Slow Down in the Philippines

One of my long-time Australian readers sent me a link to a nice article from an Australian expat living in Indonesia.  It made for some good, and thought-provoking reading.

Even though there are a huge list of differences between living in Indonesia and living in the Philippines, there are definitely some important lessons we expats often could learn from this article:

One night this week, as I strolled home from dinner with my wife, I did something I do all too rarely.

I walked slowly.

Mimicking the pace of the footsteps of those Indonesians around me, my speed more than halved. As my heart rate slowed, the lingering anxiety about the day’s travails and the next day’s deadline quite miraculously seemed to ebb away.

The mind was unburdened. Senses enlivened. Self-obsession gave way to a quiet meditation on the surroundings. Crossing Jalan Asia Afrika, the reflection of the lights off the street, wet after an afternoon storm, dance. Past the shopping mall and down into the kampung, I notice the smells from the vendors’ carts as they fry up tofu, nasi goreng and other delicacies.

Shopkeepers who would usually watch silently as I thundered past come up and say hello and ask after the family. I pay attention to the evening call to prayer and the fine quality of the singing. Later on, a frog jumps among the tangle of vines of a large banyan tree.

Simple pleasures, but rather wonderful nevertheless

One of the things I noticed when I moved to Jakarta was how – even in this bustling city of more than 8 million people – the locals walk at such a languid pace.

Early in my posting, rushing to an appointment, my taxi and a dozen other vehicles suddenly stopped on one of Jakarta’s main thoroughfares as a group of people, their hands held out and palms raised as if activating some kind of force field, idly sauntered across the road.

I was agitated, but the taxi driver was not bothered. Not a single horn tooted.

A few days later, at the city’s famous Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, I observed a Western office worker barreling through a crowd of locals to the bemusement of those around him.

Time and again, I would see it.

Foreigners taking some time out at the park, or promenading in the popular expatriate enclave of Kemang, invariably streaking past everyone else, jumping from the pavement to the road and then back again to avoid the potholes, carts and cigarette stalls.

As one Jakartan put it: ”These bules, they walk like they are being chased by a ghost!”

Like many city-bred Australians, stressed out and always in a hurry, travelling by foot has typically involved going, quite subconsciously, at full tilt, whether to get to the office on time, an appointment or to the shops to get that missing ingredient for dinner.

An Indonesian Muslim woman checks her laptop after an afternoon prayer at a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. Picture: AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah It’s a habit so ingrained that, even after 18 months in Indonesia, it still takes a deliberate, self-conscious act to slow down.

I am not sure exactly why Indonesians jalan-jalan [walk] so pelan-pelan [slowly]. I’ve met more than one expatriate who has found it infuriating.

No doubt the soporific combination of heat and humidity on the equator plays its role. Perhaps it’s an act of self-preservation given Jakarta’s pavements, if they exist at all, are perilously riddled with holes.

There’s a great Indonesian expression, a hangover from the colonial era that’s still common today, which is also illuminating. Belanda masih jauh [Holland is still far away] is often the rejoinder to anyone who is rushing unnecessarily, or becoming agitated if things are not quite going to plan.

And things in Indonesia don’t always go to plan. Punctuality is not held at a premium. Bureaucrats are maddeningly ponderous. Sending a letter by post brings new meaning to the expression snail mail.

Often, though, the remedy for frustrated expats is to go with the flow, and go slow. (my emphasis) Thanks Tom Allard and the Sydney Morning Herald

I couldn’t agree more with this article, which is why I published it in it;’s entirety .. and remember, if you didn’t read the intro, my opinion is that although this is written about Indonesia, it is completely applicable to living here in the Philippines.

So often I hear from fellow expats how things are always going wrong for them, how they have grown to hate it here, how they can’t stand Filipinos and even how they are planning to give up and go home .. and the root cause of their dissatisfaction is, 99 times out of 100, the fact that they are just frustrated that things won’t move at the pace they are used to, and government rules and procedures that just seem downright, well, “foreign”. Perhaps because they are.

A long time back I remember losing an online friend over an exchange he and I had in a forum group.  My former friend made the comment that “if only the Philippine would do, this, and this and this and that, they would become just like Hawaii.”

My response to him was, “Why on earth would we want the Philippines to be like Hawaii.  heaven forefend.”

My friend got angry and said that my response was flippant, that I was too much of a wise ass, and that I wasn’t smart enough to see why the Philippines should remake itself in the image of a US state.

Well, flippant and a wise ass I may remain until this day, but I am still exceptionally grateful that the Philippines is not Hawaii or any other US state.  The differences, when you get right down to it, are the reasons I like it here …in spite of, or because of, a slower, more laid back way of life.

Many Americns say they share that view with me, but often their attitudes and actions prove they are thinking otherwise.  “Why doe sit take so many steps to get something done at Immigration, or the LTO, or wherever?”

“Why don’t ‘they’ computerize this or that function and make things more efficient?”

And so on and so forth.

Why isn’t it living in the Philippines like living in the US?  Simple.  Because it isn’t. here’s what you get when you type “efficiency” into an online English/Tagalog dictionary:

Search result for efficiencyNo match found!

To my mind this is one of the most critical parts of the move or don’t move decision each and every expat needs to make.  Instead of continually obsessing on day to day costs, one really needs to carefully consider for themselves if they can slow their pace and also adapt.  In my experience a great many Americans and other foreigners can not and they thus condemn themselves to “eternal frustration” during their stay here, unable to accept thing they way they really are.

Please take this advice in the spirit it is written and think the idea of living in the Philippines through very carefully.  If you can’t adapt to a very different lifestyle, one that to standard American norms is horribly inefficient and frustrating at times, better think again.&#
160; Not everyone is suited to living the the Philippines.  Paul Simon said it years ago:

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobble stones
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy …….

Popularity: 32% [?]

Live in the Philippines on $770 a Month Still Possible?

The funny thing about running a site like PhilFAQS, where I attempt to answer the questions people have about living in the Philippines, especially for retirement is .. you become “Internet Famous” for things you never intended to become “Internet Famous” for.

Fortunately, this hasn’t jumped up and bitten me too badly … yet … but one of the things this blog always ranks highly for in search results is “Living in the Philippines on$770USD” (per month that is).

I’m not the one who actually started posting on that subject … in fact the first time I saw the phrase “live” was on another bloggers site and I really I commented that while a foreigner certainly could live in the Philippines on $770USD per month, I felt that he or she would be cutting things pretty close, and that a better “safe” figure would be $1000USD or more.

