Daddy! Daddy!

[ladislav]

There was a US citizen who stayed in the Philippines for about a year. He was no longer young, but childless and not interested in love anymore.
His neighbor was a single mother who had a three year old daughter. He asked the lady if she could come to help him clean the house. She agreed and started coming regularly.
No love happened, and they just became good friends and she would regularly help him with all his household chores. But the lady's daughter, whom she would always take with her, began calling the man "Daddy" .
'Daddy, can I see a monster in your computer?'
'Daddy, play a video with a robot in it'.
'Daddy, please buy me candy.'
The man was so touched by such filial talk and on a weekly basis, started taking the woman and her kid to different activities and attractions: the rides, the Zoo, then, the Manila aquarium, a gaming arcade, and of course, toy stores and candy stores. Something moved inside his heart and he began experiencing the fatherly instinct.
The little girl was absolutely ecstatic and continued, "Daddy buy me a bicycle! Daddy I want ice cream!" and he was happy to oblige.
When the man went back to the US, he decided to continue sending money to the mother-daughter family unit ( it was not much, just a couple of hundred dollars a month) but it made a big difference.
The kid was now in kindergarten, and her life was blooming. Every time he was in the Philippines on vacation, he would swing by to visit them and take them to the swimming pool, on boat cruises and even horseback riding.
While in the US, he would remotely organize birthday parties, Christmas parties for the kid and then, help the mother get a diploma and different jobs later.
It was only several years later that he was told that in the Philippines, all kids call adult men " Daddy'. It does not mean they think they are their real fathers or have any filial feelings towards them. It's just a manner of speaking! Just like when someone says, " Yo, broh!", that person does not think that you are his brother. It's just an expression.
But by then, the man was already several years into helping them. They both turned out to be wonderful human beings, though, and he is still helping them out. All parties are happy, though.
Lesson: in Asia, things aren't always what they seem.

[MarcosZeitola]

Ladislav have you ever considered making a blog of your own? Our former member "Davewe" had one, called "Marriedafilipina", it's not very active, but quite nice if you ask me:

https://marriedafilipina.com/

You should give it a try. He also wrote links to his newest postings here on HappierAbroad. Built up quite a following, too. You definitely have a nice writing style, and if you had a blog, I'd follow it.

[yick]

Ladislav have you ever considered making a blog of your own? Our former member "Davewe" had one, called "Marriedafilipina", it's not very active, but quite nice if you ask me:

https://marriedafilipina.com/

You should give it a try. He also wrote links to his newest postings here on HappierAbroad. Built up quite a following, too. You definitely have a nice writing style, and if you had a blog, I'd follow it.

Totally agreed! He has a nice writing style and of course, he writes about life as an expat! Which makes a nice change from the usual batshit mad conspiracy stuff we usually get.