Fitz crackers, by Rebisco! Ha ha, I give them a ZERO for originality, but a 10 in recreating the product and making it affordable! The one thing that bothers me is the meats section, it is open to the public to pick their own and touch and inspect any of the selection which ranges from goat heads to prime rib, a fish section and prepared foods. The open meats are semi refrigerated and open to flies and other insects so a careful home cleaning is required.

Other then a few select goods, mainly dairy products, the selection is outstanding and constantly being restocked. Navigating the store in a motorized scooted is a bit of a challenge and some patients is definitely required. But people are friendly but I have learned there is a general unwritten decorum and that is no loud talking and no yelling across the store for your partner not to forget popcorn heh. The vegetable aisle is a bit foreign to me as the goods there seem on the smallish size wise to me, peppers, potatoes, onions etc. but the root crops, like carrots are huge.

NCCC mall has four floors and the second is paper and school supplies and clothing, the third is housewares, perfumes toiletries and sports and music equipment. The fourth is yet to be explored so let me get back to you on that. The one thing aside from the mass crowds that you most notice is the amount and packaging of the groceries being sold, it seems most, not all but most, are shopping like its a Sam’s or Costco store and stocking thier stores. Almost everybody is a small business owner and they supply the rest of the neighborhoods with thier shopping needs for a small profit, these people are by no means getting rich doing this but are supplementing thier families with an extra income and assortment of groceries.

The one thing that amazes me the most at the supermarket is the employee’s, they are all so well trained, almost all speak fluent English and create a pleasant atmosphere. there are Catholic prayers every few hours where everybody stops their work and shopping to pray the rosary that is broadcast on the P.A.  system, and then there is the employee exercise regimen that takes place.

The next most amazing feat of these well trained employees is the checkout counters, there are maybe 50 individual checkouts and all are always completely packed with customers ( do you hear this SM mall owners? ) your wait in line can be as little as a half hour but usual is about one to one and a half hours wait to get completely checked out and God forbid should the BPI credit card authorization lines go down … but when you get your goods finally rung up and paid for the bag boys as we called them back in the US go into action, but these are no ordinary bag boy’s, they are probably way underpaid for what they do but they are in every sense of the meaning professional packers, they package every customers goods with precise handling and wrapping, boxing, and re-wrapping goods to make the trip home, these are so well packed I wouldn’t be afraid to send these packages across seas with eggs and glass in them. That is a service you just don’t get back in the States, and that’s just another reason why life is good in Live In The Philippine.

“I Hate the Philippines”

I know what you’re thinking, “Well if you don’t like it go home!”  Well I’m not talking about myself of course but it’s something I heard a foreigner say in the Palengke just today.  Usually I avoid expats with sentiments like this as if they were leapers, but this guy zeroed in on me and decided to involve me in his conversation.  I was waiting for my wife to buy fish, yeah OK, I’m game.

The first question that came to mind was the one I asked, “Why do you hate the Philippines?”.  The answer quite to my surprise was “Because it is full of Filipinos.”  Wow, that’s heavy stuff.  With the obnoxious volume in his voice I’m surprised he wasn’t stabbed on the spot.  Filipinos are nationalistic to a “T” and will defend their country’s honor whatever her faults.  At this point I could feel the many eyes starting to turn our way and I wanted to melt or evaporate anything to not be associated with this guy.  I proceeded to be rational about the thing and the conversation went something like this…  “Well of course it’s full of Filipinos, it’s their country and we’re guests here, what is your problem with them?”  “Well look at this place” as he gestured around the palengke, “It’s filthy, it smells, there’s nothing protecting the food.”  “True” I replied, “but that’s the way it is.  I’ve been buying here for 3 years now and I’ve never had food poisoning.  Maybe you should shop in SM if you want it packaged American style.”  He looked at me with a slight look of disgust in his eyes knowing that he wasn’t going to find an ally in his mad anti-Philippine ravings.

