Tukaram (Tim) Posted May 26, 2019 Posted May 26, 2019 10 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said: Been there (Paris - the one in France) and I never speak of it (except for now), since I found it to be a smelly and filthy city with no charm. The only place worth seeing in Europe for me is the UK, even with all of the troubles that it has... at least, I found the people to be friendly (maybe because they thought that I was a Canadian and not a Yank). See, no matter where I go, I get misidentified, either as a Brit or as a Canadian. Go figure. I am from Texas and there they thought I was a Yankee. Here in the PIs they think I am German? I don't get it (but I love schnitzel) ha ha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Berkowitz Posted May 26, 2019 Author Posted May 26, 2019 59 minutes ago, Tukaram (Tim) said: I am from Texas and there they thought I was a Yankee. Here in the PIs they think I am German? I don't get it (but I love schnitzel) ha ha If you ever get down to the San Antonio area, there should be plenty of schnitzel at the German Festivals. https://www.tripsavvy.com/texas-oktoberfest-celebrations-1656790 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tukaram (Tim) Posted May 26, 2019 Posted May 26, 2019 I do not get back to the US very often. Only 2 trips in 6 years, so far... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Tommy T. Posted June 21, 2019 Forum Support Posted June 21, 2019 My partner is a high school teacher here. She has described a big problem with the education system... The government has apparently mandated that students be taught subjects in a Western fashion with Western methods, whatever that really means. The problem is most have have no text books, no computers and even have to buy their own school supplies like notebooks, pencils...etc. Yet everyone seems to have a cell phone! I read recently that the Philippines is the most socially active online country on the planet. So I can see where the priorities really exist here... Geography is not taught at all and history, only the rudiments of Philippines' history. I used to be a cartographer for a while and I love maps. But anyone here seems to know all their relatives, the kids and the names of the places where they all live. But if you show them a map, they are totally lost. My partner cannot read a map nor follow Google Maps to navigate, despite repeated lessons from me. She only now is starting to learn the cardinal directions - N, S, E, W. And can usually figure out which is which by looking at the sun position - progress! I get frustrated sometimes when trying to tell someone how to get out to my future home site... "Yeah... well it's down the road toward Bukidnon and past this high school and then turn just past the SeaOil gas station..." So what I am saying is that the schools try to teach subjects that are necessary to survive and hopefully improve - languages (my partner speaks 7!), cooking, growing things, music, dancing, basketball, some math, but not so much of the things most of us expats grew up learning - science (chemistry, physics), strong math, history and even some geography (which is being discontinued in USA - a crime! So it is a dying science for most people). My partner loves when I try to explain science subjects and phenomena to her or tell her about history like wars, discovery, even politics... Sorry, I guess this came out as a bit of a rant? But I see those here so I hope it's okay? Anyway, that's my 2 centavos' worth of opinion to share here... Cheers all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Berkowitz Posted June 21, 2019 Author Posted June 21, 2019 6 hours ago, Tommy T. said: But if you show them a map, they are totally lost. My Pinay wife couldn't even find the Philippines on the World Map that I bought for her (and mounted on the wall for her, over here in the US), but now she's leaning. At first, she was shocked about the relative small size of the Philippines... well, not only the Philippines, but also the smallness of her OWF brother's location (Qatar). I am still in shock that all she was ever shown (in the Phils school system) was a map of the Philippines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Tommy T. Posted June 21, 2019 Forum Support Posted June 21, 2019 I gave my partner a world globe.... I think it is still in the box it came in from the store... The education system here could definitely be improved, but it would take money and training. But it is slowly improving, I think. Poor kids... You and I both share those shocks! Good that you introduced this topic. Thanks. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Peterson Posted June 21, 2019 Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Mark Berkowitz said: At first, she was shocked about the relative small size of the Philippines... well, not only the Philippines, but also the smallness of her OWF brother's location (Qatar). Actually the philippines is Not that small well not as small as some think; Geography of the Philippines. The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises over 7,000 islands with a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). It is Larger than the combined Korea and is 72nd in Largeness in the World land Area wise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area Edited June 21, 2019 by Jack Peterson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Tommy T. Posted June 21, 2019 Forum Support Posted June 21, 2019 I agree... But it just looks small compared to Australia, Canada, USA and, of course, Russia and China. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Tommy T. Posted June 21, 2019 Forum Support Posted June 21, 2019 Actually, I think I got distracted from the original question... My answer is that, yes, I think ex-pats should teach geography. I am trying to do that anyway... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Berkowitz Posted June 21, 2019 Author Posted June 21, 2019 7 minutes ago, Tommy T. said: My answer is that, yes, I think ex-pats should teach geography. I am trying to do that anyway... Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now