My Move to the Philippines |

One of my favorite songs in church when I was growing up was a song called Jesus Loves the Little Children. The song starts out as Jesus Loves the Little Children All the Children of the World. When singing that song as a child I really didn’t comprehend what the line “All the Children of the World’ really meant. But when I visited the Philippines many years ago and saw children actually searching through the garbage at the Subic Naval Base that song came to my mind and at that time I developed a love and caring attitude for the children of the Philippines.

As a young sailor I had many favorite street kids that I would make sure had something to eat everyday. I didn’t give them much money straight out because I wasn’t sure that the money would be used for their benefit so instead I tried to make their day a little better and was always rewarded with a smile. It seems to me that no matter how hard the kids had it they were a happy and fun bunch to be around.

These days I have more than enough children in the Philippines to occupy my time as I have tons of nieces and nephews in the province and in Manila where I stay. Although my nieces and nephews to who I am affectionately known as Lolo Dan are not in as bad shape as the street kids I once helped I still spend lots of time with them just having fun.

 I do have a few children in the province that aren’t related to me that I treat as my own family and I try to take care of some of the simple needs that their parents cannot provide. One is a little girl who passes my house every morning on the way to school and waves and says hi to me. Her name is Mary Grace and I found out she was the youngest of 6 born to a mother and father who have no jobs and feed their kids by getting fish from the sea. I bought Grace some school supplies and I make sure she has a small snack to take with her to school every day. She says thank you and gives me that toothless smile that many 5 and six years worldwide have. That alone is enough to make my day.

I’m not telling this story to brag about helping the kids or to bring any glory to myself but to stress if you are planning as an American on moving to the Philippines, find a way to become part of the community and the lives of Filipino people rather than hide away somewhere doing nothing all day. For me, it’s done by spending time with the children and learning from them. Yea I do learn from them!

It seems like not long ago a young girl named Charice Pempengco from the Philippines shot on to the International stage first on starting on Little Big Star then Korean TV and appearances on Oprah and Madison Square Garden with Celine. I have just watched the latest video Pyramid featuring singer Iyaz and really enjoyed it thanks to my friend Thia Megia, another great Filipino singer.

Anyway I’ve added the YouTube video below for your enjoyment and links to other songs you can get on Amazon.com. As we have from the beginning we will follow whats going on with Charice and try to keep it updated here

Today Feb 22, 2010 is a national holiday here in the Philippines. Since there was no school I used this as a chance to bond more with my nieces and took them to the swimming pool. It was also a chance for them to practice their English and me to practice my Tagalog .

EDSA day is celebrated on the closest Monday to February 25th. It is to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution which has become an important part of Filipino history. It was a time when the people of the Philippines took political matters into their own hands and worked towards ousting a President who many felt was abusing his power. On February 22nd President Marcos conceded the Presidency of the Philippines to Corazon Aquino and fled to the United States.

On February 25th Aquino was sworn in as the new President and a new constitution was in the beginning stages of being formed. The new constitution was ratified on February 2nd 1987. Although I am not a voter and would rather not get involved in Filipino politics, I am a student of world history and realize the importance of this day in the Philippines.

Good books on the subject:
From Marcos to Aquino: Local Perspectives on Political Transition in the Philippines

Corazon Aquino: The Story of a Revolution

 So glad to report that this week we have arrived in the Philippines. Not a complete move but working towards someday doing just that. We have spent the first few days just adjusting to the time difference and visiting with friends we haven’t seen since last year.

I have been to Jollibee and Chow King, my fave places to eat, a couple of times already and it seems that there are more Starbucks here than anywhere I’ve ever been. Aside from that I’m finally figuring out the Internet Providers and prices. I’ve already been to Mall of Asia, Manila Bay, and Market Market and will share pics with you guys when I get them uploaded.

A strange occurance is the amount of Americans I’ve seen here this year. Although I’ve only been away for a year the amount of foreigners I have encountered in our little suburb of Manila suprises me. I have seen many younger Americans in the malls and places I’ve been. I guess the secret is out!