“It’s too expensive to shop there and my wife insists on dragging me down here.”  He gestured towards a young lady looking over pepino in one of the gulay stalls.  Pretty girl, but with an obvious look of embarrassment on her face.  “Well your wife at least knows how to find a good deal, the foods are better here.”  “Ah what does she know?” he snarled, “She’s just from the province.”  I was fed up, an obvious hint of annoyance in my voice I said “What brought you over here then?  Obviously you’re not happy maybe you’d be better off back in the states?”  He observed me like I was cockroach about to be stomped on. “I can’t live in the states on my pension and my kids want to put me into a retirement home.”  “Well then sir I suggest you count your blessings then. You’ve found yourself a beautiful wife who takes care of you and by your admittance it is cheaper to live over here.”  He looked flustered now, “Well yes but I wish they would just change the bad things about this country but nobody listens to me.”  “No they won’t” I admitted, “but as I said it’s their country and they can do what they want with it, would you like a foreigner telling you what to improve about the USA?  No, then it is up to us to make the most of our new life here.  Might I suggest you start to learn about their culture before you give them advice on how to improve it.”  At this I walked away before he could reply and rejoined my wife.

There are many times in living over here that you will run into people with attitudes like this.  I don’t want to change them, I really don’t care if they want to act like a moron in public, but these are the same people that will complain that Filipinos are taking advantage of them.  Of course, they are a proud people and not stupid, they can spot an idiot and differentiate him from someone that is obviously trying to integrate into Philippine society.  I choose to live as close to a Filipino lifestyle as I can, and I feel that the people here are thankful for it.

Ready for an eye-opener?

Over the last year or more, I have written a lot of times on this site how prices in the Philippines have been going up quickly, how the Philippines is so much less affordable than it used to be.  Feyma has said it too.  Other writers on this site have echoed the thought that the Philippines is becoming more expensive to live in as the days go by.

It happened that a few days ago, I was doing some work on this site.  As part of what I was doing, I was reviewing some articles from the past archives, and I happened upon an article that itemized a number of items, and what they cost to purchase.  The article was entitled “How much is it to buy _____” and was originally published on February 7, 2007, about 2 1/2 years ago.  The title kind of intrigued me, so I decided to go back and refresh my memory, and it was an article listing a number of items, and how much the purchase price was at that time.

Out of curiosity, I started wondering what the difference in price was now, compared to 2 1/2 years ago.  I knew that prices were up, but just wanted to verify how much.  So, I made a list of the items in the article, and I sent one of my nieces out to find out what the prices were today.  Below, you will find a chart listing the items, their 2007 price, their 2009 price, and the percentage change in the past 2+ years.  Are you ready for the results?

Everyday Philippine Price Comparison

Item	2007 Price	2009 Price	% Change
Cabbage	P25/Kilo	P60/Kilo	+140%
Cucumbers	P27/Kilo	P50/Kilo	+85%
White Onions	P50/Kilo	P80/Kilo	+60%
Whole Garlic	P55/kilo	P100/Kilo	+82%
Carrots	P45/Kilo	P60/Kilo	+33%
Frozen French Fries	P109/2 Kg Bag	P180/2 Kg Bag	+65%
Pork Roast	P125/Kilo	P205/Kilo	+64%
Sliced Chicken (Pieces)	P100/Kilo	P134/Kilo	+34%
Ground Pork	P115/Kilo	P160/Kilo	+39%
Pork Chops	P95/Kilo	P160/Kilo	+68%
Beef Roast	P145/Kilo	P320/Kilo	+145%
Tilapia Fish	P90/Kilo	P170/Kilo	+89%
Bed Pillow	P119/2 Pillows	P299/1 Pillow	+502%
Clothes Iron	P299 w/free Ironing Board	P579 no free Ironing Board	+93%
Toilet Paper 2 Ply	P420/48 rolls	P580/48 rolls	+38%
Emperador Brandy 750ml	P60	P67	+12%
Carton of Winston Cigarettes (10 Pks.)	P185	P207	+12%

What do you think about this?  I’ll be honest, even though I knew how prices had gone way up, I was rather surprised at how much they have gone up!  And, these are all common household items that are used every day, or at least regularly.

OK, the only items that have not had significant inflation are the two “vice” items, cigarettes and Brandy.  Not counting those two, the lowest price increase has been 33% in 2+ years, all the way up to a whopping 500% increase!  A number of items are in the +100% range.  Again, this is in about 2 1/2 years.

