In Philippines..... Is It Always "us And Them"?

[Jack Peterson]

I agree with you both. Frankly because most Filipinos I know speak fairly good English I sometimes forget that is a huge deal.

Let me ask you both, how do you fit in or not what are your experiences? Another "rich Kano" or her Kano husband or in my case the grand children's father.

My wife told me once , if there is a gathering and some do not know her that well, she has been Referred to as a Valencia, married to a Foreigner, she got an Imported Name now so I guess it's a them and them thing Sometimes seems we can't win here

[OldUgly&Cranky]

i can only speak for myself but i feel all my neighbors on my block think of me as a friend and im welcome there and respected !! maybe because i live amongst them theirs no gates in my area , its not the greatest looking area , but i think they see me there and think to them self well if hes here maybe it cant be too bad here i dont know ??? i remember when my brother went there for the first time and he was kinda scared haha but i said its a great place dont worry !!! , im really trying to get there for xmas this year and i have always told my wife that i want to plan a block party just for our block , to show my gratitude to them for always giving me a warm welcome !!

i always try to be respectful to everyone as much as i can ( even though it can be a trying place at times ) and i really think that goes a long way !! even if you feel your not being treated the same way !! as i see it we will never be %100 accepted because lets face it we didnt grow up there we didnt experience the things that they did ( the hardships ) we came from the west from privileged countries so in there eyes we are different and im ok with that !! and i always say to my neighbors im just like you a average working guy no different , were very close to our next door neighbor if i need his bbq i just ask and i always put a little extra on for them just for letting us use it !! i always bring a few small gifts for them when i arrive , sometimes if im sitting outside on the veranda having a beer and my neighbor has friends over they always invite me ( which can get me in trouble with the wife coz of the fundador LOL ) if you look in my album on this forum and see me dressed in military pants beside 2 Filipino military guys the pants were given to me by my neighbor !! even if we go away for a few days we leave the keys with them to watch over the house and nothing is stolen or touched !! i remember one time when i was in angele's and we got a trike from our hotel to the atm machine and the wife was getting $ out and the trike driver said to me "Sir do you know that the philippines was voted the 8th most corrupted country in the world " i looked back at him and said " dont ever put down your country , do you think the west isnt corrupt ?? i said the only difference is we just know how to hide it better " he looked at me with a wow look in his eye !!!

sorry if i rambled but i wanted to give you my take on my experience on your question threw my eyes , myself im happy the way things are there its what made me love the country so much i dont want to be %100 accepted because then were like everyone else ( UNseen In the Crowd ) just like back home !!! when im there i feel like im a important when im back home im a nobody !! so for my take i think we can be treated as a local but DIFFERENT and myself i am ok with that as long as i am respected i will respect back and i think your question will depend on the person's own experiences and personality that have went threw there !!

SORRY I RAMBLED TOO MANY SAN MAGOO"S lol

O-U-C

[Okieboy]

I am treated well by most of my filipino neighbors , and most of them speak pretty good english, there is a private school near to my house and most of them have went to that school, my son goes there now, it is very inexpensive for a private school, the first thing i saw when i went in to the office was a sign ,speak english, so all of their children go there also, i am treated as an Americano but a little different because i live as a filipino, i have a few more things and my house is a little bigger and i have more appliances, but they know i could live in a gated community, i also socialize with most of the men, my wifes uncle holds court on his front porch and i attend ,we drink beer and listen to music, after he has a few red horse he will talk to me in english, always asking when i learn visaya, haha and tells me if i am married to one of his daughters he will learn more english, all in all i learn more visayan and they speak more english, i give work to them so they earn money, and i get to relax, we are all happy, i am lucky my wifes family are not ones to ask for money, and if there is need i give what i can ,and they are happy with that

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[Old55]

Thanks Buddy I was hopping you would jump in.

[Campero]

Rosetta Stone is a great equalizer...........plus I speak fluent Spanish which comes in handy when trying to understand both Visayan and Tagalog. My father also told me that the best place to learn a foreign language is in bed!!!