If you follow me on twitter you know I have been comparing the weather in the Philippines with the weather here in West Virginia. Mainly because it is so freaking cold and snowy in West Virginia right now and so nice in the Philippines and I will be flying into Manila in 20 days.

I am not a lover of snow or cold weather and can’t wait till I am staying the beautiful climate of the Philippines the majority of the time. Just in case you want to know the temperature in West Virginia right now is 20F and feels like 12F. In Manila it is 79F and feels like 83F so I ask you WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING HERE?

My wife had inherited some land in Pangasinan close to Hundred Islands so we decided to build a second home for the family when we visit the Province. Check the following link for pictures of the hoouse in progress.

Our House in Hundred Islands

Yes we are catching up with the Philippines here in the U.S. I heard my first Christmas music of the year in the Mall today and I think we are starting to get in the mood. Actually, I have to admit the first Christmas music I heard this year was on a Merry Go Round at the local amusement park in July. Can’t figure that one out maybe they were trying to keep us thinking of cool weather.

Another sign I saw of Christmas is the lines for the popular toys this year. Went by ToysRus this morning and saw a line outside. Then I saw a sign on the door that said one Zhu Zhu Pet per customer and I knew why. If you don’t know about these toys yet they are the Cabbage Patch Kids of 2009. If you are too young to know about that there is usually one hot toy that sells out every year and this year it is the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster. I think they make too few of a toy like this every year on purpose.

Other than that, my wife and I are working on getting ready for our trip to the Philippines in January which I hope will come soon. I really miss our home and family and friends there and plan on spending lots of time catching up. Hopefully the storm season will be over soon and the Philippines can get back to normal but it may take awhile.

Well we just received a few new pics from our home in the Philippines. As you can see when looking at the pictures we have added an awning. This was against my wishes but my wife decided it would protect us. Whatever the reason I think awnings can get tacky looking if not maintained. One more step will be accomplished this week when the air conditioning is installed. Believe me guys I can handle the heat but my wife who grew up in these temps demands it! Anyway the link to all the pics is Moving to Philippines Home Pics Will be leaving for the Philippines on January 28. 2010. Hope to meet some of the readers then!

The saying “time flies when you are having fun” but it could also be “time flies when you are busy” and I have been very busy. Since Christmas season in the states is near I have had a couple of marketing campaigns I have spent most of my working time on so I have neglected this blog. One of them will almost surely be a profitable campaign for me and the customer but also has taken much effort and is not close to being ready. To see what I’ve started click here but I warn you it is still only half way done. Anyway it seems like September has flown by so quickly and we are almost halfway through October.

The dream house is coming along quite well and actually we should have air conditioning in this week and the outside  has had a few changes. I hope to be posting some pictures on the changes real soon so keep looking for them. We have sent some balikbayan boxes full of essentials to the Philippines recently so it looks like when I go there in January there will be a lot of unpacking. With this stuff going in, the house should start feeling like a home to me and Ican get comfortable there. To all my friends online, I would like to meet at least some of you when I get there so let me know if that will be possible. As the time for my next trip to the Philippines draws near I am getting more and more excited to see my extended family once again. I’ll sign off for now and will be posting more frequently in the coming weeks and months.

I can’t believe it’s been a week since I last posted. I’ve been really busy on a very profitable and successful project but time consuming as well. Not really much going on other than my favorite season which is Fall. One thing I will miss after moving to the Philippines will be the drastic change in seasons. Just a couple of weeks ago it was hot and humid and now we are experiencing the cooler days of Fall.

If you are in the Philippines I would like to greet you with Season’s Greetings, probably something you have been hearing for the last two weeks since we are in the “ber” months. Never could get used to hearing Christmas music in September or October but I will adjust.

I ran across a recent video from my friend and noted author Bob Martin (see the sidebar for his writings). This video is a tour of his house in Davao City. I recommend you visit his YouTube channel and watch it. To view the video please click here. Once again SEASON’S GREETINGS especially in the Philippines.