What do you think?  Is the Philippines still “the cheap place” to retire?  A month or two ago, I had put a Poll on the site, asking why people were interested in living here.  By far, the number one response was because of the low cost of living!  If prices have gone up 33 to 500% in 2.5 years, what will the prices be like 5 years from now?  How about in 10 years?

Will a nice life still be possible in the Philippines a decade from now?  The only way it will still be possible is if something changes.  What will change?

Now, I know for sure, the first thing people will think, and possibly say in the comments is that “prices have gone up here too!”  Well, yes, prices go up everywhere in the world over time.  However, prices have not increased at this rate in the USA, or other developed parts of the world.  In fact, in the past year, much of the developed world has experienced deflation, or prices going lower!

On top of this, in this time of economic decline in much of the world, many of us are earning less money than we did a year or two ago.  If this trend continues, will you still be able to afford the “cheap living” in the Philippines?

What do you think?  Does this information make you think twice, or does it alter your retirement plans?  Me?  I’m here to stay.  I also know, though, that this is something to be watched, and plans must be made.  Business must be altered in some way to earn more income instead of less.  It’s the only intelligent thing to do.

Realistic Expectations

A subject that interests me is the modern day concept of ‘rules’ and the way we deal with them.  I guess part of my outlook is shaped by the fact I spent so many years with the military,where you don’t ask why, you do.

A day or so back Bob pointed me to a humorous but also slightly troubling post of a blogger he and I both often read, Market Man Manila.  The gist of the story is, Market Man (MM) went to the supermarket to buy some groceries and started his shopping with one of those express lane hand baskets.  When he was ready to check out, the special hand basket lanes were all backed up but several of the regular ‘silver’ shopping cart check stands were open, so MM marched up to one of those empty lanes and was told that since he had a hand basket he would have to fall in line in the hand basket lane. “Why”?  “It’s the rule, sir.”

photo credit: nateOne

Now certainly on the face of things that seems a stupid rule.  I won’t argue ‘for’ the rule for a minute … were it my store, I’d abolish the rule instantly.  But as the clerk tried to explain … as one of the lowest level employees in the place, she had been instructed to follow the rules, under penalty of termination … period.

Again, the logic behind the rule escapes me … but the logic of keeping a paying job in a country hobbled by massive unemployment and poverty does not escape me … maybe a lot of people out there were born a colonel or some such rank and never made their way up from E1 trying to raise a family on a pittance, outranked by everyone they see.  It’s pretty easy to berate low-level staff who might be worrying about feeding their kids when you have a good paying job and money in your pocket.

MM went on in his often humorous but also somewhat bitter and demeaning style to relate for several paragraphs how he essentially considered this employee dumb because she could not explain why the store had the rule, and when a supervisor was eventually produced, the she too could not explain why the rule was in place.

Quite frankly I think the story was a bit disingenuous … the way the problem was finally resolved was that MM got a regular ‘silver’ cart, transferred his groceries to that and left the store, original mission accomplished.  Rule or no rule, this is the way I shop often … thinking I need only a few items, then transferring to a regular cart when I discover I really need more … I learned the transfer trick from just watching other shoppers, MM has lived here all his life, I can’t believe this technique wasn’t familiar to him as a matter of course.  This story is similar to a lot of expat stories I hear, when at the end, one has to wonder was the person’s original intent to buy groceries or to waste a lot of time and emotional energy in proving (to someone, maybe himself) just how smart or important he is.  The fastest way to get through the day, in my book, is to keep your eye on the prize … I really don’t care who thinks I’m smart or who thinks they ‘got over on me’ as long as have my groceries in hand and am headed home …

The comments to MM’s post are quite extensive, many from other Filipinos and almost overwhelming agreeing with the tone that suggests the lowest paid employees in the store are ‘dumb’ because they can’t rattle off not only what the rules are, but an explanation of the rules.  Seems a bit much to me.  In the military we would have said, “the reason for that rule is above my pay grade, sir.”

MM, for personal reasons keeps his true identity private, but I believe he is a high level executive for a company in the financial field.  Banking and finance are just full of rules like the hand basket/silver basket issue that caused MM’s heartburn.  Even though he’s a senior executive, not a low-level work for wages employee, I’d make a bet I could walk into his office, read a few memos and company manuals and in only a few minutes find some ‘rule’ that he himself would have trouble enunciating an explanation for, contemporaneously, on his feet with someone obviously angry sticking his nose in his face and demanding a fast response.