The best equalizers are common interests. I am not talking about whoring and flashing cash (which is done by both foreigners and Filipinos). Being a lifelong sabungero (cockfighter), I have been accepted by a wide economic range of Filipinos. I play the sport for the love of the sport, not for the gambling side of it. That being said, you have to try and cover your costs in cockfighting, so we always try to keep the bets at a point where we can break even, and when we are lucky, take home the pot money from derbies. I have personally seen some Filipinos betting in excess of 2 million pesos on one cock, and bets of 200,000php are not uncommon. WOW!

When I visit the Philippines I rarely see any foreigners. I just hang out with other cockers (including my Kumpadre) and visit obscure venues in places few of us would ever go to. It's usually shocking for most of the locals when we roll into town with our roosters for a derby.........I mean, some of those cockpits have never even had a foreigner visit, let alone one that is 6'3" tall and around 220 pounds with his own cocks in the pit. It's a fraternity and I am accepted. Outside of this fraternity, I am not so sure. The jury is out until (and if) I actually relocate there for good, so maybe I am still seeing the Philippines through rose colored glasses, even though I have been visiting for over 10 years for extended stays. I have been interviewed for magazines, been on TV interviews a few times too. (I actually hate that, but I think its good for the sport and my Pinoy friends always get a big kick out it and egg me on, pardon the pun)

Yeah, I was once jacked up by some corrupt cops for some cash, but thats another story. It doesn't make me hate Filipinos either.

What I am trying to say is that there are commonalities amongst all of us which we can relate to and find mutual understandings that bridge economics, nationalities and allegiances. Color is only skin deep, and my pockets are not as deep as most would like to think.

Regards,

Campero

[jode]

I had a party once and near the end of the night one of the guys came up to me and asked (in broken English ) if it was ok for him to go home. I told him you do what ever you want,

I think the same kind of courtesy applies where we come from. If you are invited to a party and you want to leave, it is good manners and respectful to spend a moment with the host and thank them for the invite and the good time you had rather than just slip away. Here that courtesy is framed a little differant and is stated as asking permission to go if you have no further need of them there. One of many small differance in form here of showing same kind of common courtesy we all have in common.

Edited May 27, 2012 by jode

[sjp52]

ramble on. I like hearing about other foreigners experiences in the Phils. I can relate

[sjp52]

I had a party once and near the end of the night one of the guys came up to me and asked (in broken English ) if it was ok for him to go home. I told him you do what ever you want,

I think the same kind of courtesy applies where we come from. If you are invited to a party and you want to leave, it is good manners and respectful to spend a moment with the host and thank them for the invite and the good time you had rather than just slip away. Here that courtesy is framed a little differant and is stated as asking permission to go if you have no further need of them there. One of many small differance in form here of showing same kind of common courtesy we all have in common.

Yes they are quite different in a lot of ways and yes very polite. One time I had a bunch of Filipinos over for a game of poker. We were drinking beer and every one was laughing and joking and then all of a sudden a soap opera came on the tv in the other room and that was the end of the card game. They all got up and were mesmerized by the show. I laughed and teased them saying that back in the west the women were the ones glued to the soap operas.

Another time I had a dinner party for about 10 couples mostly family and I went out and bought a lot of food, Way more than I needed, Like three times the amount. But I thought well there will be some nice left overs the next day. Wrong, Every one went home with a doggy bag. My wife is so generous lol

[Jack Peterson]

:) Ah "The Doggy Bag" now there, is enough in that phrase to raise a Topic all on it's own, we have one particular neighbour, that will accept as many invites as she can, April and May for instance our Neighbourhood had no less then 8 Birthdays in one week, each house had the obligatory party, Azon tells me Landa and her family were invited to most of them. Have to admit that She will have helped out in the preparations, family fed daily, and doggy bags for every one, fed tomorrow too.BAD! No! part of life and now expected. after all they all gotta eat

Photo is of a party for my Birthday and I was not even there. So they enjoyed for me and apparently it all went by 11.30 then I guess the Them Karaoke came out. :omg: but then, that's yet another Topic subject :)

Such is life but these things, make life with them a whole lot better :thumbsup:

jack P. :morning1: (early Sunday morning look ) :tiphat: