December 4. 2010 by admin.

It’s been far too long since my last Blog update and I apologize…..but last night I got into my first “real” accident here in the Philippines and I thought I would share my experience for my friends in the States, as the entire process was much different than what I am used to in America.

On my way to Jiu Jitsu class, I was driving along on a 3 Lane road, with myself being in the middle (center) lane.  A Taxi pulled up alongside my right side and got extremely close.  I beeped the horn a few times to let him know I was there.  He didn’t seem to care and I think he got angry that I did not let him over into my lane.  So, he quickly accelerated and then proceeded to cut me off and sharply merge into my lane, clipping the rear left corner of his car on the right front corner of mine.  I tried moving over to my left to give him some more space to prove how awesome he was, but there were other vehicles in the lane beside me, so I had nowhere to go.

He stopped his vehicle and allowed his passenger to get out.  I got out of my vehicle and walked up to him and told him that he was an idiot and how much of a stupid decision it was on his part to cut me off.  Within a few minutes, a couple local Traffic Cops walked over to the scene.  These guys usually stand around at busy intersections and direct traffic…..apparently manpower is cheaper than installing a traffic light…….or the traffic light that is there is not working.

The two guys asked both of us for our story about what happened and I explained how there was no way that the damage on his vehicle could have been caused unless he side-swiped me while cutting me off.  The officers didn’t seem to think the Taxi driver was wrong, which was making me worried.  Stories I had previously heard of Foreigners having to shell out hefty sums of cash to make problems with the law disappear were quickly re-surfacing in my mind……lol  The situation got worse when they started asking me if I was willing to “settle” with the Taxi driver now, so that we could avoid involving the local CITOM office.  (CITOM is the City Traffic Operations Managment, kind of like a cross between the CHP and Cal-Trans in California.)  I said, “Sure, I am willing to settle here, as the damage to my car was very minimal, but he had significant body damage to his panel.”  Then they asked me how much I will give the Taxi driver to settle now.  I quickly replied that I would not be paying him anything as the entire accident was not my fault.  The officers told me that if I don’t settle now, then we would have to go to the CITOM office.  I said, “Well then, let’s go.”  A bunch of conversation then occured between the driver and the officers.

One of the officers then asked me if I had a piece of paper.  I thought he wanted my Registration & Insurance, but after clarifying again with him what he was asking, I realized he really did just want a piece of paper.  I asked him what he needed it for and he said; “To draw a sketch”.  It’s interesting to me that the local Traffic Officers are not provided with a cheap, disposable camera to use for taking pictures of accidents.  Or even better, would be a cell phone with a decent camera to take pics and then upload them to the computer at their office later, at the end of each shift.  Nowadays, a cell phone with a camera is a dime a dozen…….or so I thought.

But here I was with two officers whose job it is to document details from the scene of an accident and between the two of them, they had no piece of paper.  I would think they would be supplied with at least a notebook of sorts.  Anyways, once he had his paper, he proceeded to draw a sketch of the accident with all the pertinent information.  Meanwhile, I started taking pictures from every possible angle with my trusty new iPhone, as I knew I needed all the proof I could get.  After about 45 minutes, the Officer told me to review the sketch and sign it with the driver, so I did as there was nothing there admitting fault, etc.  The Officer collected my Drivers License and the License of the Taxi driver as well and said that the sketch, our Licenses and other paperwork would all be delivered to the CITOM office.  I was expecting them to tell me that I need to go there in two weeks, on the 15th at 2:00PM like in America.  However, to my surprise, I was told to drive directly to the office right then & there!

I followed the Taxi driver to the CITOM office and waited in the lobby for about 30 minutes.  After my name was called, I went into the office area with the Taxi driver and sat down at the desk of an older gentleman, who was introduced as the “Inspector”.  He reviewed the sketch from the other officers and also looked over the Insurance & Registration documents then asked each of us for our version of the story.  After explaining it to him and then showing him all the pictures taken on my iPhone, the Inspector pulled out two little Matchbox style toy cars.  Both cars had seen significant use, as the paint was almost gone and one of them only had 3 wheels…..lol

