Why? It just dawned on me of whats going on with us a couple of weeks ago. Almost a month ago our daughter Jean told Bob and I that she found a gown that she likes for their Junior prom. Bob and I saw how she really liked the gown, you can just see it in her eyes. So the next day I told her that when she gets home from school we will go to the gown shop and we will rent that gown for her.

So my niece Bebe and I went to the gown shop since Jean was still in school having volleyball practice. Anyway, when I saw the gown, I can’t blame Jean for liking the gown, because it’s really is gorgeous and stunning. I can’t wait for her to wear it. So I paid the rent for it and told the owner of the date of the prom night. According to Jean its going to be on February 24th,2012. So I booked the gown for the said date. The owner said that it includes hair and make up for the price. I really like the deal and I felt its cheaper than I thought with the combination of gown, hair and make up. So the gown was set to be used by Jean on the 24th of February.

Prom Gowns: More fun in the Philippines?

Well, a little over a week ago Jean just informed us that the prom night might be moved to the 17th of February. We were shocked. Wow, I told Bob how many parents does he thinks already rented a gown or tux for their kids? He just said probably a lot.  For me it’s inconsiderate of them not to inform us right away. And guess what that was over a week ago, until now they didn’t tell the kids yet what the date for sure for the prom night. Like right now we are still in limbo. Is it going to be on the 24th on the original plan or the 17th? It kind of annoyed me. I payed already for the gown. We might lose out on our down payment for the gown if they won’t hurry up here, not just that somebody already rent the gown that Jean wants on the 17th. It really bugged the hell out of me that they didn’t inform us right away what really their plan is. Like when we went back to the gown shop early last week somebody already signed up for that gown on the 17th. I know how Jean really likes that gown. I hate for her to not have that. She was really excited to have that gown though.

Jean is looking forward to the Prom!

I was gonna call the school and do a little bit of talking with them.  I know they would not like it. I already complained something to them last year. I could tell they didn’t like it. I don’t want Jean to be in the middle of it, so I just keep my mouth shut right now. We’ll see when would I stay calm about it. That’s one of the differences between the school here and the States. In the States, on the first day of school the teacher will hand the parents all the schedules of activities on that school year. Here they will hand it to the students later, in some schools. Some schools you will have to keep on guessing for the schedule. It’s kind of the norm here. I am used to it now with my kids and nieces and nephews  in school.

Oh well, we’ll see when we will know the real schedule of Jean’s junior prom. We already know when Aaron’s Junior prom is since last year. It’s going to be on February 17th. If ever Jean’s prom happen to be on the same date as Aaron, the Martin’s house will be as busy as the bee. It’s either Bob or our nephew will drive Jean and Aaron to the venue.

February really is going to be busy month for us here with Valentines Day, the junior prom for the kids and Bob’s 50th birthday. Wow big events. It’s really more fun for us here in the Philippines!

Cheers!

Filipino Baby

After the end of the summer when the boyfriend came back, the daughter of my helper and the boyfriend were getting cozy. The parents of my helper were even mad about it. Well the daughter just would not listen to them. My helper would seek advice from me. I tried to talked to the daughter once when she came here to my house. Even though I don’t have a job for her that day I invited her over to talk. When she came here at the house I could tell the changes in her physically. I already had something in my mind and just didn’t asked the girl that day. The next day when my helper came back to work, I asked my helper if she noticed her daughter throwing up in the morning or something. She said no because “she’s not in my house, staying with my sister”. I told my helper to just observe her daughter because I think she might be pregnant. She said okay. After 2 weeks my helper informed me that her daughter was pregnant. She was really devastated. I can’t blame her for that. My helper was really crying here at my house. Just to ease some pain away from her I told her that hey, you are not the only family that suffered like that here in this world. It happens to some members of my family too.

The daughter now is 5 months pregnant. She’s 16 years old, and the guy, he is i think 17 years old. The boyfriend has no job yet because he is graduating in high school this coming March. The parent of the guy said, their son will have to get a job after graduation to support his girlfriend and child. They are not going to help out big time because they have the siblings of the guy to support too. I asked my helper what she thinks of what happened to her daughter. She said to me that “I never fail to tell her that I don’t want her to follow my footsteps. That I want her to finish up her studies. She would just give me a smirk. I told her, I wished I was given the chance to go to school before. I gave her the chance to do it. She never listened to me when I told her not to be out during night time and don’t hang out too much with her boyfriend, she might get pregnant. It happens what I feared for.”