I really think that every one of use operates inside a set of rules every day that we can’t come up with an instant explanation for … even the ones we like we can’t always explain.  Why does the bank insist you endorse a check in a certain way.  Why does McDonald’s stop serving certain items at 11 am when many other dining establishments have breakfast all day long?  The list could go on, but I think my point is clear … there’s a corporate or government reason behind every one of those rules, but how many of us are prepared to give an impromptu explanation?

Would you feel good about yourself if you went into a McDonald’s at 11:01 am, ordered a breakfast item, get told that breakfast hours were over, and then spent who knows how many minutes of your precious time demanding the 16yo at the counter on her very first job explain the rule?

Frankly, I’d feel kind of embarrassed and sad after I came down off my high horse … almost like a bully you might say.  Their counter girl in McDonald’s and the checkout girl in the SM Supermarket didn’t make the rule and neither one has any idea of what corporate level decision went in to deciding ‘cut off hot cakes at a certain hour or serve them all day?’  ‘Checkout all types of baskets at a certain checkout, or restrict to certain ones for certain checkouts?’

Why would the rank and file be expected to discourse on the reasons for the rules, when they get paid a pittance to wear a silly uniform and accept whatever comments and criticisms a customer wants to sling their way?

Seems a bit unrealistic to me ..what do you think?

No shipment, sorry.

There are two or three words that spell out life in the provinces.  Two words, “no shipment.”  Or, sometimes you hear three words, “Sorry, no shipment,” or “No shipment, sorry.”  These, as I said, are regularly heard words in the Provinces of the Philippines.

Where are “the provinces,” you ask?  Well, basically any place outside of Metro Manila is considered the provinces.  Even if you are in a very large City, unless it is one of the Cities that make up Metro Manila, you are in the Provinces.  Davao City is the second largest population base in the Philippines – provinces.  Cebu City is the third largest – still, it’s the provinces.

Why does it matter what the place is called?  Well, the actual name of what they call areas outside Manila really means little.  However, in practice, being outside Metro Manila means a great deal.  You see, virtually everything in life revolves around Manila (when I say Manila, please realize I am not only referring to the City of Manila, but to all the Cities that make up Metro Manila).  Nothing can happen anywhere in the country without the approval or some kind of intervention from Manila.

You see, when you need a certain product, often times, when you go to the store you find that there is none available.  When you ask the clerk if they have any, or why there is none of the product, you hear the infamous words… “Sorry, no shipment.”  In other words, the people in Manila didn’t send any to us, so it is not available.  Even if we have none, there is nothing we can do until Manila decides that they should send us some.  Come back some other time, maybe Manila will have sent us some by then.  Then again, maybe they will not have sent any.  Everything is at the whim of Manila.

The biggest way that this affects the lifes of people in the provinces is through what products are available.  But, it affects us in other ways too.  Any kind of governmental decisions always have to pass through Manila first too, for approval.  I mean, it comes down to even very mundane things like what color of paper the traffic tickets may be printed on, it has to be approved by Manila before anything can be changed.  Well, I might be exaggerating a bit when I say the color of the paper, but I’m taking a bit of poetic license on that.  Basically, though, anything important in life depends on the approval from Manila first.

You know, no matter where in the world you live, stores will run out of products and must wait for the next shipment to show up.  The difference here is that, let’s say you want to buy some Diet Coke.  You go to the grocery store, and they have none.  “Sorry, no shipment, sir.”  Hmm… well, you go to another grocery store, they also have none.  Basically, when you are in a “no shipment” situation, no store anywhere in town will have the diet coke that you want to buy.  The only time that you might find it at some stores is if you happen to be looking just when some stores are beginning to run out.  2 or 3 days after that, no store anywhere in the region will have the item you are looking for, in this case, Diet Coke.  When will Diet Coke be back in stock?  Well, whenever Manila decides that it will be back in stock again.

