788 replies to this topic

[Surin Nix]

...When you tell us that you've eaten Balut, and liked it, then will you have achieved Pinoy status!



Nix

[Macman]

Nix, if that's the ultimate test of being Pinoy, I guarantee that I'll fail. Angel doesn't like it, but a lot of her friends do. I don't even want to look at it. By the way, I meant to tell you earlier that I've had the lumpia shanghai. I know it's one of your favorites, but I can take it or leave it. The dish that Angel called sasarasso is actually chicken and pork afritada. I think she made up that "sasarasso" word. She likes to do that.

I've been trying to eat as much of the local cuisine as possible. Some of it I just can't take. There are animal body parts that I never knew were meant for eating that are common-place foods here. Angel bought a cook book yesterday in Tacloban. I was thumbing through it in the van on the return trip. Jeez, I think there are a couple of pages I need to tear out before she sees them and is tempted to try them out. On the other hand, I just finished some delicious pancakes and bacon. It was the first time she ever made pancakes, and she did a great job. She's really spoiling me. I need to get back to the same exercise regimen I had in The States or I'm going to be in trouble.

Well, I have a bunch of emails from back home that I need to answer.

Macman

[Macman]

Because of Anthony's comments, I have read the first 4 pages of Putytat's thread on living in Thailand. It's a great read, and a must for anyone thinking of relocating to the LOS. I'll be happy to give you my impressions of life here in The Philippines, but my situation is very different than that of Putytat. I came here specifically to be with my transgendered GF. On my last visit here in February, we looked at an apartment that was recommended by her cousin. It's a nice garden apartment building with only 4 other tenants, the owner included. We took a 6-month lease, and she moved in on March 15th, while I was still in the States, making preparations for my trip here. For that reason, I didn't have any of the problems of finding an agent, etc. that Putytat had. My biggest problem was that the walls in every room (it's a 2-bedroom apartment) were painted a horrible lime green. My GF did a great job of having the rooms repainted, and a terrific job of decorating the place. We Skyped every day, so I saw the progress. By the time I arrived, it was perfect for me.
Another difference you'll find in my thread is my very mundane day-to-day life. Since Putytat is single, he naturally is taking part in the Pattaya night life. I'm afraid my nights won't interest anyone, unless you are thrilled with knowing things like the fact that we had some friends over the other night and played Texas Hold 'em. Not thrilled? Didn't think so. How about the fact that we're going to go on a zipline thing on Saturday with friends. No? Damn. Sorry.
Probably the biggest thing was referenced by singdick. Here in The Philippines, just about everyone speaks English. It makes a huge difference. I think the culture here, while very different in some aspects from the U.S., is much more geared towards the West than Thailand. However, some of the points that Puty made concerning things like TV, Western conveniences, etc. ring very true here. Speaking of that, we're off to the cable company. Right now we have an antenna that gives us one station, most of it in Tagalog or Bisaya, with a little English thrown in. We're getting cable that will give us about 40 stations, a lot of it programs from the U.S. (reruns)and things like the NBA playoffs (live). It costs 400 Philippine pesos a month, less than $10 U.S. If I haven't lost you with my boring life-style by now, I'll come back soon with some of the problems that a guy from New York will find here.

Macman

[thailover57]

Not boring at all. I retired in Pattaya but also was involved with a woman in the Phils previously. Reminded me of Thailand. She was very beautiful, but then her son needed medicine and she couldn't pay the rent, etc. (I starting smelling water buffalo). I wish you success - I really mean it. It's a difficult road and I hope you traverse it successfully.

[Crackerjax]

Macman, if you like American sports see if your cable operator has a channel out of HK called ASN - I'm guessing it's probably available on cable in Phils as a premium channel. If not, you might want to check out Sat TV instead of cable. Philippine's homegrown Dream TV has a lot of sport including NBA TV, and the USA's Dish Network now has a JV in Taiwan that is available all over Asia with a ton of sports channels including ASN.

I saw lots of the Filipinas in AC love their hoops, but you might have to do a little work to get ur lady up to speed on the hit and run.

Good luck there.

[Surin Nix]

Your experiences are much more interesting to us than I think you realize Macman. I hope you will keep us posted with these everyday observations about your transition from NYC to PI living.

It has been years since I was in the PI, and in those days I absolutely loved going to the Bauang La Union ("Thousand Island") area of Luzon. I have always wanted to go to Cebu, heard many great things about it......and just may take a side-visit there during my next trip to LOS. So please, tell us all about it.

Mind if I ask what the rent is on your apartment? What is the location like (on or near the water?...view?...amenities?).

Take care buddy. Get some rest.

Nix

[petesie]

Definitely not boring Macman...this could provide an interesting contrast to Puty's life in the fast lane...

It could vary from day to day with the differences in culture, reactions to your relationship from others, how your partner copes with it....I'm guessing you've got it all coming matey!

[Macman]

I played 9 holes this morning. Teed off at 5:15, finished by 7:15, and home by 7:45. Angel's still sleeping. When we teed off, it felt great; nice and cool. By 6:30 I was wringing wet. My God, the sun is so strong here even at that time of the day. One of the guys I played with is the president of the golf club, so my acceptance as a member looks pretty good. I'll find out by Tuesday. It's really strange, but even though we have a golf course right here, I haven't seen any golf balls for sale. It's not a problem because I know I can buy them in Cebu, and I have plenty coming in the balikbayan boxes I shipped over (which are scheduled to be delivered on July 25th), but it just goes to show you how much of a rural area this is.

Well, I only got about 4 hours sleep last night, so I guess I'll take an early nap. It's not even 8:30, but at least it's nice and cool in the bedroom.