The Inspector did a little demonstration with the cars, basically an exact reenactment of the same scenario that had taken place earlier that evening in real life.  He spoke directly to the Taxi driver in Cebuano, and even though I could not understand most of it, it was clear it was in a “What the hell were you thinking?” kind of tone.  He repeated the same toy car demonstration a couple more times, explaining to the Taxi driver where he went wrong.  The Inspector then gave me back my License & Registration documents, while putting the other drivers License in a file at his desk.  The Inspector told me to call the owner of the Taxi company so that I could talk to them about what I wanted in regards to compensation.  I told the Inspector that was not necessary, as the damage to my vehicle was very minor and the Taxi driver would already have enough problems to deal with.  I didn’t want to make things worse…….for him, or for me…….and was happy to just leave and go on my way.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the outcome and really thought it was going to go in a completely different direction once I got to the CITOM office.  However, I was treated very fairly and with respect which is quite different than the stories I have heard from other friends.  I was thankful that nobody got hurt, there was no serious damage to my car, and I didn’t have to take a single Peso out of my wallet to make things go my way.

Happy Holidays,

JOHN

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June 15. 2010 by admin.

As some of you already know, I just got back from America a couple of weeks ago after staying there for one month and visiting some friends & family.  That was my first trip back to the States after living here in the Philippines for the last six months; and now that I’ve been back here in the Pi for two weeks, I’ve had some time to reflect on what I missed and what I didn’t.

It’s funny, but the first thing that comes to mind is a hot shower.  Here in my Apartment in Cebu, I do not have a water heater, as most people here do not.  It’s usually about 85F - 90F here all day, every day…..with a VERY slight drop in temperature at night.  So, the water sitting outside in the Aluminum tank that is pumped up from a deep well stays fairly warm.  Plus, when I come home from Jiu Jitsu or a Gym workout; the last thing I want is a hot shower……lol  It’s already been holding around 90% Humidity lately; so that equals a Heat Index of about 104F.  Therefore, the water coming out of the shower feels pretty good just the way it is! 

Yet, when I was in San Diego, I would come home from Jiu Jitsu class and found it difficult to get out of the shower because the hot water felt so good……but it was also more like 65F or below there at night…..which is a big difference.  I’ve seen the Electric Hot Water Heaters here at the Hardware stores and thought about buying one, but the need for getting Air Conditioning in my crappy car is of much greater concern….lol  Regardless, I miss a nice hot shower sometimes.

Over the last couple of weeks, Charise and I have been running around the City doing some errands, etc.  We’ve had to go to a few different businesses to drop off & pick up some things; or just to buy something.  I’ve been running into the frustration lately of going somewhere and finding out they are closed for lunch.  Many businesses here will close down from approx. 12-1 pm, so that all of the employees can eat lunch and/or sleep.  I’m just not used to seeing that in America; as a business there will stagger the employees lunch breaks, so that there is always someone available to help the customers.  It’s frustrating, but I understand it is the culture here, so it takes some re-adjusting on my part to know that I have to check my watch before venturing out to run errands.

A similar issue occurred last week, when we went to a store to pick up something.  We arrived at about 3:00pm and there was a sign on the door that read; “Having store meeting, come back in 1 hour”.  I read the sign 5 times to make sure I wasn’t missing something, but there was no information there about when the sign was written.  So, there was no way for me to know if they meant 1 hour from right then, or was it 1 hour from 55 mins. ago and the meeting would be over in 5 mins. or what???  VERY frustrating and very confusing…….especially when you are trying to plan your other appointments and errands.  Wouldn’t it have been simple for them to write the time the note was written?  Or better yet……the time to return?  “Having store meeting, come back at 4:30pm” would have made my life a lot easier.  It just consistently amazes me the lack of common sense or professionalism that some businesses or employees have here.  It really tests my patience and forces me to try and take a deep breath.

On a positive note, my crappy car broke down last week……it just died on the side of the road.  I looked around at the engine for a bit, but I really had no idea what I am looking for on a Japanese Surplus Vehicle……lol   We took a Taxi down to a local repair shop and told the Manager there about the situation.  Five minutes later I was sitting in a Tow Truck with two other guys going down the Highway to go get my car.  They loaded it up and we went back to the shop.  It was now about 2:00pm on a Saturday.  The shop closes at 5:00pm and is not open on Sunday……so it was looking like I would be car-less for the rest of the weekend and hopefully get it back by Monday afternoon.