The other day, LiP Author Dave Starr was visiting Davao City for a few days.  Dave and I got into a discussion about this very topic.  Dave lives in Marilao, Bulacan.  He is just a few miles outside of Metro Manila, but he tells me that his area, since it technically is outside Metro Manila is also considered the Provinces, and this “no shipment” situation is also very common in his area.  Amazing, don’t you think?  Dave also told me that when he goes over to Metro Manila for shopping he is amazed at the things he sees in the stores, items that he has never seen in his home stores in Marilao.  Can you imagine how much worse it must be here in Davao since we are a much further distance from Manila?

Many of us who visit this site probably will never live in Manila.  We choose to live in other places outside Manila.  If that is the case, and you choose to live outside of Metro Manila, can you adjust to it?  No Shipment, Sir!

June Pride

When I called my Dad the other day, I asked if my niece was in school that morning. He said no because she was still on vacation. I realized that the Philippine school year has not even started yet. But it should, soon.

Unlike here in the United States, schools in the Philippines open in June. After a brief Christmas vacation, classes resume usually after the Three Kings in January. And close in March. During my time, we did not have semestral breaks. I was told they started those in 2005.

I feel a little disappointed in myself because I haven’t finished packing the box that I have been meaning to send to my niece who will be in third grade this year. It contains a new school bag and other school supplies among other things. I also got her a pink rain coat because I know that the opening of the schools is also about the beginning of the rainy season.

I bet she is so excited. She goes to the same school that I went to. When I went back in 2007, her book bag was worn out and torn on the side so I bought her a backpack. She probably used it until the end of last year. I better hurry it up and send her box. It won’t get there until a few weeks after her first day of school.

There were several things me and my brothers used to do before school started. From first to third grade, we were required albums instead of notebooks. A pad of ruled paper fastened together and onto a folder that served as the softback. When we started using notebooks, we pulled out the spirals that held the pages together and then sewed the leaves back together with a yarn. It prevented the pages from tearing easily and if the notebook was going to last a year, the spirals would most likely bend to one direction inside the book bag making it hard to turn the pages.

The first day of school was something I always looked forward to. I used to put on my uniform and practiced carrying my packed school bag. My dad would always tell me that I’d ruin something before the first day of school. The closer the day got, the more excited I felt. I was like an anxious bride. And in the beginning of a new school year I had something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

‘Something old’ were my classmates of the previous year. In most (if not all) public elementary and high schools, the kids are grouped into sections according to learning speed. During my time, there were at least 35 students in each section and about 10-13 sections, the first being the ‘cream of the crop’ and the last needing the most assistance. So you see pretty much the same faces and  have the same  classmates unless a student makes a very recognizable and significant change in performance. They did happen but not very often. I grew up with more or less the same set of friends. The kids did not move or transfer schools as much as I have noticed they do here in the States. If there were transferees, they were seldom and usually settled in and stayed until they graduated.

Another ’something old’ were my uniforms. Elementary and high schools, public or private have uniforms. In grade school, our uniform was a white blouse with a sailor collar, black and white checkered skirt, white socks and black shoes. I certainly didn’t get new uniforms every year. In fact, I used one of my Kindergarten uniform skirts up until I was in third grade. Four years! They sure got old and way too short and I begged my mom to please buy me new ones. I think I cried everyday for a week and then she finally had new skirts made for me in the middle of the school year.

‘Something new’ were of course my school supplies. I loved the smell of new paper and pencils. One could have witnessed the makings of a nerd. I felt my mom used to buy supplies very late that it always got me worried. And she would always tell us, “Oh, you wouldn’t need that.” I’d say, “But Ma, that’s what the teacher told us to buy.” Then my mom would sternly say, “Michelle, I am a teacher. I know what you need”.

Usually my school shoes were new, too. I guess my mom didn’t have much choice because I of course outgrew my shoes almost every year. But they were not always new from the box. I was often given shoes that still had life in them. But they were certainly new to my feet! I used to polish them so it would not be too obvious that they were not brand new. A black Kiwi shoe polish and an old rag and presto! They were shiny and new looking!

‘Something borrowed’ were the books. The government provides public students with academic books. Definitely not new because those are lent and are expected to be returned at the end of the school year, and will be reused for the next. Our books then were old and needed restoration right when we received it. They used to not print enough, either. The books were distributed in ratio depending on the number of students. Often, it was ‘one book is to two students’. It was hardly ever ‘one is to one’.