[thailover57]

In 1992, I made my first international trip for my company to Cebu. It was only for a ten day period, and I was married and not aware of LB's at the time. So there was no hanky-panky on my part, but the one thing that stood out for me was a trip from my hotel to the Data Center for my company. As the taxi driver was going along, he slammed on the brakes and started laughing. There were two men chasing this undernourished dog with sticks and just beating it to death. I was almost sick watching this. He explained to me that any dog not tied up was fair game and would make a great meal. My first introduction to culture shock and there have been many others since.

I was doing some training in this warehouse where they had blocked out a little classroom. Down one side of the room there was an open crack and it was the sewer line. The smell was awful! Their solution was to tape mango air fresheners to the A/C unit. To this day, I won't go near a mango!

Sorry for the diversion...

[Legend]

every summer we used to hunt for lost golf balls and sell them back to the golfers when we were kids.
i would have thought the filipino young uns would be doing the same.?

what is a balikbayan box, is that your american stuff .?

[Macman]

Anthony, I used to do the same thing when I was a kid. On doglegs, we'd run out onto the course, grab a guy's ball, and run like hell, selling it to another player. Now that I'm into golf, I feel guilty about robbing a guy of his score and maybe costing him some betting money. This was a NYC municipal course, so we're not talking about rich guys.

A balikbayan box is a box usually used by filipinos to send things home or when they themselves are returning home. They go by ship, and are very practical. I actually don't know how anyone makes any money. I know it's volume, but it still way to cheap. The boxes are fairly large, and the charge is by piece, not weight. I sent 4 boxes. I could have fit the stuff into 2 boxes, but they would have been too heavy for me to handle, so I used a lot of bubble wrap. I shippped clothing, golf balls, vitamins, DVDs, music CDs, toilet articles, etc. Again, I don't know how they do it. As an example, I got the name of the agent of the shipping company through a women I used to date. She's a nurse, and worked with a lot of filipinas in New York. The agent had to drive from his home in Queens, New York City to my place in Westchester County, a distance of about 30 miles, with a round trip toll of $13 plus gas at over $4.00 per gallon. The next day, he had to take the boxes to the port in Jersey City, NJ, with double tolls each way, plus using gas in a very heavily trafficked area. The boxes are then shipped to Manila, and then shipped to the specific location. From there, they are delivered to my door by truck or van. Gasoline is expensive here, too. All this for $60 per box. It takes time, but it's very cost efficient. Compare that with the fact that I sent 2 small boxes by Priority Mail in the U.S. to here. I had to use Priority because the boxes weighed over 4 pounds each (7 and 9 pounds). They took more than 2 weeks to arrive. Cost -US $129. I shipped the balikbayan boxes on May 26th and they're scheduled to arrive on July 25th.

Macman

[Macman]

Don’t be sorry for the diversion, Thailover, but I sure hope that I never see any of those sights. As for “water-buffalo syndrome”, Filipinos are like Thai people when it comes to family. In her case, some of her family are reasonably well off, but most are not. We’ve talked it over, and I hope we’ve come up with a solution. She realizes that I have my own family obligations in the U.S. We’ve set up a budget. It’s considerably more than most make in this area. We will try and save enough each month to cover the cost of helping out when needed. At least we are able to talk about it and recognize that it’s something that can cause friction.

Crackerjax, I’m hoping that the cable system we’re getting will be sufficient. They seem to have enough, including the NBA. There’s a lot I’ll miss, but I have a feeling it’ll be worth it. The guy was supposed to come yesterday afternoon, but we had a power outage. (More about that sort of thing later.)

Surin, we pay 9,000 PHP for a 2-bedroom, partially furnished apartment. Air conditioning in our bedroom. We are about a 5-minute ride to the bay. The guy across from us is very wealthy, and has 2 horses. They are usually the first things I see when I open my front door. BTW, guys, if you like cocks, they are constantly crowing here. I’m getting used to it. It’s like birds singing to me now. (Oh, you thought I meant the other kind of cocks. Sorry.)

Thanks for the encouragement, Petesie. And speaking of day-to-day, I had a surprise bonus. Angel is a great cook. In my previous visits, we always stayed at my hotel and ate our meals out. I’ve always been a picky eater, but there are a lot of Filipino foods I like. Last night she made chicken and pork sasarasso. It’s a simple dish, but so damn tasty. It’s chicken, pork and potatoes cooked in a delicious, tangy sauce and poured over rice. I mentioned that I’d never seen it on any menus, and she said they don’t usually serve it in restaurants. Ahhhhh, home cookin’.
I guess I’m going to have to buy a car eventually, but I’m scared to death to drive here. There are no traffic lights and only a few stop signs to which nobody pays any attention. We make our way about on tricycles, those motor bikes with cabins mounted on them. It’s like mayhem, but they seem to know what they’re doing. I sure don’t. Last February I was in Tacloban (about 2 hours from here). They have no traffic lights either, even though it’s a city of 175,000 people. No lights, but we got a ticket for jaywalking. Honest.
One of the things that really surprised me was how much I could not buy here. I have yet to see paper towels. I asked Angel, and she didn’t know what they are. Also, I’m sure they are here somewhere, but I haven’t been able to find a beard and mustache trimmer. I even looked in Cebu. Speaking of Cebu, we will probably have to go there about once a month, just to buy some of the things I can’t get here. It’s a nice city, but it’s about 3 hours each way door-to-door. I mentioned that we had a power outage yesterday. They are quite frequent here. I had already known that because there were many times Angel called me on the phone in NY because we couldn’t Skype because of the outage. The big problem with that for me is no air conditioning and no fan.
We’re having some friends over for lunch so I’ll cut this off for now. Speaking of friends, Angel has a nice bunch of friends, most straight, some gay and a few ladyboys. They are a lot of fun, and seem happy for us.

Macman