In fact I routinely publish more comprehensive cost of living data here, just outside Metro Manila, than I believe anyone else does online.  And if you follow the link:

http://philfaqs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009%20Aug%20Current%20Costs.htm

You’ll see that my (Filipina) wife and I and our college-age niece who lives with us, routinely spend substantially more than$770 USD per month.  See also Current Philippine Living Costs — End of August 2009

image

… and before the auditor and accounting types out there jump in my case about the figur4es being nearly a year old, let me assure you, they haven’t changed much.  Electric bills have gone up the most … $20 t0 $40 a month, gas and diesel fuel has risen also (but I use very little of that) and the most uncertain thing of all, the value of the Peso has risen a bit (frankly, with the credit mess the US is in right now I’m surprised the US dollar can still buy 46 or more Pesos) … this is the unknowable issue for the future.  While I have lived here in the Philippines in less than four years, the Peso has climbed to 40 to the dollar and shank back, once touching 50 to the dollar.  No way of knowing what the long term trends will be.

That’s why I maintain that the real bottom line … not for luxury, but for safety, is $1.000USD.

Still a very nice lace to live for a retiree, though.  No matter what these day-to-day fluctuations may hold in store for us, I’ve included the latest of my popular “Big Mac Index” charts.  As you can see, a Big Mac in the Philippines (using the Big Mac as a quick and dirty world wide unit of comparisons, that is about the same in all countries) is at least 40% less than in the USA.

I don’t eat many Bib Macs, but I sure do enjoy the cost of living here in the Philippines … even if I spend more like $1200 USD than $770 per month.

 

Popularity: 17% [?]

Are You Paying Cash For Your Philippine House?

Here’s a little information on home buying here in the Philippines, and a few personal thoughts you can take for what they are worth.  It will be helpful to start with (review) a few facts.

A Foreigner Can not Purchase Land in the Philippines:

If you take nothing else away from this, please take a moment to let this sink in.  Day after day I hear from people who have one idea or another that supposedly are going to let them “beast” the system.  My view?  Don’t get into scams, frauds and ‘workarounds”.  The Philippine Constitution of 1987 … the one we currently live under .. prohibits ownership of Philippine land by foreigners. (except with one important exception, see below)

Over the years I have heard of dozens, if not hundreds of “schemes” (often cooked up by lawyers or real estate agents of doubtful integrity) that propose to allow a foreigner to buy land.  Ain’t going to happen.  At best, you’ll lose your money.  At worst, you could get into serious legal trouble and/or deported.  Play by the rules.  (You might also like to read my series on why I don’t own my own home in the Philippines)

(Note: Under certain conditions a foreigner can inherit land in the Philippines, if you feel you are in this category, I wrote extensively on foreigner land inheritance here)

A foreigner can own certain condominium properties:

Let me stress something that many fail to note on this issue.  A foreigner can not own just any condominium property.  The corporation that actually owns the underlying property must meet certain ownership requirements, because when a person buys a condominium unit, s/he automatically becomes a member of the condominium corporation which owns the land.

Under Philippine law, foreigners are allowed to become members or stockholders of the condominium corporation which owns the land, but only up to a maximum of 40% of the capital stock of the condominium corporation.  (read more about foreigner ownership of condos here)

Another important trap I have seen spring closed more than once.  If you are eligible and considering applying for an SRRV (Special Resident Retirement Visa) (and many of you should be seriously considering this program), remember that while you can use the required investment funds to purchase a condo, you really can’t do this “after the fact” … you can’t show up at the PRA (Philippine Retirement Authority) and say, “here’s my condo, now where’s my visa?”.  Make sure you seek official, professional guidance before you take any steps along this route … the order in which things get accomplished turns out to be very important.

Most people think high-rise apartment units when they think “condo”, under the law it denotes a certain class of ownership, and it can be any style of building, as long as it is owned by a Philippine corporation who structures the foreign ownership as a condominium form of ownership.  You might enjoy a feature I did on duplex condominiums a while back.  More condo townhome information.  Sample comprehensive conventional condo specifications, pricing and financing information.

A foreigner married to a Philippine citizen can Purchase a Conventional Home Along with his/her Spouse, with Rights of Survivorship:

Now of course this is the option a great many of my readers are going to be interested in.  We’re already up to a lengthy article here, and no way can I cover the offerings you’ll see all over the Philippines. 

So I’ll wrap this up with a few sample financing plans from recent Philippines listings.  Remember, in general, you will almost never find any purchase plans with less than 20% down payment requirements. 

Loan terms, compared with the ever-poplar nothing down and 30 or even 40 years to pay in the US, along with very low interest rates, are just not available here in the Philippines.  It’s really no wonder many people describe the Philippines with the term, “Cash is King”.

Sample Listings and Terms:


Sample One, a very modest price with extremely flexible financing options:

IF PAID IN CASH: 2,196,750.00
Less: discount 128,143.75
TOTAL CASH PAYMENT 2,068,511.25

Less: 30 % Down payment 659,025.00
Less: Reservation 50,000.00
Balance of 30% Down payment 609,025.00
pay. in 3 mos @ 203,008.33/mo.
70 % Balance 1,537,725.00

IF BALANCE IS PAID THRU IN-HOUSE FINANCING
1 Year 0% interest 128,143.75 per month
2 Years @ 15% interest 74,559.13 per month
3 Years @ 15% interest 53,305.74 per month
Processing Fee: P 5,000.00
Insurance: P 11,818.57 per year
Transfer fee: P 66,412.00 after full payment

THRU BANCO DE ORO: 2,196,750.00
Less: 20 % Down payment 439,350.00
Less: Reservation 50,000.00
Balance of 20% Down payment 389,350.00 pay. in 3 mos @
129,783.33/mo.
80% Balance 1,757,400.00

IF BALANCE IS PAID THRU BANCO DE ORO
5 Year @ 10% interest – 37,339.55 per month
10 Years @ 11.50% interest – 24,708.24 per month
15 Years @ 11.50% interest – 20,529.77 per month
NOTE: BDO interest rate @ the time of approval will apply
Processing Fee: P 5,000.00
Bank Charge: P 36,000.00 more or less
Transfer fee: P 66,412.00 upon approval of loan

LIST OF REQUIREMENTS :

  • Latest Res. Cert. (3 copies)
  • BIR TIN Card (3 copies)
  • Marriage Contract (if married) (2 copies)
  • Birth Certificate (if single) (2 copies)
  • Latest 1×1 picture both husband & wife w/ signature at the back (1 copies)
  • Valid ID with picture & signature (3 photocopies)
  • Latest proof of mailing address (1 copy)
  • Latest Cert. of Employment & Compensation duly notarized (4 copies)
  • Latest 1 month payslip (1 copy)
  • Latest Income Tax Return w/ W2 (1 original & 2 Photocopies)
  • Latest Contract of Employment sealed by POEA (2 copies)
  • Passport (3 photocopies)
  • Post Dated Checks for the balance & for the Insurances
  • Medical Certificate (Full medical examination)

    Sample 2, Another modest home with more typical financing requirements:

  • Selling Price : Php 2,850,000
    Down Payment : Php 997,500
    12 months to pay : P 172,493.25
    36 months to pay : P 69,793.00
    60 months to pay : P 50,116.30


    Whatever you chose, be sure to live happy … or so Dave opines.