I guess now the daughter was sorry that she’s pregnant at the early age. The guy was not really there all the time to support her emotionally. She knows now that it’s going to be very difficult for them since both of them had no job. They both rely on their parents and relatives for financial support. My helper has 2 other daughters to support too. So it’s going to be a hard ride for all of them. My helper told me that she’s telling her daughter to start saving for the delivery of the baby. It’s not cheap to give birth here even if its in the house with the midwife. They are starting to gather baby’s clothing now. Like I told my helper that the hardship right now is just the beginning. They have to worry about later the food, clothing, medical and the schooling and more.

Somebody from the family were interested to adopt the baby when he/she’s born. My helper and her family are thinking hard and weighing their options. That’s what she told me anyway. I told her to really talk to her daughter and boyfriend about it. Think about what’s best for the baby. If they can handle everything why give up the baby. I told her that it’s not going to be an easy decision for them. I told her to pray and asked for guidance from up above.

I wish them all the luck!

Honestly they are more friendly to Bob if I am not around. Like when I first met them, the head of those kids asked me where are we heading that morning? I told him that we are going to the downtown area to get something. Bob kept on talking to them, the leader of the kids particularly. While he was answering Bob I could tell that he is not really talkative while I am there. I think he doesn’t want me to hear when he speak English to Bob. I don’t know why his so shy towards me.  He might think I will laugh at him when he speaks English, I really tried to speak Bisaya in front of them . Really I understand their shyness, I am just so happy that they felt comfortable in talking to Bob. I could see too that they tried to speak Bisaya to Bob and they all enjoyed each others company.

Bob & JJ

When we went there to bring the ball, the rest of the kids were not there. Bob wanted to go to the basketball court and shoot ball with JJ, but I guess his parents were sleeping, he had to watch their little store for them. He was happy to get the ball but also kind of shy still because I was there. See, when Bob promised to give him a ball, I wasn’t there. I don’t know if he thinks I will get mad that he asked for a ball.  I told him when he got the ball to share that to his friends, but he will be the in-charge of the ball. He can just keep it for them. He happily agreed.

Every time I pass by that area I never see him or his friends. See that area where those kids hangs out, is so near also to the place where we catch our motorcycle route on our subdivision. But for some reason, when Bob walks by on that area,  almost a every time, those kids will be there playing or talking. Of course they will be happy seeing Bob. I think I heard them called Bob “Uncle Bob”. Really they are respectful kids. They just really are shy, but its okay though.

Make a donation to this year’s LiP Christmas Drive!

I was thinking that we can give some gifts for Christmas to him and his friends. His friends really need our help, they really are living below the poverty line. But even with the struggle they have in life they still managed to give a smile to us whenever they see us. Sometimes we saw them on the basketball court playing games using their flip flops and an empty can (the game is called tumba-lata). I’m pretty sure next time I will be seeing them they will be shooting at the hoop there with the basket ball that we gave them.  If you want to donate to our LiP Christmas Drive this year, use the “Donate” button above, all proceeds will go toward helping poor people in the Philippines.

Thank you guys in advance for making some kids have a big smile on their faces and families food on the table during Noche Buena on this holiday season. Lets all be united in sharing a little bit of what we have to the less fortunate people here in the Philippines.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

While Bob and Sakura were talking I was also talking to her grandmother. I asked the grandma if Sakura was born in Japan? The grandmother said that Sakura was born here in the Philippines and never been to Japan and never met her dad. I guess when the mom knew that she was pregnant with Sakura, she decided to just stay here in the Philippines for good after giving birth. Sakura was not supported financially by the dad.

Girl in Jeepney

I don’t know if the mom just didn’t tell the father that he had a child here in the Philippines. It is sad to see a young and beautiful kid struggle in life and to think she could have a better life if she had been supported by the dad. She’s studying in the public school. The grandparents are also struggling to support her, but they are working very hard to support her. I don’t really know the real story of the dad not supporting Sakura, and I don’t know the real reasons why the mom did not ask for support from the father. Hopefully later Sakura will have the courage to find her dad, or the dad will find Sakura.

So I thought that they were all living together, the mom and the grandparents and Sakura. The grandmother said that ever since Sakura was born, the grandmother and the grandfather were the one taking care of her. The mom will support financially but its the grandparents were the one raising her. When the mom got married a few years ago. The mom wants Sakura to move in with her and her husband. To her surprised the grandparents of Sakura didn’t allow the mom to bring Sakura with her. The grandparents were just to scared that the new husband might do something to Sakura. You know the horror stories sometimes of the step-dad abuse the stepdaughter.

