Living in The Philippines

November 15, 2013 by feyma

Feeling sorry for the people in Visayas!

Just watching on TV the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda really made my heart ache for the people in the Visayas especially to the people in Leyte. Seeing the dead people lining up all over the place really makes me cry. I just saw on the news before I went to bed a dad was carrying his 5 or 6 year old dead daughter to bring to the area where they could embalm the kid. Not sure if she will belong to the mass graves then because of lack of facilities already. No medicine I think to do it. They’re already out. Almost every building there collapsed already. They just made hospital bed under the tent. I also saw a lady underneath the debris, just by watching I know that she’s dead. Seeing the news feed from my FB, I was crying seeing the whole family, the dad just open his arm one arm his wife was lying the other arm his kids. They were all dead. It’s so hard to see and not shed tears.

Yolanda

Really I didn’t think of it the first day after the typhoon. Not much feed from the media at that time. Communications were down. Everyone waits, until the press releases a lot of the videos. My gosh, it’s so hard watching the TV without crying. I thought the Pablo and Sendong were disastrous already but what we have now really devastates us more. Too many towns almost wiped out. Too many people lost their lives. To be honest when we went to give out to the Pablo victims before I was pretty scared that people might attack us because they really are in need of food and clothing, which they almost did. I am more scared of the people there right now. I think to give out right now you have to have some military with you to help out that you, as a giver will not get hurt too. I’ve heard from a person that I knew that they were mugged by just walking to go to the safe area for shelter. People just be thinking they had some food with them. They were really scared for their life.

I’m really sad for the people of the Philippines right now. Three years in a row, we’ve been hit hard by really bad typhoons. A few times people here were not ready. After those few disastrous events the government and the town officials that were supposed to be in the path, they’ve been trying to be prepared before the typhoon hit. But no matter how prepared the place was it is still caught off guard. Nobody can predict what mother nature will do. Lots of those people that already went to the evacuation center, but the water just swept them away. I’ve seen, a news people take shelter from the church, thinking that it would be safe there since it’s a big building and it’s concrete. But guess what the roof just flew away, then the building just starts falling. They made video and you can hear the wind whistling and the tree just breaking to pieces and flying all over the place. The news lady just starts crying relating the events because in her mind that’s the end of them. Listening to her I was crying too. I can’t blamed her for crying on air. No communications there right now all cell towers were down and no powers in almost all the places there.

If you wanted to see the names of your loved ones. Check SunStar and other big news TV station from time to time on their website they will post the names there:

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2013/11/10/list-typhoon-yolanda-survivors-tacloban-313035

We will continue praying for the people there that suffered and lost their lives. To the LiP family that lost some love ones there our heart goes out to you guys. Prayers for all of you. Be strong and God be with you all!

Love & Prayer to all of you!!!

November 7, 2013 by feyma

Excitement, sadness & happiness rolled into one!!!

As everyone of you know already here that Aaron is going to the States next year. In God’s grace and glory. My gosh, I am so excited for him that he already has the confidence to travel there. But at the same time my heart is aching a little bit each day. To tell you the truth I am sad too. My kids never been away from us for a long time. So this is really the first time for one of our kids to be away for this long. Can you imagine the day when we will be sending him off? So many of us here in the house will be so sad and excited at the same time.

When we first planned his trip we already shed tears there, especially me. Sigh… But I am really so happy that he take the leap to go there by himself. Aaron is our quiet kid. He will talk or make a conversation rather to people that he knows well and hangs out more often. That’s just his personality. He really took it from my dad and Bob’s dad. He is a deep thinker and observant. So of course as a mom I am a bit worried for him not asking people for help. I am starting to remind him that he needs to ask help from other people through out his journey. I continue on saying that many of those people will be happy to help him.

Aaron and I during his graduation

I did told him my journey to the States by myself at the age of 21. Naive and shy. I’m kind of like him in a way so quiet. But I never hesitate to ask a lot of people along the way. At that time internet didn’t exist yet, so I can’t share to the world my whereabouts. . Phone call during my time was a bit difficult too, have to call collect to Bob if I want to get a hold of him. Luckily I didn’t call him on that journey. So I have to really talk or I get lost.

This will be a new beginning for him. He will have to see the other side of the world. Being born there in the States and he has to start re-learning everything about the place. And seeing relatives again in a long time and some of them for the first time. I am telling him already to see my best friends there, one of them who I’ve met early on my time there. She’s a Filipina from Cebu, married to a guy who works in Boeing. They had 2 kids. My other best friend our next door neighbor, and practically we were like sister’s, she’s from Jordan. She had 4 kids who I love very much. Happy to reconnect with her 3 boys on Facebook. She’s not a facebook fanatic. She’s close to Aaron before because she was there when I had Aaron. She calls Aaron her Habibi (My love, my babe) in Arabic. Aaron learned Arabic from them before. Hopefully Aaron can visit them in Northern Oregon.