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    Popularity: 6% [?]

  • Don’t Try To Live Your Life On An ATM Card!

    Again and again and again I get these messages, or read them on someone else’s site …

    Hi ….where do I go to get answers to my husband’s queries on banking here in our city.
    He’s a retired xxxx and depends solely on his pension from bank of America for a living.
    Lately we cannot make one time cash advance from his bank of America debit card at Banco de Oro. We need to get one time cash advance…

    Well let me take this opportunity to pass on a tip or two about Living in the Philippines.  You can find plenty of cries for help like the one I quoted above, any day of the week.  Here are a few rules and suggestions that can help you avoid being one of the ones in dire straights asking for help.

    As a general observation, Americans in particular need to get their banking terms straight … because when it is your money, you need to use the proper terms.  A bank ATM card gives you cash by withdrawing it directly from your bank account.  This is Not a Cash Advance.  A Cash Advance is the use of a credit card to obtain cash where the money goes into your credit card account the same as a purchase.  Fees are imposed and you have to pay back the debt, and interest if applicable.  Some bank ATM/debit cards are ‘dual purpose’, they can function as either a debit (direct withdrawal) or a credit (Cash Advance) card.  Don’t go into a bank, or use a teller machine, and use the term :Cash Advance: unless you mean to incur the fees and the debt.  Most banks will happily process the request as a “Cash Advance” instead of a “Withdrawal”, if you say so, because typically they make a lot more money on the deal … so, precision in speaking is required here if you ant to save yourself money.

    First a Rule:  (No it isn’t really a rule documented anywhere, but it’s “Dave’s Rule” and it has served me well so far). Do not attempt to live here on one ATM card.  It is like playing Russian Roulette without even knowing how many cartridges are in the cylinder.  Why?

    ATM cards can get lost or stolen.  Shouldn’t have to expand much on this, but if you have only one card and it gets stolen, have you any idea how long it will take your bank in the US to send you a replacement?  Will they even send a replacement to the Philippines?  Have at least another, independent card (that you don’t carry with you)as a backup.

    ATM’s here in the Philippines may ‘eat” your card, capturing the card and refusing to return it.  This is a common anti-fraud measure.  If you committed no wrong doing, can you get your card back?  Normally, yes, through the head office of the bank who runs the ATM.  How long?  Figure weeks, not days.

    For some reason unknown to you, your bank may terminate or suspend your account. especially in today’s “War On Terror” hyperbole, foreign money transactions are always monitored by various agencies of the US government and by commercial security agencies, perhaps under contract to your bank and/or the card issuer.  How could this happen if you do nothing wrong? 

    No way I can say, but if it happens, do not expect to get the matter resolved via a simple phone call.  My advice.  Have more than one bank or credit union, either in the US or here and in the US so that one “backs up” the other. 

    Your bank may be totally out of line in taking such an action, and maybe you can sue tem, and write your Congressman, etc., but the bottom line is, if this happens to you, you ain’t getting cash

    ATM’s here in the Philippines are sometimes notorious for “Failure to Dispense”.  You card is accepted, the transaction is processed and charged to your US account but no cash comes out.  If you asked for cash up to the limit of the card, guess what, you can’t even try again until tomorrow. 

    Will you get your money back?  Most likely yes.  But here’s the way it works.

    The bank here who owns the ATM which failed to dispense is acting solely as a service provider to your US bank.  They are not responsible to give you a refund, and they certainly won’t.  They are required, and normally will, report the “no dispense” to your US bank, and the end of the next banking day here in the Philippines. 

    Your US bank them, is responsible to credit your account for the money erroneously charged.  How long will this take?  Last time it happened to me, it was back in my account in three days, with only ne phone call to the States.  Got time to wait for that before you go to the grocery store?

    What do I recommend?  belt and suspenders, or even multiple belts.

    Carry a US bank debit card.  Also carry a US “name brand” credit card, like Visa or MasterCard.  If your US debit card fails, you can try the Credit Card, either in a machine or an over the counter cash advance from any major bank.

    There are fees that come with a cash advance, but hey, you can still eat while you straighten out the mess.

    I go several steps farther.  I have a bank account here in the Philippines.  I carry an ATM card for that account.  No fees and much easier to straighten out any screw ups that might occur.

    I also carry a Philippine-issued master card, and I could buy groceries, go to the drug store or even get a cash advance on that card if I was in those “dire straights” we mentioned earlier.

    But there is another pair of suspenders which I highly recommend.  It’s free, and I wonder why more long-term visitors don’t take advantage of it.

    Not only do I r3ecommend you have a bank account here, I highly recommend you introduce yourself to, and take time to notice and act courteously to the branch manager, his or her deputy, the chief security guard, etc.  Do I mean be an asskisser?  Those who know me will quickly realize I don’t mean that.

    But these folks are fellow humans, and they control, to a great extent at times, just how easy (or hard) it is to live here.  My branch manager is Mr. Favro.  It costs me nothing to pass by his desk on the way out and say hello.  Matter of fact, he often has something interesting to say.  And recently, when I came back from Florida, he and I had a very interesting conversation for about half an hour regarding the real estate credit crunch in the US, how things were similar and also different here, and so on.  I know I certainly learned some things of value.  I hardly consider enjoyable conversations like that currying favor, but hey, as we say here in the Philippines, ‘Sup to you’.

    All can say is, works for me … instead of having the adversarial relationship so many foreigners seem to have with their banks here, why not find yourself one managed by humans, and, in turn, treat them like humans in return.  For me, it has paid dividends in convenience and peace of mind.  Thanks to all the great folks at the SM Marilao branch of BDO, who help me out most every day.

    Popularity: 13% [?]

    Can You Insulate Yourself Cool in the Philippines — Why R Value is Useless

    Those of you who were interested in the first article of this Philippine cool series will be happy to see I didn’t forget to keep going … the others, well maybe not so much.  No problem, you’re welcome to sweat along with the rest of us while you surf around and find something you like better.