The Manager told me he would check it out and let me know the problem as soon as he could, so we jumped in a Taxi and went home.  About two-and-a-half hours later, the shop called us and said the car was ready.  We went back to the shop and I was prepared to get bent over and used mercilessly as the receipt was prepared.  My fears were not necessary though, as the total damages were $27.00USD.  Only twenty-seven dollars for a tow truck pick-up, a new fuel pump, all the labor, taxes, etc…..and they also even re-installed a panel that had kept falling off due to some broken tabs, but this time put it on with bolts, so it won’t ever fall off again.  Awesome.  They did all of that on a Saturday afternoon, when most shops would have just let it sit there all weekend and deal with it on Monday morning.  I was happy……very happy.

Other random thoughts…….I miss the convenience of just going down the street to have a delicious meal like you can in California, sometimes I miss the cooler weather, of course I miss my friends & family……  But here, I get my delicious fresh fruit & coconuts for ridiculously low prices, I get to wear T-shirts, shorts & sandals everyday and I have met new friends.  Here, I can get fantastic home-service massages for $3.00 or $4.00 USD for an HOUR.  If I wanted or needed to, I could have a full-time maid here doing ALL of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc….. for $2.00 - $3.00 per DAY.  It’s really amazing.  My neighbours are nice, the area is relatively quiet, but I don’t have trash service pick-up, so I have to burn it all.  I definitely miss the cleaner air and smog pollution laws of California, as the Highways here can get a bit nasty, but I’m also not sitting in the 5:00pm traffic on the 5 or 15 North in San Diego. 

Like I’ve said before; there is pros & cons, good & bad………just like anywhere else in the world.  Life is what you make it.

Thanks for reading,

JOHN

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April 28. 2010 by admin.

I’ve been wanting to post something about my experiences driving here and I figured now’s a good time to do so, as I am heading back to the USA very soon.

Driving  around this Country is much different than what I am used to in the United States.  The organization and structure that we have in the States is just about non-existent here.  Most stop lights here seem to not be functioning correctly.  Even though they use the same Red, Yellow, Green system that we also use, usually not all 3 of the lights are working.

Sometimes only the green works, sometimes only the red….sometimes just a yellow and one of the other colors.  It creates confusion (at least for me) when I’m approaching a light and none of the colors are lit up….lol  I’ve also noticed that many vehicles will start moving from a stop light before the green lights up.  In a Country where many scooters, Taxis or Jeepneys come flying through the intersection at the last moment, clearly running the red light, it’s quite dangerous for these guys on scooters to go shooting out before they have the green light……or the “invisible” green light.  It’s truly amazing that there is not more accidents here.

Another thing I have noticed is that if I slow down or stop to allow a vehicle or pedestrian to go in front of me, people seem to rather wait for the next “gap” in traffic instead.  This occurs more frequently with people trying to cross the street.  In America, I’m used to slowing and waving somebody to go ahead, while they wave back a “thanks”.  But here, even though I am just trying to be nice and let somebody cross the street by slowing and waving them through, they almost always don’t cross and prefer to wait.  It’s really odd…..

Another major difference is the genuine lack of personal safety most of the scooter/motorcycle riders have here.  Just like some riders in America, they think it’s cool to remove their side view mirrors and pay no attention to the vehicles behind them or to their sides while riding.  On way too many occasions, I’ve had guys pull right in front of me at both slow & fast speeds.  They just don’t pay attention…..it’s unbelievable.

Finally; I’ll touch on the pollution issue.  It’s a big deal to me because I care about my health and obviously, I am more used to cleaner air in Southern California, as we have very strict emission laws.  I am not 100% sure of what the rules & laws are here regarding smog emissions, but I see the Emission Testing facilities here at their version of the DMV; the LTO, or Land Transporation Office.

When I went to the LTO to get my Drivers License, I saw them testing scooters for smog with the traditional tail pipe test methods we use.  But what I don’t get is that I see WAY too many Jeepneys and large trucks driving around spewing out all sorts of black smoke.  It’s really bad….and I guess it affects me more, cause I’m driving around in a car with no Air Conditioning, so I can’t roll up my windows and put the A/C on recirculate.  Whenever I’m riding in a Taxi, I don’t even notice the smog.  It should be noted that the air here is not generally bad, as the Island winds blow it all away fairly quickly.  But, when I’m in the City on a road between a bunch of buildings, the smog just seems to hover there and it’s torture….having to always cover my mouth & nose with a small towel.  I need to get Air Con ASAP!!!

