For years, I would try to speak to Filipinos in English, because that was the only language that I knew. I mean, English is a “second official language” of the Philippines, and almost all Filipinos can speak English, right? Funny thing was, though, that many times I found it difficult to have a meaningful conversation […]
Communication better then or now?
I am really so amazed now at how easy it is to communicate somebody from the other side of the world. Can you believe it, just 2 decades ago it was hard for me just to make a phone call to Bob in the States. I had to go to the phone service office and […]
A gentle and quiet people
Filipinos are a very gentle people. They are very quiet and demure. They speak very softly, sometimes so softly that sometimes it is difficult to hear what they say. Of course, you already know these things, because we hear it all the time. STOP! Wait, is it true? If Filipinos are so gentle and quiet, […]
Asking I’m Sorry
What? Asking I’m sorry? What happened to Bob today? That doesn’t make sense. OK, calm down, don’t get too worried. I haven’t blown a gasket or anything. As I’ve said many times on this site, the Philippines and the rest of the English speaking world are separated by a common language, borrowing from a famous […]
What should I call him?
Here in the Philippines, names are not used much of the time when addressing people. Or, if a name is used, it will often have a “prefix” code word affixed ahead of it. As an example, our Vice Mayor here in Davao City is Sara Duterte, the daughter of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. But, people don’t […]
The new Philippine Office
Everywhere in the world, the office place has changed in the past decade or two. The Philippines is no different. I have seen dramatic changes in the Philippines in the years that I have lived here. I originally moved to Davao City in 2002, after having lived in GenSan for a couple of years. When […]