Let me tell you after my mother-in-law found out of Aaron going there, she told me that she can’t hardly wait for him to be there. She’s even telling me that she doesn’t know how to contain her excitement. Just minutes after telling her my God, she’s calling her friends right away, practically every person on her personal phone book list. Ha ha ha. They were really so happy for her. They know how much she misses the kids. Not so much for Bob and I. Ha ha ha… .

My best friend here in the Philippines called me when she read the post of Aaron. I did not mentioned to her about it because I want to wait until Aaron will say something. So she found out on his post. She then called me and asked me how do I feel about it? I told her that I am happy, excited and sad, but in a good way. Happy that Aaron will decide hopefully then on what he wants in the future. Excited for him traveling and experiencing new beginning. Sad because he will be away from us for a while for the first time. But I thank God that He gave Aaron the courage to do what he plans to do. So thankful for internet nowadays, so easy to communicate with him and know what’s going on with him there.

Thank you guys for the moral support for our son. I really appreciate the nice message you’ve sent to Aaron on his post. God bless LiP Family!!!

October 31, 2013 by feyma

Hypocrisy

Have you guys been reading or hearing on Philippine news TV? Regarding one of the big celebrities here in the Philippines wanting to marry his girlfriend. Why would that be a problem? The guy, he is 60 years old and the girl is 16 years old. To be honest I think if the girl was over 18 it might not cause a lot commotion here.

I think one of the reasons why it makes some noise not just here but all over where lots of Filipina married to foreigners community. The guy he is so nationalistic that sometimes he sounds like he doesn’t like the Pinay to be married to the foreigners. But his sister married someone from Europe. Well that’s just his opinion. It doesn’t bother me really. But what does bother me when he’s one of those person that’s against older foreigner guys marrying the young Pinay.

Freddie Aguilar with 16 year old girlfriend

But look what he is doing. He is wanting to marry an underage girl. My Lord my daughter is older than his girlfriend. To be honest, really just thinking, I know my daughter is too young to marry any guy right now, and I know she’s just not ready to have another life (babies) to support. It’s just like babies making babies. I know that celebrity guy can afford what the young bride wants, I would also say the same to any foreigner that married to Filipina, he can afford whatever the young bride desires.

For me that celeb guy should just zip his mouth before, since he already know that he had desire for youngster. I’ve read somewhere that his second or third wife, he married her when the girl was just 17. He said he loved her too much that he let her go later. He should know better, the media now scrutinized him and the girl. Honestly I felt sorry for the girl, now she’s going to be followed by the paparazzi. And he claimed that he didn’t know the girl was just 16 years old before they had the relationship. That really shocked me. He didn’t ask her birthday or what year in school she is? Knowing the year level of the girl, he can already figure it out her age. I don’t think the girl stopped schooling. I don’t think they are too poor. Or like he said he was blinded by his love for her to backed out. It’s already too late for him to know her age he said. But what can we say the parents were okay with it, and they approved of him marrying the girl when she reached the age of 18. Not sure if they are now living in one roof. The way he said in the interview, it didn’t sound like they are living apart. But who knows.

Really, I’ve met a lot of older guys married to a young Filipina (the Pinay is over the legal age) like a little over 20′s. And you know what I saw the love and care with each other. The thing that I had in mind now with the 16 year old, most of them were so immature, just a few are not. What if hard times/trials come along, can the 16 year old think right away on what to do? Maybe some can too. This is a difficult subject to tackle because for me it’s really up to the person. But I am hoping too that it will not happen to my daughter or other members of my family. I saw a lot of what happen when a 16 year old married that early. Trouble in paradise mostly.

*** But I guess it’s not so uncommon to a young girl become the mistress of someone here (some were pushed by poverty and the parents). So I guess its just the same. It’s one of the other unending cycles here in the Philippines “The young ones (underage girl) married or living in with the older guy”. ***

October 24, 2013 by feyma

Morning routine, breakfast for us!

Over a month or so ago now Bob and I started that all of us in the house will eat breakfast together. We were thinking of dinner, but some of the kids in the house will be going home late because of school. So the dinner together idea is off the table for now. We know that all of us will be here during morning so that’s one of the reasons why we started the morning routine for all of us. Really at first Bob and I were just thinking that we will have the breakfast routine just during weekdays. But, by the middle of the first week we talked to the kids if they want to still do the breakfast? Everybody said that they want to do it daily. So we have breakfast everyday now. Only thing during weekends we are flexible with the hours.