    We closed the last article talking about the three ways heat energy transfers from a warm place to a cold place … radiation, conduction and convection.  Remember it heat energy is similar in many ways to electrical energy, it only travels one way, from hot to cold.  We mentioned that in the the US and other countries that get cold in the winter, the major mode of heat transfer we deal with is building paths against heat CONDUCTION.  We work hard at keeping the expensive, relatively puny heat source inside from escaping into the infinite coldness of space.  And basically, to be successful, we really only need to keep things sealed up as tight as possible and provide as many barriers to the conduction of heat from inside to outside in order to keep our utility bills and comfort level reasonable.

    Thermodynamics in the Philippines operate exactly the same way as anywhere else on the globe, but the scale of heat energy here is way different than in the US.  Our houses are virtually always warm enough, our problem is basically far different in scope.  Instead of trying to keep the heat from a furnace capable of, at best, a few hundred thousand BTU’s of heat production per hour, (roughly 2900/3500 Watts per hour in a typical home)we instead have the sun … a thermonuclear furnace of vast proportions … estimated at 384.6 YW (yottaWatts, 10 to the 24th .. that’s 10 with 24 zeros after it).  The differences is the scale of the problem are astounding.  In more practical terms each square meter of you roof in the Philippines receives about10,000 Watts per hour when in full sun … a typical (small) roof would be perhaps 150 square meters, so at noon we are looking at something like 1,500,000 Watts of solar radiation hitting the roof. or, going back to US familiar terms 5,172,000 BTU per hour heat load … three hundred forty or more standard US furnaces on the roof, all trying hard to pup their thermal energy inside.

    And remember our heat flow … warm to cold.  If you have a room inside cooled to some comfortable level … say72/74 F or 21 or 22 degrees C, how hard do you really think it will be for our 344 roaring roof furnaces to start raising that temperature into the discomfort zone?

    Actually, when you lay the figures out like this it seems impossible.  Better stay home in the US of A.  What the heck am I doing here?  It’s 7:31 am and a cloudy day, yet I’m already starting to sweat in front of the computer room fan .. in a few minutes I’ll have to close the windows and start the air conditioner …because even if I can stand the heat, my computer can’t and it will go into a very slow, hesitating “max cooling” mode which drives me crazy (a short trip, by the way).

    And yes I said cloudy.  Just because the sun is behind the clouds doesn’t mean there isn’t tremendous solar radiation coming in from it .. may be slowed down measurably but a whole hell of a lot of heat is still a whole hell of a lot of heat, even if you cut it in half.

    But it’s not hopeless, not hopeless at all.  You just have to attack the problem in the way it needs to be attacked.

    Packing the attic space full of insulating materials, as Fred described in the first article is not going to do much good.  The sun’s energy comes to us directly as radiation .. radiant energy.  When it strikes the roof, some significant portion of it is reflected or re-radiated.  We’ll talk much more on those processes later.  The remainder of the sun’s visible and infrared energy is conducted through the metal roof and heats the air in the attic (above the room ceiling) space via conduction and immediately circulates to warm the attic space by convection.  In other words, in a very short time after sunrise, the attic spaces gets uncomfortably hot and it keeps on getting hot as the day goes on.

    And what is that heat trying to do … always?  Travel from hot to cold .. which in this case (relatively speaking) is the room you are trying to be comfortable in.

    Guarded hot plate R value testing In the US and many other countries we are very familiar with the term “R” value.  It is even a government-mandated term in the US and it stems from precise laboratory tests where insulating materials are placed between two calibrated and instrumented plates in a laboratory, one plate is heated and the flow of heat from the hot to the cold plate is measured.  The higher the resistance to this conductive heat flow, the higher the “R” value of the material under test.

    This is of primary concern where, as I illustrated earlier, we are trying to trap the relatively minuscule energy our home heating plant puts out and keep it from being conducted into the cold night sky.

    But when we go into the reverse summertime situation, especially when we have summers like they have in Miami or the Philippines, the R value essentially becomes useless.  It really doesn’t matter if you have a fiberglass bat umpteen inches thick, or some sort of polyurethane materials, or even cellulose (one of the most effective R value conduction insulators known) .. with those millions and millions of watts radiating the insulation itself going to eventually heat up and essentially not even be there.  You can delay the flow from hot to cold but most of the heat is coming to you by radiant energy and conductive R value products don’t effectively stop radiation.

    I even recently heard a fellow here in the Philippines tell me he was going to dump a lot of some sort of high R value insulation in his attic and to keep the heat from flowing in through his walls, he was going to cover the outside of his house with Styrofoam insulation board and then stucco over that.

    While researching that idea if found a pretty interesting report of a US government test that mimicked quite a bit of what he was planning to do:

    The Test: Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee which is the technology laboratory managed for the U.S. Department of Energy, took homes in Miami FL, Phoenix AZ and Atlanta GA which were single-story, single-family detached houses with exterior walls constructed of concrete block, and interior walls of wood-framed drywall. (author’s note … this pretty much describes the typical Philippine single-story hollow-block home)They insulated the walls and applied stucco as follows,

    "We attached two layers of inch-thick polystyrene foam insulation boards to the exterior walls, next a wire lath, and finally, stucco. After the stucco had dried, it was painted a light color. Total retrofit costs ranged from $3,610 to $4,550 per house, averaging $3.34 per square foot of exterior wall area to be covered with insulation."

    The Results?   "In all cases, insulating the walls resulted in a much lower rate of heat transfer through the walls when the outdoor temperature
    exceeded the indoor temperature, but the added insulation also increased the retention of heat generated within the house when the outdoor temperature fell below the indoor temperature.
    In some locations–particularly in Miami–the addition of wall insulation actually increased the cooling load during the spring and fall."
    Note: "A lower RATE of transfer", not a reduction in the total amount.

    It’s probably worth reading and thinking about those last two sentences again.  The ones I highlighted in red.  “R” value-rated insulation can slow the transfer of heat by conduction, but it can not block it.  And the heat that we get in our attic spaces and thence into our room here in the Philippines is only 3 to 5% from thermal Conduction  the remaining 90 plus percent of the heat flow is by Radiation, and typical R value insulation not only doesn’t stop this radiant energy, it may even INCREASE the overall cooling load on your Philippine house because it holds the heat in longer during the night.

    Pretty depressing overall, eh?  For years we have been following that cute Pink Panther down to the Home Depot store and buying all that itchy fiberglass insulation be cause even our own government told us it was good for us and good for the environment.

    Well the US government wasn’t wrong at all, they were just advising us on how to solve a totally different problem than what we have here, living in the Philippines.