Honestly we can understand both sides. The grandparents want to protect Sakura, but, what if the husband of the mother is a nice guy too. They didn’t give him a chance to bond with the kid. But on the other hand, what if he is one of those lunatic guys too that’s abusive to the kid. Really we don’t know what’s going on with them. They are the one knows what’s going on with their lives.

Really I was just sad for her. I wish to God that she could have a better life. I mean she had a pretty good life with the grandparents, I know she was really loved by them. I know also that there is more to life than material things. But what I mean also for her to go to a nice school, eating really good food, living in a nice house, with a few gadgets. Don’t take me wrong the grandparents gave her what they could. It was just sad that the mom did not raise her and she will never know her dad ever. Just by talking to the grandmother I don’t think they will ever reach out to the dad. Really my heart goes out to her. She really seems a very nice and well behaved kid. I told her before we got off from the jeepney, for her to study hard and be a good girl always. I really wish her well. I gave her one of my business card and told her if ever she needs anything to contact me. Geez, I really hope she will get a hold of me. I want her to know my kids.

Good luck to you my new friend. All the best!

Our conversation then went on to the girls before and now. I’m meaning to say about the girls that was brought up way before the internet came. We both made ourselves and our families as a sample. Like me and that friend were both brought up in the farm. We are happy and satisfied of what we had before. We have to get by of what toys we have even just making toys out from scratched. We are taught to obey our parents always and be respectful of the elders. Like we were talking also of how we used to dressed ourselves before, it is so conservatively. Which both of us said that it is okay to be updated in the year we are now, but we are hoping that the Filipinas will still have a little bit of the conservativeness that we had before. With the internet now, wow, the girls are just showing off everything just to lure the guys  to earned extra cash. I know lots also were brought good thing with the internet and some people were just using it for the bad thing.

The innocence of Filipino Kids

You know it is the modern era now, that’s what they called it. But still lots of men here still wants the ladies to have some old fashion ways. I mean I’ve heard young men making comment that they still want the conservative ways of the old days. Like they want that they will be the one chasing the girls, instead of the other way around. They still want too, that they will go to the house and ask the parent of the girl, if they can court the daughter. They want the ladies to dress up more conservative than seeing bulging cleavage. I’ve heard people saying that you can find ladies do the old fashion way  in the province. I think we still have lots of conservative ladies in the city, but a little harder to find. I’m glad we still have some ladies like that this days. I also know that it is far from the old days what we have now, but at least some ladies are trying to still remained some old ways.

But thinking of it. My friend that we just had the chat, her daughters were somewhat raised the old way. So I think it really depends on every parent on how to disciplined their kids. Or is it also from who the kids really hangs out with nowadays will tell who the kids really are? We were just really puzzled by how the young ladies nowadays knows how to lure guys on the net at the young age. Also how the older ladies chat on the net and showing off everything, and with lots of guy pretending to be a lady just to get money. So many things and questions on our mind. It is hard to find good answer.

But we are also talking of the guys wanting a wild ladies (like naughty one). We all would say that it is not hard to find ladies like that, just go to the bar that have dancers, and they can find women they wanted. Luckily here in Davao we don’t have bars that have nude dancers. I think the mayor here will closed down the establishment right away. I’ve heard over ten years ago they had places like that here, but the last mayor here closed that places down. Good for him.

Really the old fashion ways of the Filipinos is fading more and more. I’m glad and sad that people are more open into whats new with the surroundings. But it is also makes other people wanted more and more as if with no satisfactions and that makes the other people do drastic stuff that ends up hurting them or others. I guess this is part of life that we have to accept and deal with it. Really hard to find solutions but we can talk about it and share ideas about it.

Cheers!

I’ve been asked this questions through emails more than a dozen times. Questions from a foreigner that wanting to retire here.

Before answering the questions, I have to ask some questions first.

• Are you single?
• No family here to support, I mean a lady or a lady with kid?
•  You have to tell me where do you want to live. Expenses here really varies from place to place.

