My Recent Trip to the Philippines - mini report

(moderated: offensive language)

Hello,

My name is Mark Schroeder and I live in Ginatilan, Cebu with my wife and four kids (nephews and nieces of my wife). I read what you wrote about Manila and I think your writing is very humorous. Hope you are not offended. It is not what you say but the way you say it. Very funny stuff!

I can relate to a lot of your observations, but your perspective is certainly more American than Filipina. I understand some of the problems here, corruption and poverty being two of the big ones. But what you say about prices being high, must be more applicable to city life, as here in the province of Cebu, prices are very reasonable. However, there isn't much to choose from. We need to go to Cebu City for even common items at times, and any of the foods that I am used to, back in Ohio, are only available in the expensive grocery stores at the malls. So be it. I can live with that.

Our diet gets a little boring sometimes: fish, rice, baboy and a few veggies, and, of course, kilo after kilo of bananas. But I console myself with the fact that all of it is very fresh and healthy. I have learned to love squid and octopus while here, and have been introduced to many varieties of local fruits and some vegetables. So, again, its a trade-off, but in the final analysis, its a wash.

The people here in Ginatilan, in the stores, on the street, just about anywhere, are extremely friendly and gracious. I couldn't ask for a nicer atmosphere. Very different than city life, I know. So, my impression is that there is a greater difference between city life and country life, than there is between living in the Philippines and living in the USA.

Mark

hi im new here i would just like to share some of my observations that ive aquired over my many many months spent there. id just like to say that the philippines is not like Canada or the England,if your expecting it to be so lol your in for a real shock..asfar as food goes.. well you cant exactly expect to buy imported foods for less than they cost back home, although ive often found these items to be reasonable seeings that they are imported .on the subject of resto food at best expect it to be 80 pcnt of american restos standards.there are mc donalds wendys shakeys pizza and krispy creme in most larger shopping malls agian expect it to be 80 pcnt of back home.imo angeles has some of the best places to eat due to the larger concentration of whiteys.but if your shocked at the scin trade you might want to steer clear(bar girls or gro are abundant everywhere in the fils nowhere moreso than in ac ) as for the treatment of dogs and cats and any other animals,you have to remember to most people they are just animals.
i mean its hard to worry about your dog being fed if you have hungry kids.Which always makes me wonder why people aquire more than one dog when they cant even look after it(that being said its hard to escape barking dogs and crowing roosters in the fils..as for taxi drivers there are exceptions but most of them will try to extract as much cash as they can from you (its not just becouse your white im pretty sure everyone gets the same treatment.As for the driveing habbits of most fillys its a mostly noholds barred kind of event the biggest rule down to the smallest.yes you would think there would be more accidents but theres not. now on to coruption well most police are corupt although ive only had first hand dealings with traffic officers .imo id rather pay the cop a few hundred pesos than have the hasstle of recieveing a ticket
oh yah  customer service lol it basicaly doesnt exist in the fils dont complain  pretty much save your breath  thanks everyone  excuse my 5th grade grammer

thanks for share. i m more excited now to go in phil. i m planing to go in february. thanks again  freind

Wow"""   How interesting ive been living here for almosy fifteen years . and i say here is just like every where else i travell all over the world like europe and asia here is the same. in my cou ntry the crime is so bad but yet only thing we can do is hope for the best cause some people dont want to work . any how my point is this leave the phill people to solve their own issues if we dont like it here we shuld return to our own place. i have lost a lot here and it was my fault but i dont blame every one . i blame my self but i still lve the phillipines what ever you are loking for you can find it here .