    Nest installment?  Some solutions .. some conventional and some, positively space age.  Stay tuned.

    Popularity: 31% [?]

    Places to Retire — They Skipped the Philippines?

    Recently I came across a pretty interesting site called “RetiredBrains”.   Their major reason for being is to promote and provide a platform for retired folks to put their skills to use as consultants … extending their useful life and as I like to call it, “Empowering their retirement”.  (I write often about these working from home and income in retirement issues on one of my other blogs, Retired Pay World.

    Retired brains seems like a legit, useful operation.  I haven’t yet explored all their services or signed up for anything they sell, but my “bullshit detector” hasn’t even been close to going into alarm and the main premise behind their work is sound and I salute their efforts.  Recommended for the subset of my readers who have reached the Golden Years and those who plan to live that long as well.

    One article I did notice while perusing their site, though, sort of caught my attention.  The article was pointing up the advantages many seniors (and in today’s world, pre-seniors as well) have found in relocating overseas.  Retiring abroad.  Worth a read I think.  See my comments in italics regarding the Philippine slant on the articles main points)

    Retiring Abroad


    LogoThere are many reasons to move away from the U.S. during your retirement years. One of the most important is that your money will buy you more. Another big reason is inexpensive health care and affordable prescription drugs.

    The laws of various countries should influence those planning on living there as some penalize the wealthy and others make it difficult for those that are not wealthy.  Other important factors to consider are the crime rate, the distance from your home in the U.S. if you plan to return often to visit friends and family and, of course, the lifestyle you are seeking.

    List what is important to you as this should influence your decision:

    • Climate: Hot, cold, temperate; do you want a beach or mountains or both?  (Here you pretty much get hot)
    • The arts: Museums, opera, symphony, ballet, theater. (Not big in the Philippines at all)
    • Sports: Do you wish to play golf, tennis, ski, run, bike and do you wish to be able to watch professional or amateur sporting events? (Don’t forget SCUBA diving, boating, flying, many others for participation.  Spectating?  Not so much)
    • Healthcare: Do you have medical problems that require you be near a hospital that can provide quality care? Do you need prescription drugs regularly? (Readily available in major cities, in the provinces … YMMV)
    • Cost of living: What can you afford to pay for your monthly comfort? What kind of lifestyle do you plan? Luxurious, Simple, Moderate? (About 40% of US cost of living up to 100%, depending on your wants and needs … overall, much cheaper than the USA)
    • Language: Are you comfortable in a country where English is not the native language and perhaps is not spoken or understood by many of the natives? (English is an official language and the language of the law, etc.  It’s better to learn a local language too, but you can live for years in areas near major cities, as I do, and never need a word of any language except English.  Also, consider this.  Signs in the Philippines, even if written in a native language, use the standard Western alphabet, so it’s very easy to learn a word like “bawal” … forbidden … and get the idea of what you aren’t supposed to be doing.  Try that with Thailand’s Sanskrit-style scrawl and see how well it works for you.)
    • Can I bring my pet with me? Some countries have long quarantine times and some simply do not allow you to bring your pet with you. (No quarantine on pets into the Philippines.  Simple permissions and vet certifications and you are good to go)

    Below we cover some of the possible destinations that meet some or several of these criteria, but we urge you to do substantial research as well as spend time in the location you think you wish to retire to prior to your actual move. Every country has its pluses as well as its minuses.

    Many U.S. Citizens are retiring to Central and South America. Housing as well as the cost of living is usually substantially less than in the states. …learned that deeds on their beachfront property were not valid as they did not meet certain provisions of a national-security statute that permits only citizens to own land on Mexico’s coasts

    (Regular readers here can understand that, since the Philippines makes no secret of the fact that ownership of land in the Philippines is reserved for Filipinos … many Americans seem to want to ignore this fact, but you can’t fault the country for not being open and upfront)

    Millions of Americans have retired to Mexico but depending on where you live the crime rate has risen to dangerous levels and some retirees have been forced to hire bodyguards for protection. ….

    (I can’t imagine living in a country that made me feel I needed a bodyguard.  Bodyguards in the Philippines, BTW are not uncommon, but in many cases they are much more of a status symbol for rich Filipinos than something really necessary because of crime.  And sad to say, in my view, at least 90% of the crimes of violence, involving foreigner or Filipino I have learned of over the past 10 years have a bodyguard component … often the bodyguards are the criminals … not necessary here in the Philippines and not recommended)

    Belize, Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua also have a good sized population of U.S. retirees and they actively court American retirees by offering tax-free status to anyone willing to buy or build a house there.

    (Philippines does not tax your foreign-earned income .. no need to buy a house to get the tax advantage.)

    Moving to Brazil is great choice as it is relatively inexpensive and has much to offer with regard to climate and amenities but Brazil’s murder rate is four times that of the U.S. (This has been argued many times but in most people’s views, Philippines murder (and other violent crimes) rate is much lower, per capita, than the US)

    Excellent an inexpensive health care is available in France. Insurance companies there are prohibited by law from dropping you or raising your premiums. (Excellent that this is pointed out here, health care is often a huge decision factor for Americans.  The US is stuck at 37th world-wide, France is a clear number one … best in t
    he world, hands down.  If health care were really as important as many older Americans _say_ it is, they’d move to France)

    Thailand also has good quality and affordable hospitals and Thailand’s "O" visa is available to any American retiree with at least $24,000 in the bank and a minimum of $1,935 in monthly income. (Equivalent Philippines SRRV requires as little as $10k in the bank and $800 a month income.  Thailand and Malaysia get the press regarding their visa programs, but the Philippines provides the real benefits.  You can also stay in the Philippines up to two years on a simple tourist visa .. Thailand require “visa runs” for every extension now … if the army hasn’t closed the borders.)

    Australia is a particularly good choice for many Americans as it is relatively inexpensive, English is the native language and it offers most of the amenities retirees are seeking; however Australia’s "investment retirement visa" requires that an immigrant have at least $56,000 in annual income ($43,000 if you settle in a rural area) and you must be prepared to invest a minimum of $650,000 locally ($430,000 in a rural location). (Wow!  if I had that kind of income, I’d live in Pacific Heights in San Francisco … or on a yacht)

    FORBES has created a list of ten top countries for Americans retiring abroad.They considered costs, safety, medical care, ease of obtaining a visa, political stability, public transportation and availability of flights home. Their winners: Austria, Thailand, Italy, Panama, Ireland, Australia, France, Malaysia, Spain and Canada.