‘Something blue’, make that somebody blue was usually my brother whose birthday is in June, around two weeks after school has started. So by the time our parents have spent on tuition fees, school bags, supplies, uniforms and shoes on all four of us, there was no more left for his birthday celebration. My mom used to console him by saying “at least you got new school stuff”. But so did the rest of us and it was not even our birthday. Many times, he felt disappointed on his birthday.

I imagine my parents felt as blue as (if not worse than) my brother. Tuition fees during my primary years did not get any higher than 60 pesos. I believe it doubled by the time I was in sixth grade. But things would all add up and always used up a budget that was already thin in the first place.

At a young age, I understood the meaning of and the feeling when ‘the pockets are empty’. So when there was ‘no more’, none of us siblings pushed either of our parents to produce. That’s why even when my things were not all new or I didn’t have everything that was written on the requirements list or when my brother didn’t have a party on his birthday, we still anticipated school. We were just glad that they put our education before anything else.

Education is a priority specially in poor Filipino households. Sometimes, they even sacrifice the food on the table as long as the kids get to go to school. Being able to send a child to school is a pride for the parents. You would usually hear them tell their kids, “Education is the only thing I can pass on to you.” They want their kids to have a better chance at life, something maybe their own parents were not able to do for them or for whatever reason they obviously did not get to live.

I know it is true that education is something parents anywhere in the world, always want their kids to have and being able to give them education gives unmatched pride and fulfillment. But growing up in the Philippines, I saw how it was always put first on the list.

Learning and having fun

It seems a never ending topic here on LiP, in my articles at least, that I write about learning the language, and also about acculturation.  But, it is a big part of my life, and I believe that it is good information for anybody who decides that they want to move here.  Today, I’d like to tell a little bit about my language learning routine, and particularly about one part of it.

Every Wednesday afternoon I have my weekly Bisaya class.  My teacher, Bebe Metillo, comes to my house to give me my lesson.  It usually runs between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  More towards 1 1/2 hours, but by the time Bebe goes home it’s more like 2 hours, because Bebe will hang around to talk with Feyma and the rest of the family for a while.

One of Bebe’s other students is named Lucky.  Lucky is a German, a young man in his 20’s.  Lucky and I have developed a nice friendship, and we enjoy getting together for different things.  One thing that we started doing a few months ago is that every Thursday afternoon, we go to the Public Market (the Merkado or Palengke, also called the “wet market”).  We go there and go shopping.  Primarily, we are not really looking to buy anything, but we are more doing it as an opportunity to speak Bisaya with the people there.  We go to various vendors and talk with them, haggle over prices, joke around with them, and develop friendships with many of them. We usually end up buying various things just as part of our interaction with various vendors there.  I often like to purchase fish to eat for dinner that night, vegetables for our meal, etc.

In recent weeks, Lucky and I have been joined by another of Bebe’s students, Kurt.  Kurt is also an American, and has been studying with Bebe for a while.  Of the three of us, I have been studying the language the longest and probably am a little more advanced than the others.  Lucky, though, lives with some Filipino people, so although he has been studying a shorter time than I have, he is pretty advanced and comfortable with using the language.  Kurt’s study has been a little less formal, concentrating on just learning conversational skills, rather than a structured course of grammar and such.  We all enjoy the opportunity, though, to go out to a place like the Merkado and talk with the local folks.

This past week, I would say, was our best outing yet.  We were a little more adventurous, and we did more things at the market.  Both Lucky and Kurt, in the past, have been a little shy in talking with the people at the market.  This last visit, though, I could really see Lucky especially coming out of his shell.  As a matter of fact, I really kind of backed off from talking too much, and kind of let him take the lead more, because it was clear that he was not only comfortable in doing so, but quite happy about it too.

One thing that we all try to do on these Thursday outings is that we try to do things “the Filipino way” as much as possible when we go out.  We don’t drive to the market, we always ride a tricycle there.  We try to only speak Bisaya there, and we try to do things that a normal Filipino person would do.  It’s good for language practice, and it’s cultural practice too.