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March 21. 2010 by admin.

I’ve been here for almost five months now and during that time, I am often reminded by my Girlfriend; Charise and her family of certain beliefs that the Filipino people have.  Some of them are myths, wives-tales, superstitions, religious beliefs or any combination of all of the above.  I am not saying that they have no actual validity….some of them may and some of them might not.  Either way, these are some of them that I have heard and I thought my friends and family in America would be interested in hearing them.

It should be noted that how I interpreted these items below may not be 100% correct due to language differences, vocabulary, etc. 

• On your Birthday, you should go to the Church and light a few candles and say a prayer thanking God for another year of your life.
• On your Birthday, you should cook & eat Pancit and eggs for long life.
• If you are peeing outside at nighttime, you should say “Tabi” which is the Cebuano word for “Go away”.  This is done to get rid of the bad spirits.  This is also done if you step outside at nighttime to throw some trash or something…
• If you have a new car or house, you need to let the Priest bless it so that you will have less accidents and much good luck with no bad spirits.
• Drinking something cold in the morning on an empty stomach is bad because you might get a headache and faint.
• If you just completed an exercise or hard work outside you should always relax first before taking a shower.
• If you have a cough, don’t eat mango, pineapple or eggs.
• If somebody dies due to murder, but nobody knows who the killer was, then a live baby chicken will be placed on top of the casket or coffin.  This is done so that the killer will have difficulty sleeping and will feel guilty.
• After a couple gets Married and they go home after the reception, etc…, the Mother of either the Bride or Groom will comb the new couples hair and then the comb will be placed into a cup of water.  The new couple will then share the glass of water, return the cup to their Mother and she will then throw the glass on the ground.
• If a child has a cough or fever that does not stop after taking medicine, then it is believed that perhaps the bones have become mis-aligned and a “Bone Doctor” will be called in.  He or She will then poke and feel around the childs body and do some sort of a massage to fix the situation.
• Don’t cut your fingernails or toenails in the evening because it is thought that you are cursing your parents or family.
• If you hear a Rooster or Hen making their normal noises at nighttime instead of in the early morning, then it means somebody in the neighborhood is pregnant.
• Sleeping immediately after taking a bath at either day or night time will result in blindness.
• Sore eyes can be cured by washing them with your first urine in the morning.
• Black ants inside the house is a sign of good luck.
• If a member of your household dies, then you should not sweep the floor or clean until after the burial occurs.
• If somebody leaves the table after eating a meal, the others at the table should turn their plate towards that empty chair to wish that person safe travels.
• If you have hiccups, cut a string from your clothes, wet it with your saliva, and hold the string on your forehead until the hiccups stop.
• Don’t sew or repair your own clothes while wearing them, as it means there is a greater chance you will commit suicide.
• When sweeping your floors at nighttime, don’t sweep the dust, etc., all the way outside as you will be removing the good blessings that are inside the house.
• If you are a child, don’t eat the hardened rice or “tutong” at the bottom of the pan.  It will cause you to be “last” in school, career, etc.
• Bring uncooked rice, water, salt or sugar into your new home before moving in.
• Don’t cut a babys hair until after the 1st Birthday.
• On New Years day, get in your car, honk the horn and rev the engine at midnight.
• If you are eating your meal with a 2nd plate under your plate, it means you are likely to cheat on your partner.
• If you drop your fork or spoon while eating, it means a visitor will stop by.  Fork means a Male visitor, spoon means Female visitor.

There is many more, but I think these will give you a general idea of some of the weird things that I hear or see.

 JOHN 

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January 20. 2010 by admin.

Living in a 3rd World Country was sure to bring about complications with food, nutrition & diet matters.  Added to that is the fact that I am a Vegetarian.  No meat whatsoever.  No fish, VERY little milk, eggs & cheese…..and I’m going on about 12 years so far, so it isn’t going to change anytime soon.  I enjoy all the compliments from people when they guess my age at 28, when in actuality I’ll be 35 next month.  Now, I just need to find a way to keep my head from going bald…..lol

Luckily for me; coconuts, mangos, papayas, watermelons, bananas, pineapples and other delicious fruits are available everywhere here, literally picked from the vine that same day or within the last 24 hours.  Sometimes it’s even cut from a tree right outside the door.  Sounds like heaven right?  Well, it is until I go out to eat at a restaurant….