Today’s choices

During weekdays we do our breakfast early morning usually before 6:30, since the kids go to school early. During weekends we will eat no later than 8:30. If I’m making muffins I usually get up a little early. Sometimes my niece Glenda will make garlic rice, the kids like it a lot with sausage or the nuclear dogs ( ha ha ha). Jean helps with the cooking. She’s been cooking some muffins too. It seems to be a routine now to wake up early. I don’t even have to go to their room. She just wakes up by herself and helps out. Sometimes they go to the market early or the day before to buy fruits.

Breakfast Selections

Sometimes me and one of the kids go for a walk early to buy bread at the bakery here. Good freshly baked bread (pandesal especially). It’s so yummy. Sometimes we buy muffins at S & R. It’s like the muffin made from Costco. Very good. Here’s some of the foods we eat in the morning: Fruits (mango, banana, pineapple, pomelo, papaya, marang and many others). Cereals, banana muffins/bread, pancakes, waffles, baked french toast, garlic rice, regular rice, eggs (poach, boiled, fried), Hormel breakfast sausage, Johnsonville breakfast sausage, bacon, ham, hash brown, homemade Challah bread, homemade bread, biscuits and many others too. Our foods were suggested by everybody. We always have a few selections of foods in the morning in-case other people in the house don’t want the other food being served. We also have coffee, tea and other drinks. Really our breakfast, its a combination of Filipino and American dishes.

It’s really good to be together with the kids in the morning. We decided to eat at our porch, it seems cooler there in the morning. Really its good to be with the kids catching up with what they are doing everyday. The kids and nieces seems to be enjoying it too. We would not have done it if we are not all enjoying to be together. Even our helpers she eats with us. Ever since Bob and I lived here in the Philippines we always had our helpers eat with us.

All in all I’m so happy preparing the food for my family everyday. Something for all of us to enjoy and bond. I had a feeling that my kids might continue on this tradition too later with their respective families.

Have Fun Eating!!!

October 17, 2013 by feyma

A Taxi Driver’s Story!

I was riding a taxi from Abreeza mall to our house. When the taxi cab driver saw one of my son with me he could tell that my son is a multi-race. So he asked me if my son is mixture of German & Pinoy? I answered him politely nope. He then asked again what country, I told him the USA. He said oh, the US. I have my son and ex-wife there. So I asked him did your wife marry a foreigner? He said yes. He said actually she really is not my wife. We didn’t get married, we were just together for a long time. So I kinda tease him maybe your partner got tired of waiting for you to asked her to marry her? He said maybe and just move on with out me. We kinda both laugh on that.

Anyway, he was really curious with the life in the USA. I told him that maybe his son could petition him later for him to go there. He said maybe. He said that his son did not expressed any interest of getting him. He told me that he still continue communicating with his son there. I could tell the taxi driver really is interested to go to the USA for he wants quote and quote to make his and his new wife and kids have a better life. I can’t blame him for wanting a better life. He really regretting not finishing school, its imminent when he’s talking.

Davao Taxi

I asked him how old is his son. He said he just turn 20. He said his son had been in the States for 5 or so years now. the son’s working at McDonald and studying college too. I could tell that he is really proud of his son. Which he should be. He said that his son told him that he cannot send money for his dad because he is paying his brand new car right now. He said his son bought an Audi car. I don’t know why he mentioned the brand of the car. I said really, that’s a very expensive car. He said his son said that he needed that car for his job. So I asked him then what’s the position of his son at McDonald? Is he an executive? He said his a server. I just said ah okay. I just said that he probably needs it then. Well, if the son thinks he needed that car, so it’s his choice. But the taxi driver really said his frustration that his son did not bother to send him money. I didn’t say anything because it’s not my place to tell him what to do.

For me in my opinion, it’s okay for that kid to not support his dad here since he is going to school. But I don’t think he really needed that expensive car for him to go to work. When we were there in the States before, kids of friends of mine who were going to college bought used cars for them to go to school and to go to work. It’s too early to show off a very expensive car. I asked the taxi driver maybe his ex-partner were the one paying the car, he said no, it’s just his son. I just didn’t know that the son can afford an expensive car payment, plus school, plus his personal things.

Because of the taxi driver’s dilemma I was thinking then for my son Aaron. Since AJ is getting serious of going to the States to visit GrandMa and maybe to study. I was thinking then what’s best for AJ to do when he will be in the States by himself without Mom and Dad. Just Grandma will be there with him. I would not want him to be burden with car payment. For me if he wants to study in America, he can ride the bus. So many buses route from my mother-in-laws house to the nearest college there. I would rather he uses the extra money for his personal things than the car payment. Hopefully Aaron will think it through on what to do than buying stuff that’s not so necessary for him. Anyway, that’s just my opinion.

Cheers!