This past week, during our shopping trip, we found a place where there was a somewhat long line of Filipinos.  Lucky checked it out and he found that Nescafe was having a promotion.  If we stood in line, we could get a free sample of Netcafe Cold Coffee drinks!  Wow, what an opportunity.  So, we hopped in line and waited.  During our wait in line, we talked with so many others in line, found out about them and told them about us too.  Once we got to the front of the line, we each got a small sample drink, we drank it and enjoyed it.  Next, there was a nice young lady working for Nescafe waiting for us with clipboard in hand.  She was there to take a survey and find out what we thought of the product!  Wow, this was a nice opportunity to interact, in kind of an “official” capacity, if you know what I mean.

Lady:  Sir, lami ang kape? (was the coffee delicious?)

Me:  Oo, lami kaayo!  (Yes, very delicious)

Lady:  Unsay imong komentarya sa kape? (What is your comment about the coffee?)

Me:  Lami ug bugnaw daw.  (It’s delicious and cold) (I didn’t know what else to say!)

Lady:  Sige, sir.  Kinsa imong pangalan?  (OK, sir.  What is your name?) (as she wrote all this on her papers).

Me:  Si Bob Martin, ko.  (I am Bob Martin)

We continued.  I had to give her my address, phone number and such, then we parted company.  It was all good fun, though, and I enjoyed it.  It truly was a Filipino thing to do, because Filipinos love to get free stuff.  I didn’t care too much about the freebie, but rather the experience itself.

Thursdays are always a fun day for me!  Hope you can join us sometime!

A couple of other things, LiP related.

Firstly, I would like to announce that we have a new writer here on LiP.  Her name is Michelle McDowell. Michelle is a Filipina, but lives in the USA now.  Michelle has told me that she hopes to relate stories about her childhood in the Philippines, the way she lived, and the things that she experienced here.  Michelle has become a regular commenter here on LiP, and I am excited to hear what she has to say.  I’d like to welcome Michelle aboard, and I hope that the readers will find her interesting.

Thanks for joining us, Michelle.  It is my pleasure to welcome you to LiP.  I am sure that you can provide a previously unheard angle on Living in the Philippines for our readers!  I look forward to hearing everything you have to share.

Secondly, I would like to announce that LiP, and another site of mine, Mindanao Magazine are now available for subscription through the Amazon Kindle.  If you own a Kindle, you can order LiP and Mindanao Magazine through Amazon for delivery to your Kindle!

Shopping with Bebe

Yesterday Bebe Metillo was here at our house teaching somebody Bisaya over the Internet. After her class we were talking and she asked me if I want to go with her and shop at the Ukay-Ukay (used imported clothing, purses, shoes and house stuff) place. I told her sure, I’m up to it.  So today Bebe came to my house at around 3pm and we headed to the ukay-ukay place. This time we went to the Uyanguren (Chinatown) area. Its fun to go to this kind of place too and get some good bargains.

When we got to Uyanguren the taxi driver dropped us at the spot where a lot of the ukay-ukay vendors are. We started entering a lot of stores that sell purses. They had plenty of them. Some are really in good shape and when I asked the price its way too much more than I expected. If I saw a purse and in good shape and price so much I would rather go to the mall and buy the purse in one of the famous brand there. Some vendors they really overprice the stuff. Its also fun to bargain with them too. A lot of times I will get the price that I asked for though. Sometimes we meet in the middle. One thing to look for there that is good sometimes were sheer curtains. They will have a whole variety of curtains that are in good shape. If they overpriced it just really bargain with them. I saw a lady trying on a gown in one of the shops. The gown is in good condition and the price was just less than 500pesos. Honestly if you saw that gown somewhere here in the mall I would not be surprised its worth over 2k there.

Nowadays there are already a lot of cheaper clothing here in the Philippines. The only thing is that it is also made cheaply. The quality really is bad. We usually just say its  disposable.   That’s why people here go for the UK product (that is the short term of ukay-ukay) because a lot of the product there are good quality. UK product some are made from here and it doesn’t not pass through the quality control. Some might be the zipper are broken or the seamstress missed some buttons. Also some are the surplus from the USA and Europe.

Anyway, lets go to the UK guys. Have fun shopping and bargaining.

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