I answered the question not on how he should spend the money, but what can he spend on the basic needs here in the Philippines particularly here in Davao City. A single guy: A 1000 bucks in Davao where I’m based, you could make it if you are living a simple life. You have to live in a low rental place, I mean the rent should at be less than P10k a month or P15k a month at the most. The P10k is hard to find here in the city for that price if furnished. You’re also paying the electricity(might be P2k-P3k) and the water(might be like P500) and cable(might be like P750) and internet(varies the speed you like from P1k-P2500). If you eat like the local people then you can eat cheap here.

$1,000 can carry you for a month

Just go to the small eatery/carenderia and you can probably eat maybe less than 100pesos each meal. I guess if you don’t indulge yourself too much for the imported items, you will be okay. You don’t go out too much during night time to drink or something you will be okay too. Just wear also the local brand for clothing and shoes/flip flops then you will be okay. Shirts you can buy on sale sometimes for P150-P300. Flip flops ranges from P80-P250. If you want it really cheap, go for the “UKAY-UKAY” ( The Filipinos call it  “THE UK”  in short). You can find at the UK a shirt for men for like P50, jeans shorts you might get at around P150. If you had Filipino friend let her/him shop the clothing for you at the UK. If you are going to the ukay-ukay yourself, the prices will not go down instead it might go up especially if they had no price tags on the items, plus it is hard for you to bargain. Unless you’re like Bob that knows how to speak the language. Bob knows how to bargain there.

Way of transportation here could be cheap, if you like walking, it will be cheaper for you to just walk around town or ride jeepneys instead of riding the taxi. Riding taxi can be expensive. If you add up it will cost you lots of money. The start up of the taxi nowadays is P40. I think its P3 every how many meters or so.

Local snacks are cheap (that foreigner likes it too) like halo-halo (P30), donuts (side walk vendors P10, at the mall P20-P25), humbao (siopao P15-P20), banana que (P5). Fruits (mangoes P50 per kilo, banana P25 per kilo, pomelo P90-P100 per kilo, pineapple P15-P20 per kilo, watermelon P15 per kilo) and veggies (potato big one P80-P90 per kilo, lettuce small P30 a piece, cucumber P50-P60 a kilo) are cheap here too not the imported ones of course. If you want to live cheaply too and you want to cook your meals, you can do it. Like me I usually substitute the imported items that I can’t find in the stores here. Thank God for internet. It’s almost all there what to substitute and such. Like just a sample, my kids likes to eat pancakes, one of the ingredients on the pancakes is buttermilk, can’t find it here or I seldom see it here. So I made my own buttermilk, whipped cream, heavy cream, pumpkin ( I substitute it with squash) and other ingredients. Lots of other stuff that’s not yet available here in Davao. So being I cooked most of the time I usually substitute the ingredients. Well, I think it works, Bob and the kids liked what I made for them though. Meats usually cost P120 per kilo, fish P80-P150 per kilo. Pasta P60-P100 a pack, if cooking for 1 person it will take a long time to finish a pack of a pasta. Really if you just spend the money wisely with just the basic necessities, 1000 bucks is really good for a single foreigner guy here in Davao City.

But there is also a solution to be living way less here in Davao. Just rent the place like a room for rent with like a bunk bed, just ask the landlord if you can put an air conditioning to your room with your expense. Some room rented it for P800 per person and 4 people inside. Just try to rent the whole room to yourself and just put a small fridge, buy a little thingy (dongle)  for internet hook up for your laptop. Just watch shows that you like on your PC. Just like the backpackers. Not a lot would do it, but some might do it too.

I am talking about Davao expenses here. I’m pretty sure living  in Metro Manila is way expensive than Davao when it comes to food. But clothing and housing maybe Manila is a little bit cheaper than us here? Cebu is expensive than Davao in food too. General Santos City is cheaper than Davao in food. Cagayan De Oro might be similar to Davao in prices or it might a little more or a little less. I think in some areas like Davao 1000 bucks is already okay to live monthly, to other areas like Metro Manila and maybe Cebu City 1000 bucks is not enough there.

I know someone that I helped before. He is receiving $1000 bucks a month from disability. He was renting a condo here in Davao. As far as I know he is still here and enjoying the nice life of being here. He spent less than P25k for a condo and electricity and water included. He saves a lot by eating and cooking the local food here. I think he still had some extra money to spend for going out with friends. It really helped him a lot by living in Africa before. He told me that the lifestyle that he has here was way better than what he had in Africa. So I think that helped him a lot for the adjustments of living here.

