Moving to Cebu, Relationships and help with translation

Hi Malcom,

How is your relationship going? My name is Mark Schroeder and I live in Ginatilan, Cebu. Have been here one year now. I visited 4 times over three years before deciding to move here.

Over the years, I developed a great deal of trust in my now-wife. Her English was not so great to start with but she has improved dramatically. I tried to learn Cebuano for a while but got busy and gave up, for the time being. I like the language but I think my memory is not what it used to be and there is a lot of just-plain-memorization. So, I am thankful that my wife was willing and able to learn English as well as she has.

I think there is a plus side to not understanding the local vernacular: If someone is talking about me or gossiping about someone else, I am not aware of it. And I have found that most talk has absolutely no affect on my life or happiness anyhow. I am sure there are others who would disagree wholeheartedly. Sometimes I feel a little left out when people are conversing while I stand there as if I was invisible. It's a trade-off. When I feel the strain of my stranger status, I find someone I know who speaks English well and chat until satiated. It works for me.

I have a blog that has been in the construction phase for some time now. It is about my experiences here and my impressions and feelings related to those experiences. Here is the web address, if you would like to take a look:

http://cebu-paradise.blogspot.com