Ladislav back in the Philippines

[ladislav]

This is a belated post because I've now been here 4 weeks but did not get around to posting a full report. Outside of the laziness, the main reason I did not post my adventures is that because for the first time, I am not dating here. I decided to take a break from dates which take hours of travel in smogged-up traffic and waiting for her to arrive late, paying for her, etc., This time I just said no.

I did meet some female friends who are just that- friends and we just hung out in Angeles City. No dating. I also spent time in Manila and Cebu.

Since I have a god child here, I just spent a lot of time taking my foster family with mom, grandma, etc. to different amusement parks, to the Christmas celebration in Rizal Park, etc. And because most of you guys are after hot dating reports, I figured you would not want to know about such mundane activities.

The benefit of being in the Philippines even without dating is sanity regained- and that it is such a normal society and they act human. People talk to strangers, there is politeness and community here. People act normal. They joke and understand jokes. And you feel normal again. It's like therapy. The first week, I was thawing out- kind of like getting depressurized after the US. Now, I am getting ready to go back. I keep telling myself that the US is not home- it's just business.

The conclusion by many expats whom I met here and who've been here for decades is that once the Philippines is in your blood, that's it- you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. I sure hope so.

Christmas and the New Year is a great time to be in the country.

[The_Adventurer]

Wait. So after only four weeks you have togo back to the US? Are you working there or something?

[ladislav]

Wait. So after only four weeks you have togo back to the US? Are you working there or something?

Yes, I have a contract in the US. I am working there.

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

@Ladislav,

I'm glad you are doing what you love to do. I actually agree with you taking a break from the women.

As for me, it's so hard. I'm like Chris Tucker in the 1995 movie Dead Presidents "I was born from the p.ussy; I will die by [next to] the p.ussy"

[ladislav]

I take back the sanity factor. In Cebu now. Was asking a man this morning in Visaya if a store was open. He replied "Whaaaat?" in English ( not "Excuse me?"). He kept talking back in English I asked him why he was not speaking to me in Visaya; he got angry and told me I was not in my own country, that I was not a Filipino ( to have the right to speak Visaya) and then he declared "I speak English".

Such events happen to me once every 8-10 years or so. Usually they involve "educated" Filipinos, not the masses. A perennial, eternal linguo-racial complex. Plus you get many smart asses here, too.

This is also one of the reasons I prefer living in Manila or Angeles rather than Cebu. There's no Tagalog in Cebu. And there's only one ethnic group here. Whereas in Manila/Angeles, every Philippine ethnic group is present and Tagalog is a lingua franca. In Cebu people are nice and warm but also very provincial as a rule. A nice place to visit.

Sometimes, I miss Russia. There, the educated classes are broad minded, very open intellectuals. And they talk to everyone in Russian. And if you don't speak Russian, well then get the h... out.

In most of Asia, including the Philippines the so called educated ones are still narrow minded and language/race is an unsolvable issue forever.

I bow to the wisdom and practicality of those who don't learn Asian languages.

[Taco]

I take back the sanity factor. In Cebu now. Was asking a man this morning in Visaya if a store was open. He replied "Whaaaat?" in English ( not "Excuse me?"). He kept talking back in English I asked him why he was not speaking to me in Visaya; he got angry and told me I was not in my own country, that I was not a Filipino ( to have the right to speak Visaya) and then he declared "I speak English".

Such events happen to me once every 8-10 years or so. Usually they involve "educated" Filipinos, not the masses. A perennial, eternal linguo-racial complex. Plus you get many smart asses here, too.

This is also one of the reasons I prefer living in Manila or Angeles rather than Cebu. There's no Tagalog in Cebu. And there's only one ethnic group here. Whereas in Manila/Angeles, every Philippine ethnic group is present and Tagalog is a lingua franca. In Cebu people are nice and warm but also very provincial as a rule. A nice place to visit.

Sometimes, I miss Russia. There, the educated classes are broad minded, very open intellectuals. And they talk to everyone in Russian. And if you don't speak Russian, well then get the h... out.

In most of Asia, including the Philippines the so called educated ones are still narrow minded and language/race is an unsolvable issue forever.

I bow to the wisdom and practicality of those who don't learn Asian languages.

You came to visit at the right time, its nice and cool right now with all the rain we've been getting.

There's many different dialects of Visayan and Cebuano's don't always understand each other very well so they will speak English or Tagalog when there's a communication problem. Also, lot of people understand English better than they speak it because they watch a lot of English TV. My wife speaks Visayan, Tagalog and English so let her do the talking whenever I have a technical problem that requires a lot of explaining.