I took the above photo from the courtyard of our home in Bacolod City on Thanksgiving afternoon. Two days later, as I began looking at all our photos from our annual Thanksgiving Fiesta, this photo captured my attention in a remarkable manner! Initially, we were concerned of inclement weather, which would have moved our Thanksgiving festivities indoors, however, we never … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving In The Philippines 2013
Several days ago, an American friend back in the States seemed confused when I was talking about our Thanksgiving Festival, which was upcoming. He did not believe that there is Thanksgiving in the Philippines. Well, there most certainly is! This is our 5th Thanksgiving in the Bacolod Area of the Philippines and as always, we all had a blast! There are more than 300,000 US … [Read more...]
Finding Your Paradise In Wonderland
It has often been said that one man's Paradise is another man's Hell! I certainly believe it. One size does not fit all and we cannot paint a true picture of Paradise using the same brush, as people have different ideas about Shangri La or Dreamland. Everyone does not enjoy living on the beach in a rustic beach house by the sea, surrounded by lush coconut trees. Everyone does … [Read more...]
Filipino-American Solidarity
For two straight days, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were blue, red and yellow, the colors of the Philippines, as a sign of support for Filipinos and the Philippines during their recovery from Super Typhoon Yolanda. New York City has a very large Filipino-American community, a community which has contributed greatly to the city and state of New York. … [Read more...]
Typhoons, Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Thanks to Super Typhoon Yolanda, boats are now sitting on dry land, far inland! However, the greatest sorrow of this devastating storm is that an estimated 10,000 people in the Tacloban, Leyte area lost their lives. I do not think words can actually convey the grief, sorrow and sadness of those of us who live in the Philippines or who have a strong connection with the … [Read more...]
The Philippine Dream Attracts Many Cultures
When many think of an expat in the Philippines, they most often think of a Western guy lounging on the beach with a frosty, chilled tropical drink in his hand. Did you know that the Asian Indians were among the first foreigners to settle in the Philippines for the purpose of doing business? The first Indians arrived in the Philippines for commercial purposes many centuries ago! … [Read more...]
Trick Or Treat?
Halloween, as Americans know it, is not celebrated in the Philippines, however, there are Halloween costume competitions for children in the various malls and in some of the bars that are popular with younger people. At the stroke of midnight on the night of October 31, some of the rural cemeteries begin having visitors! They are not aswang, other ghouls, witches, vampires or … [Read more...]
The Ring Of Fire
If you have been watching the news, then you know by now that there was a terrible earthquake two days ago on the islands of Bohol, Cebu and on several other islands in the Visayas and Mindanao. At our house in Bacolod City, we really felt the tremor with a little house swaying and shaking of some household items but nothing serious where we live. Regardless, our heart goes out … [Read more...]
No, I Won’t Back Down
If you are going to live in the Philippines, one of the best friends you can make are with the government workers at the Bureau of Immigration, aka BI. If you treat them nicely, they will treat you nicely. That my friends, is the Key! One must understand that every BI Office in the country does not provide the same services. There are BI Field Offices, District BI Offices … [Read more...]
The Kano Coconut Telegraph
The coconuts are piling up! It has been my experience over the past 27 years that there are some fabulous expats who have made the Philippines their home, however, every expat you meet in the Islands is not your friend! All expats in the Philippines do not have any intentions of being your friend and some set out from day one to cause you problems. Call it the Green Eyed … [Read more...]