I am so happy that the year 2009 ended good for all of us here on LIP. We were giving away stuff. The year 2010 starts as a good year for us also. We started the year with helping out others.
Today I am writing about a teenager, his name is Jonathan, and he is wanting to study here in the Philippines. He comes from the USA. While browsing over the net to look for more info about the Philippines particularly Davao, he came across Bob’s name. Of course who wouldn’t be? 😉 So then he contacted Bob a few months ago and was asking about Davao. Bob’s been kind enough to give him lots of information that he wants to know about Davao.
Finally just after Christmas Jonathan and his mom and family came here to the Philippines to see the place for themselves. They liked it. I forgot to mention that Jonathan has a Filipina girlfriend that lives here in Davao City too. So they met for the first time just a week or two ago. One reason for him to stay here and be with her hopefully after they finish up college. Right before New Year Bob and I met up Jonathan’s mom and her boyfriend. They are really nice people. They want to meet us because they knew that Jonathan’s been reading our site and his been corresponding with Bob before coming here for the visit.
She also wanted that she had somebody here that can help out Jonathan if he needs any advice. I guess being Bob’s from the States and me having lived in the States for a long time can understand Jonathan’s needs of advice. He might misunderstand the Filipino culture or he might be misunderstood here. We also brought in Bebe (Bob’s Bisaya teacher) to meet him because she can also teach a bit more with the culture. We all did this out for our care for him. It’s our human nature I guess to help out.
The parents of Jonathan seems a bit relieved him being here for himself that some people did care for their son here. We told Jonathan that its going to be okay for him to live here in Davao, but not to be shocked and disappointed because he will get frustrated here sometimes and he will have lots of stuff to be adjusting to. He could even be depressed sometimes and its normal. We told him if he feels like that to just text us and we could talk to him and help him. Even Bebe said that too. She’s also helping Jonathan meet some other expats here and brought him to the school that she’s teaching and meet up lots of students that the parents were missionaries.
Last Sunday Bob and I brought Jonathan to the church we go to. We let him meet up the pastor and the head of the youth group. He already had the cell phone number of the head of the youth group I’m really happy about that. After church we brought him to our house and we talked a bit about life here and adjustments. After we talked I brought him around town and showed him the banks that I go to for the ATM machine that works good for foreign cards. I showed him some other churches since he still searching what church to go to here. We told him to not be shy on asking help from us and from other people here.
Jonathan really loves his girlfriend a lot. They both tried their best to study hard and be finished, then hopefully settle down later. I don’t really ask Jonathan yet regarding his girlfriend’s family. It seems that he really had fun with them when they were together. Jonathan’s mom speaks good about the girlfriends family. She wished she had more time when she’s here. She just had few days to spent, she had to go back to work. Hopefully Jonathan will be staying here for a long time and I’m pretty sure his mom will come back then and maybe stay here for awhile and enjoy her stay.
His mom really enjoyed the fruits here in the Philippines. I hope she tried the durian before flying back to the States. While we had her over to our house she’s talking about trying it. I forgot to ask Jonathan about it. She’s just amazed of all the different kinds of fruits thats available here. She tried the pomelo and she likes it and said its more juicy compared to grapefruit.
To Jonathan best of luck in staying here. If you need any advice we are here to help you. You can text us anytime. Don’t give up easy, its not going to be easy making adjustments here but Bob and I try our very best to help you in anyway we can. Good luck on taking the entrance examination soon. Good luck also on getting your student visa. I hope it’s quick to get it. Have a good stay here in Davao.
Cheers!
Feyma
Is he there to study in a University, if so is this common for Americans to go the the Phil to study. The reason I ask is because my Son wants to get his Masters in Microbiology or go to Med School and we suggested he look into Universities there in Phil but he was skeptical as far as how many Americans studied there in Phil.
If many people in the USA knew the substantial difference in cost, there could easily be a stampede of American University students considering going to The Philippines.The differences in overall cost is almost unbelievable ! There are many educational facilities offering a high quality of education there and I have toured some of them during my visits.
I have also had first hand experience of submitting credentials of a Philippine University Student holding a Bachelors Degree to World Educational Services in New York. After reviewing and verifying all of the information, that students Bachelors Degree, from a well known Philippines University was certified as being equivalent to the same Bachelors Degree as if it were earned at a USA University.
Thats interesting because we have friends that came to the US from Phil with College degrees and here they have a hard time getting a job in the Hotel/Service industry. One of the latest arrivals here was a Bank Manager in the Phil and he just scored a big paying job as a Mcdonalds Janitor. Go figure that.
