Do you already live in the Philippines? If not, are you really planning to live here? If the answer is yes to either question, then I have a tip for you. Learn the language. Yes, I’ve written about this many times, and yes, I am writing about it again. In my opinion, this is one […]
The Philippines Needs a Good Dictionary
One of the reasons many Westerners give for visiting or moving to the Philippines is the common use of the English language. It makes a person feel at home … or lets lazy people like me neglect to spend time learning any of the common Filipino languages such as Tagalog. But one of the things […]
More socialization
Last week, I wrote an article about my socialization experience, going with my Bisaya teacher to have a snack at the Bankerohan Market in Davao. I talked about my interaction with the vendors there, the customers and such, how I spoke Bisaya with them, almost exclusively, and how I felt about the experience. It was […]
Socialization
Yesterday, Thursday, I had a little lesson in socialization. Instead of my normal Bisaya language lesson, Bebe (my teacher) and I took a trip to the Bankerohan Public Market in Davao for a little social interaction with some local folks. It all started last week during my normal langauge class when Bebe and I somehow […]
I made the right choice!
You know, there are dozens of widely used languages here in the Philippines. Sometimes it seems that every time you make a ride to the next city it’s another language in use! Well, I am exagerating a little bit there, but honestly, there are at least 70 or 80 languages in general use. Thus, when […]
Who am I kidding?
Lazy. Lazy. Lazy. I’ve been lazy lately. Too lazy, and I’m tired of it. What I am talking about is my effort to learn to speak Bisaya. I have not been doing a good job lately, and I can blame nobody but myself. Yesterday was my weekly lesson, and I am having a hard time […]