Last night, Feyma and I were invited to an evening social with a group that I am a member of called “Friends of Mindanao.” I think I have posted here before about the group, and I know I have on my Mindanao Blog. The group is a small group of foreigners who all care about Mindanao, and the people of Mindanao. We are all Davao based, and we get together normally twice per month. Last night was not a normal meeting, but rather a Dinner where members could bring their wives along, and we all enjoyed good food and good conversation too. I can’t decide which was better – the food or the conversation!
The head of the group is a New Zealander named Ian Fredricks. Ian is a great guy, very gung ho about anything that he gets into. I always enjoy talking with Ian, because of the fact that he always has a new angle about any topic we discuss. Talking with Ian tends to open up my mind, and helps me get outside my box! Another member of the group that I have become fast friends with is John. John is from the UK, and just a super nice guy. Lately, John has been spending a fair amount of time at my place, I am teaching him a little about blogging and basic Internet things. Last night, John brought a friend along, Steve, who is also a Brit, and I enjoyed meeting him too.
Over the past few weeks, when John and I have gotten together, one thing that we have both mentioned to each other is that it’s nice to get together because of the intelligent conversation that we share whenever we are together. I believe that having a friend that you can share intelligent conversation with is very important when living away from your home. Now, don’t take me wrong, I am not saying that Filipinos are not intelligent. What I am saying is that I have a hard time sharing intelligent conversation with many Filipinos because we come from different experiences and backgrounds. Let’s look at one of our frequent guests here on the LiP Blog, Julius. Not trying to single you out, Julius. But, you see, I can share intelligent conversation with Julius, who is Filipino, because he lived in the USA for some time, and has some common experiences to mine. I have lived in the Philippines, his home country, so I have some experiences that are common to some of his. All around, we have things that we can both intelligently discuss, because our backgrounds overlap. It can be hard to find people like that who have experiences similar to your own, and whom you can sit down and talk with.
When John and I get together and talk, time just goes out the window. I have noticed that if either of us has something that we need to do, often we just blow it off and keep our conversation going. This, I believe, is because we share some common values, and experiences. I also enjoy talking with John, because we are able to compare notes about each other’s countries. I have learned more about the UK from John than I ever knew before. He has also asked me some questions about America that when I answered left him a little surprised, I think!
Anyway, getting back to the dinner last night, there were about 20 people there, I guess. We had people there from the USA, Britain, Syria, Germany, New Zealand and probably a few other places that I’ve forgotten about. The conversation was very stimulating, and interesting. The food was great too, with a buffet of different items available ranging from soup to salad, pasta to a beef dish that was great!
A special thanks to Ian for putting this together, and for inviting me to join in!
That is very comforting to hear Bob, that you can meet up with like minded shall we say "Ex Pats"? and yes of course the conversation is very stimulating, its good to meet up with other Foreigners in the Philippines, and exchange insights on each others country, this is not to say that the Filipinos are unintelligent, far from it – however we have to admit that we are different to them in many ways, in the words of Lord Katsumoto (Hollywood movie – the Last Samurai) played by Ken Watanabe – "I would rather have a good conversation".
Conversations between like minded ones, are interesting and good fun, just look at the Filipinos when they go out together, they are always in groups, they also like to have good conversations, they will sit all night in Starbucks sipping on expensive coffee drinks or such like, just to have good conversation – I think the point is made, thanks for sharing Bob.
Hi Bob
Another essential of course for good conversation is a common language. With the best will in the world, unless your Tagalog or Cebuano is really good, there are going to be stumbling blocks when talking to a Filipino whose first language is not English. I remember even on visits to The USA, where the difference in US English and British English caused at the very least some confusion, and not a little amusement. How much more if the other person is struggling to speak a foreign language
Malcolm
Hi Pete – Good point you made there about Filipinos hanging out in groups and such too. I do, however, like meeting new Filipino friends as well, and sharing time with them. It helps me learn more about their culture too.
Hi Malcolm – Language is indeed an important step toward understanding!
Hi Bob,,
my last trip to Davao ( my wife is from there..been many times) I was at a coffee shop and had the pleasure of Ian introducing himself. Very much an extrovert with Charisma, he was kind enough to take my email address and keep me up to date on the meetings till I get the chance to retire. Hope to join the group in the near future.
Hi Brian – I hope to see you there! You are right, Ian is a real nice guy.