Really my advice to anyone, before moving here try to ask yourself if you are ready for a lot of changes that will come in your life. Are you ready to be living outside your comfort zone? If not just stay where you are and learn more, until the time that your mind is set to accept the challenge. I tell you it is not an easy living here. It takes a lot of adjustments and patience. If you are living with the same income as above feel free to share how you live here in the Philippines. Thank you.

Cheers!

“Dear Feyma, how are you? I am an avid reader of your site for quite sometime now. I am a Filipina living in North America for over 15 years now. We have a few things in common. I am a little older than you. My husband will be turning 53 next year. I wanted to retire there, but my husband wants to wait until he is retiring from work and wants to saved ore money for us later. Really I think because of his mom being old and no one will take care of her. He has a brother, but I think him and his wife were just too busy taking care of other things and have no time for my mother-in-law. It really comes down to us. We asked My mother-in-law if she would want to live in the Philippines? We even said to her that we could hire a nurse for her. You’ve mentioned before about how cheap it is to hire a nurse there. So I told her and I showed her your site. She doesn’t want to be in the Philippines. She said that she wants to be near to her family and friends here in the US. The Philippines is just too far, she said. I am really getting tired and getting sick of the life here. I really envy you and your husband and those expats that live there. I wish we could retire there soon. I really hope.

Dear Feyma

I am wondering, you’ve said that you had big adjustments to make when you moved back there. Is it really that bad? I am curious of what you’ve been through when you finally lived there. I don’t have any kids, so you think it will be a little better to adjust? I want to tell you that me and my husband will live comfortably when we decide to retire there. I want to buy a house there so that we don’t have to worry about money for a house. He will received good money on his retirement. I don’t want to live in a big house there. Just good enough for me and my husband. We liked to travel a lot there and see the other areas of the Philippines. I hope to see you and your husband when we will travel there. I like your website. Keep up the good work. I am hoping that you will write back. Karen “

They want to retire in the Philippines

Hi Karen, To answer your questions on my adjustments on living here. For the first few days coming back it was okay at first. I think I was still in the zone of being like a vacationer here. After a couple of weeks or so, it became a reality for me that I am here in the Philippines to live not vacationing. I started to have anxiety already. I was depressed for quite some time. It’s not fun to be here in the Philippines anymore.

Like after a month, I am already ready to move back to the US again in a heartbeat. Bob and I made a commitment to ourselves before going back here to the Philippines to lived, that no matter what happened whether we like it or not here we have to stay here for 5 years. If ever between the 5 years of staying here that we don’t like living here, then we can move back to the States. Well, thankfully before my 5 years of living here I liked it here already.

Also seeing that my son Chris who has some special needs was well accepted here and well loved by my family and friends, that was really my turning point watching my son so happy and loved here. I can’t ask for more than that. He is really one of the main reason for us to move here.

I will be honest with you it took me like 3 years to fully adjust here. It’s not an easy adjustment. I have my urge to go back to the States once in awhile. You will experience a lot of crying and wishing to be where you are from. To think of it, I am not a shopper person there in the States. When I was in the States stayed home and just do some stuff at home like decorating the house, painting and decorating birdhouses. I am a stay at home mom there, do some volunteering a few times a month in school.One of the hard parts of living here was watching our kababayan (fellowmen) struggle in life everyday. I really felt sorry for them. It was always hard seeing some members of my family struggle in life too. The good part of going back here, my kids at least know my mom. She stayed with us off and on for a few years before she passed away. She like to stay in the farm. My kids like to stay in the farm too. They’re so excited when summer time arrives here. They spent some weeks on the farm with my sisters and brothers there.

To answer your question if it might be easier for you to adjust since you don’t have any kids? That I don’t know. I know some friends that don’t have kids that the wife went through similar to what I’ve been through. In fairness it might be easier with you guys now. When we moved back here at that time internet was just new. No skype or cheaper calls abroad unlike now lots of free calls and text and the webcam. The technology nowadays is really something. Problem in my case my friends before we hardly talk because they are not a computer savvy. I am not either. I know a little bit though.

You don’t really need big money to live here if you are not a shopaholic person. If you live in the city away from Manila, then it’s a little cheaper. It’s way cheaper in the South when it comes to food. Most of the food in Manila comes from the other part of the Philippines and the Southern Mindanao.Where do you want to settle here? I am based in Davao.

Thank you so much for writing Karen. I will advise you to go through all the post here on the sites. You will learn a lot from our early post here. I wish you and your husband the best of luck. Honestly, we went through the same way before. It was hard to accept at first on Bob’s mother. But she knows that we really want to live here and it was really the best we did for our oldest son Chris. Hope you can follow your dream. Good luck to you.

