For me, there is no better sign that it is Christmas time than hearing Jose Mari Chan singing the song “Christmas in our Hearts.” I find it a very special Christmas song, and it really makes me think about the Philippines. I have been a fan of Jose Mari Chan since my first visit to […]
Something special about the tropics
There is just something special about living in the tropics. It’s different here. Pleasantly different. I live in the heart of the City. A residential area not far from downtown. I can walk for 5 to 10 minutes and be at a mall. However, from my desk, in the office, which is in my house, […]
SIR: Tigpataliwala
It’s Tuesday, so let’s get back to my SIR series! For today’s installment, let’s look at a different area of SIR, Tigpataliwala, or the “Go Between”. The go between is critical in the day to day functioning of Philippine society, so it is important for us foreigners to learn about it and understand what it […]
Monkeys and Pigs
I must admit, I am a little bit worried about food safety in the Philippines. There was some troublesome news last week that brought this to my mind. Around mid-week last week, it came out that three piggeries in Luzon were found to have Ebola Reston in their pork! It seems like it’s been a […]
I’m a Promdi, You’re a Promdi, She’s a Promdi Too
With apologies to Dr. Pepper What the heck is a “promdi’ and why should I care? Well the short answer is, it is common Philippine slang for a person who lives “out in the Provinces” and maybe you don’t care … but chances are if you come to live here it will creep in and […]
Required viewing?
On Thanksgiving, we had some friends over to share the holiday with us. One of our friends who came over is a fellow American, and he was telling me about a movie that he recently saw on TV. It is called “Outsourced” and, as the name implies, is about the Outsourcing business, call centers, etc. […]