My Move to the Philippines |

Our House at Villagio DI Xavier Jubiliation in Binan Laguna

 I never believe it could have happened but our house in the Philippines is paid off after only two years of sacrifices and skimping on expenses. We were playing a small foreign exchange game where you watch the exchange rate of the dollar and peso and a recent spike told us it was the time to make the move. So the house is paid off now and the decorating begins. It may cost more to decorate than the house cost(LOL). I promise to have a party kind of a second houswarming but this time there will be kitchen appliances and furniture when we return to the Philippines in a few months. Everyone who can make it is invited. I let you know details later.

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Well it has happened, Charice and Celine sung together in Madison Square Garden and it was shown on the Oprah Show. There are some videos of the performance on YouTube and I will share one of them with you. The video and sound are not the best but you can tell Charice was very popular and brought down the audience. I liked that they showed her mother a few times while she was singing the song “Because You Loved Me” Listen to the crowd when Celine says Carice is from the Philippines. Enjoy!

Charice’s Song For Mama

Balut is the second most recognizable Philippine delicacy behind only Lumpia. I had my first experience with balut as a young sailor in the late 70’s who after a few San Miguels or a shared pitcher of mojo would take the challenge of eating one or two.

For the uninformed, balut is a two week old duck embryo, still in it’s shell, baked in high heat until the yolk is cooked. I’ve heard rumors about them being buried in the ground for a time but I’m not sure if that is true. Balut has been featured on the US TV show Fear Factor, the show where contestants eat things like maggots and bugs with the prize going to the person who eats the most. I wish I could have been on the show when the thing to eat was balut. I would have taken home the first prize except for the fact you aren’t allowed to drink beer on the show while eating. Balut is usually bought from a street vendor who goes from house to house calling out Balllllutttt! I’ve heard that balut is an aphrodisiac and that’s why they sell it at night before everyone goes to bed. But I’ve also been told that it is sold at night because when it’s dark you can’t see what it looks like. Check out this video on balut:

If you are reading the blogs this morning you have probably seen something about Charice Pempengco. She is the Filipino teenager that has taken much of the US by storm. She got her start on Little Big Star back in 2005 where she placed Third. After that, a friend posted a video of one of her performances on YouTube and the world found out about her. Does this remind you of another story?(Arnel Pineda). She went to Sweden and recorded some songs, a Korean TV network had her on, and now she has been on Ellen DeGeneres and  The Oprah Show twice .

On the Oprah show yesterday Charice sang a Celine Dion song and was suprised by a video visit from Celine who said that she was touched by by Charice and the story of her life which has been marred by domestic violence. Charice was obviously touched that Celine had even heard of her but was really suprised and shocked when Celine invited her to sing together onstage at Madison Square Garden next week. That is one performance I will have to see so if any of you are headed to the Celine concert take your cameras and record it.

If you check on YouTube there are many videos of Charice singing. During my search I found one that I like more than the others. This video is of Charice in a music store where it appears she is just trying out a guitar to buy. But she launches into a beautiful song and blows away all the customers and employees with her beautiful voice and guitar skills.

Charice has her own website and blog which are very good. Check out her videos and website and tell me: Do you think she’s got what it takes to be another Celine? I think so!

Many times in life we set lofty goals that some people can only laugh at. Some want to climb Mt. Everest or swim the English Channel. Although those are obtainable goals few really ever attempt let alone complete that goal. One of my goals when shared with friends and family bring the same kind of eye rolling and smirks that the future swimmers and climbers get. That goal is to move into a new house and take nothing from the old house except a few personal items. The personal items would be some books and paperwork and a few of my clothes. Since we are moving into a brand new house when we move to Laguna this goal will be accomplished. It isn’t because we are so rich that we can discard our old stuff but a matter of convenience and practicality.

I was reading an article on a website concerning Moving to the Philippines entitled “How to move to the Philippines-with a bag, suitcase, or container-with your full household or just personal belongings.” In this article the author offers a few facts to help a person decide what to take. For example, due to the weather, winter clothes will not be needed. In fact, he recommends that you bring few clothes because of the low prices on clothes, tailor made or otherwise.

The article goes on to mention the availability of musical items and sporting goods at the malls and stores so I won’t need any of that. The furniture probably wouldn’t hold up under the high humidity and most mattresses would rot away in no time. That’s great because I like rattan furniture better than the cheap stuff I have in my house now.

The cost of moving a whole household by container plus the expenses of customs fees really opened my eyes to going with everything new. And it would take awhile, possibly months, before the stuff from the states would arrive. What would I do until then?

So its just practical and cheaper for me to leave everything behind and move to the Philippines with what I can carry on the plane, just a bag and a suitcase. Anyone know where I can get some good rattan furniture?