    (Again, no big surprises there except Canada … with their tax structure, cost of living and proximity to the US I can’t imagine an American retiring there … the retiree flow south rather than north is about 100 times higher than the south to north flow … but Canada is way too much like the US to me to consider moving there.

    And no surprise about Austria either, I had the chance to meet regular reader John from Austria a few months back and got some interesting insider information on Austria … a nice place for retirement if you can stand the cold.

    But my thought again is, why Malaysia and Thailand yet no Philippines on the list?

    Thailand (when they aren’t burning Bangkok to the ground or warring with their neighbors) is a fine country … I’ve lived there two years myself, but for retirement, Thailand versus the Philippines?  Philippines wins hands-down … peace and order, cost of living, ease of keeping a visa, driving, language and a whole lot more … and I say that being able to live in either country … I even still speak more Thai than I do Tagalong   Retire in Thailand in today’s world?  No way.

    Malaysia I haven’t yet gotten to know, it’s reputedly a nice place for retirement, but from a practical standpoint, like visa availability, costs and such, the Philippines is much more retiree-oriented.  One big difference often touted is, “You can own a house in Malaysia.”  Well, actually, you can own a “villa” in government approved communities and the ownership is a form of condominium contract … a foreigner can not own the land in either country and in the Philippines I don’t have to be herded into “government approved” concentration camps compounds.

    In my view, the Philippines BADLY needs a decent public relations/advertising agency firm when articles like this one are the norm.  The advantages are here, the country is just not getting the word out.)


    And just in case this economical talk made you think about how you could still afford to fly if you started living Dave’s Cheap Life, you might be interesting in this:

    "If you are planning a vacation, wish you could visit distant family or just want to see the world then my guide is for you. I give you all the essentials on how to get Extremely Cheap Flights , tell you the scams to avoid and reveal all of the biggest money saving and confidential insider secrets the airlines have threatened me to keep silent about…"


    Popularity: 6% [?]

    Philippines and Submarines

    Nope. this article isn’t really about ‘submarines as we normally think of them, or even about the luxury submarines slated to be built and tested at Subic Bay … anyone heard anything new about this project?

    No, today I am going to talk about submarine cables and why, if you live in the Philippines or even deal with many people here, you need to think about from time to time.

    Submarine cables.  Many people give no thought to how dial tone gets to their phones or bits fly onto their computer screens when they click on a website URL.  And that’s fine, because in order to be generally accepted and useful (and profitable) around the world, technology has to be made to look like “magic” to the consumer.

    But there isn’t r3eally an “magic” in the David Copperfield sense involved.  Electrical pulses from my computer to yours, or my telephone to your telephone have to happen.  There are three ways you can make electrical pulses of energy “jump” the broad Pacific Ocean.  Radio waves, microwave links over a communications satellite or pulses of light in a fiber optic undersea cable.

    Radio won’t serve the needs.  You can easily send signals and talk via voice radio across trans-oceanic distances, but conditions don’t allow radio to work, reliably, 24-7 and the bandwidth .. the amount of information that can be carried this way … is woefully smaller than the demand.  Won’t work for a 2010 solution.

    Communications Satellites can be part of the solution.  They have been for years … more years than you might guess, the military had a classified system between Washington DC and Pearl Harbor in use for years, bouncing signals off the moon .. i is a satellite you know … long before people thought of businesses like Direct TV.  But satellites, literally, can’t carry the load.  The bandwidth available via data links across satellites is tiny in comparison to the present, much less the future, capacity of fiber optic cable.

    And there’s another problem regarding Philippine/US communication via satellite. A satellite which can “see” the Philippines can’t “see” most of the US.  In many cases this leads to using twice the bandwidth, because signals from the Philippine would have to “land” somewhere, say Hawaii, and then get sent back up to another “bird” to be landed at their final destination.  In the satellite business we call this “double hopping”

    It’s expensive, cumbersome, and most significant to modern day communications, causes near-unworkable delays.  I’m sure you’ve seen news shows on TV where the reported is in some far off country covering the latest disaster and when the news anchor asks a question there is a puzzling, annoying delay before the report hears the question and answers it.  This is common called latency … a good explanation of geostationary satellite latency here … and it makes usable Internet connectivity difficult.  This really leaves us only one good choice:Cable overview 1

    imageUndersea Fiber Optic Cables:  The Philippines is connected to the rest of of the world by several large commercial undersea cable systems.  Here’s an overview map that pretty much shows the world’s modern cable connectivity.  Better detail of modern cable connections is here.

    The main international cables that serve the Philippines connect to the terrestrial (land-based) Internet system in Batangas, south of Manila and in San Fernando La Union, on the west coast of northern Luzon.

    When I type on my computer here and send bits to the PhilFAQS web server, (which is located in Dallas, Texas, AAG Cab;e detailUSA) the bits travel either to the west coast of the US, most often coming ashore at Seattle, or east through the Middle East and France and then back onto other cables across the Atlantic to enter the terrestrial US system at any of several US East coast cable “landings”.

    The ‘rest of the Philippines’ connects to these undersea cable end points typically through two large domestic undersea cable systems that for a ring around the Philippines, landing at more than 20 Philippine population centers, the NDTN (National Digital Transmission Network) managed by TelicPhil , and the  DFON )Domestic Fibre Optic Network), owned and operated by PLDT.

    Pretty interesting, how it all works out.  And, when it doesn’t?  How ever can they fix these amazing undersea lifelines?

    It’s easy when you know how.  Here’s a picture of the KDDI Ocean Link .. I’ve had the [pleasure of being aboard this ship .. totally like a science fiction movie.  They can find a KDDI ocean Linkdamaged cable anywhere in any ocean, grapple it up to the surface, slice in a new section and restore service.

    The holds of this ship are like giant barrels, it can store about 5,000 miles of cable on-board, enough to lay a cable from Japan to the US west coast in only two trips.

    So that’s the story, today, of how these bits got from my computer in Marilao to the my server in Dallas to your computer screen where ever you are “tuning in from”.

    There’s an old saying that goes; “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” … and you know, to a 1945 model like me, this is pretty close to magic.

    The “man behind the curtain” is often more interesting to me that the show the wizard puts on for the general public.

    Popularity: 8% [?]

    Philippines Passport, Visa & Health travel document requirements

    Just recently I had a reader leave a comment, which at first struck me as angry.  Upon reflection, though, I realize he was probably just frustrated because he kept getting so much information, some of it conflicting, about travel requirements to the Philippines.

    I’ve always published sources whenever possible … but some sources, like the official Philippine Bureau of Immigration site are (necessarily) packed with a lot of information.  Too much information can be as much problem as too little.