It should be noted that this does not occur at every restaurant I go to, but rest assured……it’s happening at least 90% of the time.  In America, we are spoiled with the ability to make changes to the dishes we order.  With the health-craze, different diets and numerous allergies…..restaurants know that they have to be willing to accommodate their customers.  Unfortunately, here in the Philippines it is extremely difficult to find that same willingness. 

In my opinion, it is not the ability that is lacking.  It is more about the lack of proper training and genuine desire to help.  The waiter or waitress that I am usually speaking with probably makes less than $5.00 USD per day, so a “desire” to help me and my nutritional needs is not exactly at the top of their priority list.  I’ve had personal experience in the food service industry in America and I know many companies train their employees to never say no…..or at least VERY rarely.  A company knows the value of repeat customers and word-of-mouth advertising.  When I go to some places here and I ask if they can take the teriyaki sauce from one dish and combine it with the vegetables, tofu and rice from another dish, the answer is almost always a quick, “I’m sorry Sir, that is very impossible.”  Asking for a Manager or Supervisor results in the same response.  Even trying to talk to the Chef or the cook directly gets me nowhere.  I can understand that some dishes are pre-prepared before hand, so separating some of the ingredients can be near-impossible.  But when I know for a fact they are preparing a particular dish fresh, it’s frustrating that they won’t try to help me. 

The new response that I have been getting lately is, “We can do that, but then we don’t know how much to charge you.”  I can also understand that response.  However, I can guarantee that the Owner of that restaurant would rather his employees make-up some sort of reasonable price, then sell me nothing, which results in me walking out and never coming back.  I know that I am ”just one” customer…….but in all my experience and customer service training, EVERY customer counts.

Here’s an amazing (and true) example of how unwilling some employees here are to thinking outside of the box:  I recently visited a local Pizza place that also sells spaghetti.  Since I recently had pizza, I chose to order the spaghetti.  But before I did, I needed to confirm the sauce had no meat.  I just wanted Marinara sauce.  The girl explained that they only had the meat sauce.  I asked if she could just take some of the tomato sauce for the pizzas and pour it over my pasta.  She looked at me like I was crazy.  She said she would be back and went to the kitchen to ask the cook.  She came out and said that “We cannot do that Sir.”  Trying to explain my frustration with any sort of logic would have been pointless and a waste of valuable oxygen, so I just walked out.

Here’s another one:  For those of you familiar with Boba Tea or it’s also called Bubble Tea and Pearl Milk Tea…..  I personally love a Thai Iced Tea with Boba Pearls.  Problem is that the Tea places I’ve seen here so far don’t have the Thai Iced Tea flavor.  BUT, my favorite Thai place does have the Tea, just without the pearls.  So, I had the great idea to go get a cup of pearls from the Tea place and dump it into my Thai Tea at the restaurant.  When I went to the Tea place, I asked for just a cup of pearls.  THREE different employees discussed it for a few minutes with empty gazes on their faces and said it just couldn’t be done.  It should be noted that the pearls are sitting right there behind the counter in a big tupperware container.  I just wanted them to give me a couple scoops of it.  I told them I would pay the full price as the largest tea they sell.  They didn’t have to mix, measure, separate or blend anything.  No matter what I said, they just kept telling me how impossible it was to do that.  So, again I left empty-handed.

I was just reading on a Forum this morning about other Foreigners experiences here with the local businesses…..I thought this one should also be shared here: 

I was at the Jollibee in Guadalupe, Cebu City, very shortly after moving here to live. I walked in to order breakfast. At the counter, the girl asked, “Would you like a regular or large drink, Sir?” I replied with, “I would like a large drink, please.” She then replied, without missing a beat, “I’m sorry Sir. We are out of large. Would you like a regular sized drink?” I almost hit the floor.

This type of situation is a classic example of the thinking that goes on in many restaurants and businesses here.  Again, I have been introduced to some good restaurants here and also found some on my own that are more then willing to accomodate my “special requests”…..and I return to those places often.  It’s just a shame that more places here are not so helpful.  I’m sure the Owners of these establishments that have to pay the rent, utilities, salaries, etc., would be more then happy to help me out and earn a repeat customer.  The problem is they are not always there and they are not relaying this sense of business to their Managers, let alone their employees.

Oh well…..I’m off to grab a mango! 

JOHN  

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