Hey guys maybe you can share some advice for Karen. I will really appreciate you guys help. I know a lot of you guys went through what she’s feeling right now. It is not easy to convince the better half also to live here, leaving his love ones behind there. I hope that they will really end up living here later.

Cheers!

One commenter on my last post was just so narrow minded. He only wants to see himself, not even wanting to listen to others. Anyone’s comments and advice are always welcome on this site. We never discriminate anyone here. You can say what you want just don’t use foul language and no personal attacks. I think that’s not too much to ask here.

Just Thinking

I am trying to write about my feelings and my experiences here and when I was living in the States for 10 years. I am trying not to step into somebody’s toes here. I never intended to do that. I am writing how a former Philippine resident of 21 years, went and lived abroad for 10 years, then came back to live here again. I just wanted to share my experiences when I used to live on the other side of the world. I am trying to share my experiences to the ladies who are married to foreigners or an OFW people who live abroad and wanting to come back here for good.

I’ve been saying here for a long time that it’s not an easy adjustment on coming back  here to the Philippines for me. It took me a long time to adjust. It was not fun for me at first to live here. It takes time and commitment.

I was born and raised in the Philippines, but in many ways I grew up in the States

I never thought of myself as higher than anyone else because I lived in the other country for a long time. I just think of it as a good experience and loved to share it with my family and others that want to listen. I am really happy now to be back here in my country, it was a good choice for me and Bob. Chris was the first thing that we did considered in coming back here to live. My family was really the big help with him and for him. Plus it was really good for my kids knowing my family and my family knowing my kids. Before when my kids were growing up, the only people that they really knew was the family of Bob. Nothing wrong with that though. It just nice now that my kids at least saw and knew my mom even for just a few years. At least they had good and sad memories of my mom. That’s when my mom started to get frail and not in good health already. My kids helped out a bit watching my mom when she was staying with us. Bless her soul now.

I’ve been asked on the email a lot of questions about how I felt about the life when I used to lived abroad and the life living here again, they want some of my thoughts on that. Instead of answering to one person sometimes I will share my thoughts to all of you. I know some people might have the same questions in mind and just too shy to ask us here.

Thank you guys for visiting our sites and sharing your thoughts too.

Cheers!

So I was so intrigued and hooked to the TV. The guest host said that he is sick of the poor people in America, they are whining that they are really poor. But if you go see their houses they will have a pretty descent house, flat screen TV, microwave oven, stove, washer & dryer, dishwasher, cable TV, Xbox 360 or the new one, Wii, fridge and car and many others. The guest host were saying that growing up back in the day, most of the household just had the basic stuff. No whining though that they don’t have this and that.

Poor people in the Philippines

Quite honestly there is not even a comparison there with the way of living here and the way of living in the West. The poor people here really live difficultly. The West should be ashamed of the whining and complaining. They live the good life compared to any poor places in the third world countries.  For the people from the West that never been to any third world countries, they would think that every country in the world lives the way they did.

But if they are watching TV, they will know. I know it’s always shown on TV, like the famine and hunger in Africa. People in the West saw also the people in South America lived, other Asian nations really lives. I know a lot of them watch that movie Slumdog Millionaire. It really features the poor area of India. You know those people carrying some baskets on top of their heads. Never seen those on the developed countries. And it reminds us of how some of the people lived here. It is sad but its the truth though. With the cable TV and the internet now, you can pretty much see how other country lives.

We saw on TV that many poor in the States have XBox 360s!

Just see the food of the poor people in the West. When we used to live in the States. A few times we were behind somebody at the grocery store. They’re supposed to be poor because they were using the food stamps. It would have been fine until all the grocery items they had in their cart were all frozen and with name brand. You all know that frozen food are expensive. Here we are behind them helped pay the grocery they had in their cart. We are trying to budget what we can get for our money. We tried to get as much as possible on the sale items. But the people ahead of us just don’t care, they had the food stamp anyway. As if sky is the limit for them.  They know how to play the system. Those are the kind of people also that would complained and whined about the hard life they have there. Here most of the families that lives below the poverty line might just eat once a day and only rice with no other food. Some might just have bananas or like a snack thing to fill up their tummy. Just can’t afford to buy some main dish with the rice. If the poor people here experience just a fraction of what the poor people in the West experience, I think the poor Filipinos thinks they are in heaven. Don’t you think? I bet they do.