Many graduates from United States Universities have had similar difficulties easily obtaining employment in their field of study and it is compounded by the economic conditions we have been experiencing the past few years and other factors. In all probability a USA employer is going to hire a graduate from a USA University or College before considering someone from a foriegn country.
In the situation I described above, the necessity for having the individuals credentials submitted to World Educational Services for review and certification were to establish the individuals credentials in applying to a USA University to obtain a Masters Degree here in the USA.
” Branding ” ( the name and distinction of a University ) often takes precedence when reviewed on a resume or employment application. It is unfortunate that many USA Employers will go for the known ” Brand ” ( university where a degree was obtained ) over other factors. If an employer does not recognize a foriegn univeristy the employer will opt for hiring an individual bearing credentials from a ” Brand Name ” the employer recognizes.
Even though a quality education can be had in the Philippines for a comparitively lower cost than in the USA, the ” Branding ” on the diploma can at times be somewhat of a compromise.
Jobs are difficult these days for just about anyone, regardless of their credentials and educational background. All we can hope for are better days ahead.
There are a number of universities in the Philippines that are recognized in the US. An American cousin, decided to take his medical degree at Santo Tomas (or University of the East?) rather than California, years ago then went back. I believe it depends on the discipline/program and the university.
Hi Neal in RI – Yes Jonathan is going to study here in one of the best universities here in Mindanao Ateneo De Davao University (ADDU). Just hoping he will pass the entrance test and the interview.
Honestly I’ve heard of foreigners wanting to study here in the Philippines because its cheaper. I’ve seen some foreigners that studied here, a lot were mixed race kids.
Maybe your son should try to stay here during summer time there in the US.He will try to enroll some short classes here and see if this is the place for him. That’s one thing Jonathan was doing right now trying to adjust here and see if this is the place for him to study and stay for good.
We had a friend’s brother that wanting to study here. He just stayed for a few months. He got distracted by too many beautiful ladies that he almost ended up marrying somebody here. He’s just not ready to have family yet. Got scared and went back to the States.
Good luck to your son.
Hi Feyma,
Jonathan is very fortunate to have found you and Bob ( although that is not hard to do on the interent when it comes to Mindanao ). Considering that you and Bob obviously both know your own culture and a good deal of each others culture, mannerisms, language etc. it creates a near perfect combination. Although English is spoken to one degree or another in The Philippines, some words, expressions etc. have different meanings which can often be the cause of confusion or misunderstanding. With Mindanao Bob however as one American talking with another American there is little chance of any translation loss or misunderstanding. I think between you and Bob you pretty much have the market cornered for the situation you describe in this article.
My best wishes to Jonathan and his stay there. It would be interesting at a future time to hear about his experiences there in Davao. Speaking for myself, in some of my experiences in the Philippines there were more than one occasion where I had to contain myself, bite my toung, and remind myself that I was not at home. Many things we take for granted here in the USA, just require a “bit” more patience than they do here.
I, for one, would really like it if you could convince him to write for LIP. What a very different experience he will have from most of the folks who currently write here.
Hi Tom N – I will tell Jonathan of what you just said. I hope he will do it. That would really be a good story to read for us here.
Thank you for your comment. Take care!
Hi Bob New York – Thank you for your kind words. That’s one thing Jonathan was trying to say that its easy to misunderstood someone. He said he is trying his best to learned about the Filipino culture. I know that it will take sometime for him since his just learning everything here. He didn’t have any background of Filipino culture and language before coming here. His girlfriend and the family were trying to teach him too. We are happy to helped him anyway we can.
A few days ago Bob introduced Jonathan to one of our foreigner friend here. Jonathan can also relate to him because they both are young and not married living here.
Hey I know what you mean by the frustration sometimes here. I did my share on that when we first got here. Now I tried to carry my patience with me where ever I go. I know sometimes its hard to do. 😉 Keep trying though.
Thank you for stopping by!
All the best to Jonathan. Oh, to be young, in love and free. I think he will do fine, esp with good people on LiP around.
Hi AlexB – Thank you for your support for Jonathan. He will be good here I think.
Nice to see you here. Thank you for stopping by!
Thanks for taking Jonathan under your wing! He means a lot to us back home.
I taught Jonathan high school English for a couple of years and we at school are thrilled to hear that he’s doing well in the Philippines and has found some folks who will help him understand the culture and make it through the tough times.
God bless!