    I went out and checked some of my references last night because sites do change …and especially with government sites, links change (break).  I’m surely glad I did.

    IATA Travel Centre start pageWhile researching the best sources I came upon this one, Know Before You Go … IATA Travel Centre which I had never seen before … it’s excellent, especially for first time travelers. It’s published by the IATA.  IATA (International Air Transport Association) is an international trade body, created over 60 years ago by a group of airlines.  Today, IATA represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic. The organization also represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general.

    If you go to the information centre, you’ll see this screen.  It’s a bit busy, but just look for Country selector, IATA travel centrethese two boxes … Passport and Visa information and Customs, Currency and Airport Information.

    There’s a drop-down box for each, select the Philippines (or whatever other country you are interested in visiting) and continue to the next page.

    Here you can enter your trip details, where you are coming from, the length of time you’ll be staying and so forth.  (if you haven’t been to any other countries, just don’t make a selection in that box.)

    You’ll notice I "front loaded" this example to cause a possible conflict … staying for longer than 21 days without a visa.  Let’s see how the system handles this.

    The next page is where you enter your nationality, passport information.  I also ‘front loaded’ a common error in this page, showed my Nationality selection pagepassport having less than 6 months validity upon arrival.

    Now we’ll look at the results page.  Sure enough it tells us that we have a problem with passport validity dates and lets us know a visa is required.

    Although there is supposed to be "Instant Visa issuance" at the airport, be aware there have been problems recently with this service and I would personally not depend upon it.  Much easier to get a visa from the Philippine Embassy and avoid any chance of problems.

    Also, although you will also note a "legal loophole" regarding entry with less than 6 months validity, read the exception carefully … it’s strictly up to the officer you happen to walk up to iata_four at the Immigration wicket .. would you travel 7,000 or more miles taking a chance on the officer’s good nature?  Personally, I’d update my passport in advance … but hey, that’s just me.

    All in all this is a great tool provided by the IATA .. about as authoritative as you can get when it comes to air travel information.

    Use it in good health and enjoy your hassle-free trip to the Philippines.  There’s never been a better time.

    Popularity: 4% [?]

    US Government Jobs in the Philippines

    THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION THROUGH THE EMBASSY WARDEN SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS IN THE PHILIPPINES.  PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD.  THANK YOU.

    —————————————————–

    U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER TEST

    The 2010 Foreign Service Officer Test will be held on Friday, March 5, 2010 and Saturday, March 6, 2010 at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

    Deadline to register is February 22, 2010

    Eligibility:

    • U.S. citizen on the date of registration
    • Between 20-59 years old on the date of registration (over 21 and under 60 on the day of appointment as a Foreign Service Officer)
    • Available to serve worldwide

    US Government jobs Philippines

    To register for the Foreign Service Officer Test or for more information on career opportuntities with the U.S.Department of State, please log on to:

    www.careers.state.gov

    Popularity: 24% [?]

    A Philippine Business Resouce You Didn't Know You Had

    I had a lot of great responses from yesterday’s post on learning how to work for yourself.  I haven’t shared my New Year’s resolutions for 2010, and I guess I am glad … because I am breaking one or two of them already.  I was resolved to write less, actually, and focus more on non-blog writing and building up my FAQS section here.

    But people want to know things, and I have the knowledge to share, so what can I say … I’m a publisher, I have to give the reader what they want.  Resolutions are meant to be broken, I guess.

    Ronald McDonald
    Creative Commons License photo credit: Hanumann

    Anyway, let me make one little announcement here, because this is a resource I feel you folks reading who have any interest in learning about business, specifically in the Philippines, need to know.  Rudolf Kotik is a gentleman who lives near me and has been successfully earning a living (and perhaps more) here in the Philippines for something like 27 years now.  So he’s a valuable resource.  Rudolf already has a web site which he makes good use of, check out especially his free seminars on Philippines franchising and business in general.

    But Rudolf just took on another ‘gig’ which I think is going to serve him really well, he started writing for my friend Bob Martin, focusing on his prime subject of Philippine Franchising, and even if you think franchising isn’t in your future, I highly recommend following Rudolph because experience, (and connections) especially in this country, really count.

    Popularity: 5% [?]

    Get A Job

    A significant group of readers who I have been in contact with are still of working age (who said retirement had to be age based, anyway?) and are conflicted with the seemingly conflicting goals of earning a living and a deep desire to live in the Philippines.

    A large percentage of the folks who find their way here to PhilFAQS, where you get the answers to questions about living in the Philippines, come here on the phrase “jobs for Americans in the Philippines”, or “foreigner jobs, Philippines.”

    Consequently, I write a fair amount on this broad subject, even though I really don’t want to … what can I say, I’m a “pleaser”, I want to give people what they want.

    Truth be told, though, the job market here in the Philippines is not well suited to a great many foreigners, and many of you are in a position where I can’t be of much service.  Some people even get nasty with me over this … as if I were somehow sitting on a cache of conventional “9 to 5″ jobs here and refusing to let the word out.

    I try not to take offence at the frustration or sarcasm, tough, because I know a lot of it is driven by very real problems in the US these days.  It’s no secret I advocate “building your own job (or more accurately, your own source of income”, because I belive that the “job”, in the concept that most of you reading this have, is an item of the last century.  No matter what happens in the US economy, “jobs”, the way our fathers knew them, are dead and gone.

    Here’s a couple rather disturbing excerpts from my friend Don Brown’s Get the Flick blog that show me (and you, if you are willing to learn) just what handwriting is on the wall for US jobs over the foreseeable future.

    … It’s one of the central points of Mr. Phillips’ book. Nations that start making most of their money off of playing with other people’s money (instead of producing something) soon decline. He makes his case with the latest empires to dominate history — Spain’s, Holland’s and the British Empire. Each grew wealthy from exploration, innovation and manufacturing. Each declined when finance grew larger than other productive endeavors. In America, manufacturing swapped places with finance in the 1980s . In 1950, manufacturing was 29% of GDP while finance was only 11%. By 2005, manufacturing was only 12% of GDP but finance was over 20%.

    To make those numbers a little more real, Mr. Phillips also provides a contrast in pay. Or should we say, “executive compensation” ? In 1981, the top spot belonged to a Mr. Genin of Schlumberger. $5.7 million. By the year 2000, it was Mr. John Reed with Citigroup. He made $290 million. Now we have numerous hedge fund managers making a billion plus a year. Lest I forget to make my point — oil field services (Schlumberger) to finance (Citigroup and hedge funds).