All in all, you can never compare the life of the poor people here to the life of the poor people in the in the West. But just a reminder to us all that even though most of the people here don’t have the fraction of what the West have, but they still had a big smile in their faces and thankful to God of the life that was given to them. They just don’t have the time to whine about the hard life they had everyday.

The whiners here are the one that have family abroad working and even they are getting some money and boxes of goodies, they still complained that its not enough. They are learning from somewhere that they want more…more…more… Even the family sent a whole airplane full of goodies still it’s NOT ENOUGH though… But still that’s just small percentage of complainers here compared to the West.

To some it up, really no comparison of the poor people there in the West to the poor people here in the Philippines. Here the government will not give out food stamp or other stuff to the poor. The poor here have to strive hard to feed the family members they have. As you all know big family consist of 6 or more children in the family. Schools for the grade school and high school here are not free. Even the public schools here the parents have to pay the tuition fees. No free healthcare here too.

You guys probably wonder why we still want to live here with all the poor surroundings and stuff. Well, we still live pretty good here. Plus we want to help out a little bit to the needy ones here anyway we can. We are not wealthy but once in awhile we make some poor kids and family smiles by giving them some food and other stuff. I think that’s pretty good enough already.

During holiday season you guys from LIP family help us out to buy some foods and groceries to give to the poor people here. It was really a good feeling to give out to them. The smiles and the tears of joy from from the needy ones are enough already to be thankful to God of the blessings that we received everyday.

Have a great day everyone!

Cheers!

The Helper prepares the kids breakfast

We had a stay out lady right now, who is helping the maid inside the house and twice a week will do our laundry for us. I just like it that our kitchen, she always makes sure its clean. She’s just so amazed by the food that we are cooking. Everything is really new to her. She was raised in GenSan to very poor parents. She was sent to school and quit later because they just don’t have the money to afford for a lot of school projects and other school fees. So she quit and worked as a waitress at the age of 16. Found a guy there and she was living with him for awhile. The parents of the guy don’t want her, reason being her family is so poor. She got pregnant by the guy. The guy’s parents disowned her and the baby. So she went back to her parents and they accepted her and took care of her and the baby.

She can’t really just rely on her parents because her parents also had so many kids to take care of. So she then try to get a waitress job again, she really find out having no education was hard to be working in dealings with people. She’s thankful that here at the house we are teaching her a lot about cooking different dishes and herbs. She’s learning a lot also about all kinds of kitchen gadgets and utensils. She’s just thankful that we are sharing our knowledge to her. We also are giving her extra stuff and for her baby.

Nicole is staying with us now

After giving birth she got sick. She said because of lack of food. She’s just thankful that her brother and her father has a decent job now to support the family. Before coming here to work for us, her brother was the one buying the milk for the baby. She asked the father of the baby, but the mom of the guy refused to help out. So she’s now left by the guy to raise the kid. Thankfully her mom was there to take care of the baby while she’s working here. To be honest I really hope that this new helper will succeed in life later. She’s a hard worker. She really wants to give a better life for her daughter than what she had when growing up. I know it’s hard for her because she’s away from her baby. But her mom is good with her baby anyway.

A couple of weeks ago, we ordered pizza for dinner. Not sure if some of you guys were familiar with the big pizza here that can be up to 60 slices. We ordered one of those for all of us here at the house. While we were eating one of the kids asked our new helper what does she think of the big pizza? She answered back that to be honest with you I don’t really know what the pizza tastes like until tonight. We just didn’t ask her for more explanation. The next morning she told me why they didn’t have pizza, for one reason its expensive to buy a whole pizza. If she will then buy a slice it usually cost like a hundred pesos. She said that she would rather buy something for the whole family can enjoy. So I just didn’t say much, instead, I told her that if we have food here and its new to her for her to taste it and enjoy. She’s just so amazed of the food that she tasted just for over a month that she’s here. It’s really fun teaching somebody that’s willing to learn and not embarrassed to ask what to do. Really me and my family really hope for the good future of our helper and her baby someday.

On the other note: Please know who you hire before getting somebody for a helper. We just had an incident last month with another maid. I don’t want you guys to experience it. The police just told us that theirs a group right now of maids, taxi driver and house boy and a leader, its like a gang. The really active right now are the people from Santa Maria and Malita area. Lots of employers reported the crime from the workers that came from that area. I will write more about it later.