    In 1981, the minimum wage was $3.35 and hour. In 2000, it was $5.15 an hour.

    $3.35 to $5.15 — is over 1.5 times as much.
    $5,700,000 to $290,000,000 — is over 50 times as much.

    If the minimum wage had kept up with “executive compensation”, the kids at Burger King would be making right at $170 an hour. Let me write that out for you — one hundred and seventy dollars an hour. …

    The bottom line is, the US worker has bene exploited for the majority of the 20th century and the downhill slope is getting even steeper.  Don’t look for “big business” to bail things out, job-wise, because the “great recession” is nearly over for the rich … stock market is up, hedge funds are making money hand over fist, but the guy who builds Chevies for GM … whose executives are paid obscene amounts, has had to take pay cuts and lose medical benefits.

    DSC_0894
    Creative Commons License photo credit: jjsink

    I got a kind of chuckle … a sad chuckle .. a few weeks back when President Obama was in China and called upon the Chinese to but more US made goods.  I didn’t laugh because of any political leanings, or because I don’t like the president or anything “Fox Newish” like that.

    I laughed, derisively, because what the hell does he think the US is making that Chinese or anyone else wants to buy?

    (You might like to read an article I wrote on this concept of producing tangible “things” rather than imaginary paper,a few months back .. I’d like to add that my tire gauge is still with me and still gets noticed big time whenever I check my air … an actual piece of metal evidence that the USA once was a producing nation rather than a paper shuffling nation of licensed “Hide the Pea” fairground hucksters.)

    So what’s your point, Dave.  Is this just another thousand words oor so of rant?  “I want a job, dammit, I don’t care what Brown, and you and the rest of you old retirees have to say.  You got yours, now let me get mine!”

    Fair enough.  What if I told your there were hundreds and thousands of jobs … decent paying ones … in the US right now, often going begging?

    Jobs that might pay enough benefits and have enough retirement so that you could go to the Philippines someday … without needing a job here?

    Go take a look at another friend of mine’s site.  Mike Rowe Works Be prepared to spend quite a bit of time there, if you really want a job, that is, or if you want to improve upon the one you are afraid of losing right now.

    Fair warning though.  These are not white-collar “three-card monte” jobs.  The majority of them have some physical labor involved, and most of them are also based upon production .. in other words at the end of the week, products have to be visible t the naked eye .. or to the tape measure.

    Also, very few of them involve sitting at a desk reading web sites when you are supposed to be working (caught ya, didn’t I?  ;-)

    While Fox News, and Sarah, and the Perky One and the rest of the talking heads Americans seem to look for to furnish their thoughts these days want to tell you the solution is to pay more crooked bankers more bonuses and suck it up if you can’t find a job, heres’s a TV personality who not only knows where the jobs are, but spends his own money to help you find them.  Hat’s off to you, Mike.

    Popularity: 2% [?]

    Blessed Are the Meek — Or Are They?

    First of all, let me throw in a little disclaimer here.  This post isn’t really all that much about religion, but I do throw in some Bible teaching and no matter what your personal feelings about religion, you can’t learn much about the Philippines without recognizing the fact that it is one of the most religious countries on earth.  I am a private individual and I pretty much keep my own religious views private … but I also have the freedom of the press and if I want to speak of things with a religious tone, I will.  You folks who feel that people who mention God or Jesus Christ in public are doing something forbidden, can go ahead and start preparing your “He spoke about God” case against me … or just click on to read something else.  Fair warning.

    Some time back I think I lost a Filipino reader and a budding friend, because he wrote me and told me how wonderful it was that Filipinos are “meek”, and he didn’t understand why I didn’t seem to see that as a great strength of the Philippine nation and people.

    I responded to him that perhaps he and I weren’t seeing things exactly the same when it came to the true definition of “meek” … and the conversation died right there, a borning.

    Even those of you who haven’t cracked a bible in 20 years are probably quite familiar with the gospel of Saint Matthew, specifically chapter 5, verse 5, where Matthew quotes Jesus as saying:

    Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

    This well-known statement of our Lord is taken from the sermon on the mount; from the part some call “the beatitudes”. The word “meek” means to be gentle, humble or considerate. It is the opposite of arrogance and violence. Those who are willing to share and sacrifice in behalf of others are meek. Those who seek for domination and will use any means to trample and crush others are the opposite of what the Lord refers to here.

    But here is the part where my friend and I differ, and I don’t doubt I differ with a lot of other Filipinos on a daily basis.   Meekness does not mean weakness!  It does not mean one must cower or retreat from his principles.  It does not involve the surrender of ones rights.

    Meek men and women of the Bible showed firm resolve, courage, conviction and strength.  So must we, Filipino of Foreigner, as we go about this business of living.  Do you know whom the Bible considers “meek”?  After all, if Christianity is important to you, surely God’s own word should be able to provide us valuable guidance, right?

    Well, unless my concordance is severely in error there are only two people the Bible refers to specifically as “meek”  Moses and Jesus himself.

    That’s right, friends.  One of the greatest prophets and most audacious leaders of men (who can forget the “Let my people go” speech and the risks he took there), who figures prominently not only the Christian Bible, but the Jewish Torah and the Muslim Koran is described as a “meek” man.

    And Jesus himself.  Not only the centerpiece of the Christian religion, but whose coming was long predicted and revered in the Torah and confirmed in the Koran, a “meek” man?  You better believe it.  Muhammad himself said so in the 19th Surah, verses 30-35, Christ is quoted as saying, “… And HE has made me dutiful towards my mother, and has not made me arrogant and graceless; …”

    Tracks pretty darn close with my Christian description of meekness above, doesn’t it?

    Hardly anyone could construe that meaning of “meekness” with what we know or believe about ‘stand up’ guys like Moses and Jesus … or at least it would be a tremendous stretch in my view.

    Do you know where the English word “meek” really came to us from?  The ancient Greek ( a big part of the Bible comes to us from the ancient Greek as well, no coincidence I think) where it refered to a very important trait of a horse.  It is still used in “horsey” circles today.

    Horse ... nice day for a swim
    Creative Commons License photo credit: tibchris

    A “meek” horse is not (as you might imagine) a horse that is afraid of his own shadow and tries to hide from every obstacle.  That is a definition of “timid”.  A “meek” horse is one who responds well to the control of the bit, thus becoming almost as one with his rider and able to perform as lesser horses and riders only aspire to.

    It doesn’t mean timid at all, a timid horse is not only unpleasant to ride, it can be downright dangerous, shying at every shadow.  It also doesn’t mean a stubborn, rebellious horse who likes to get the bit in his teeth and run away with his rider …useless to try to get any work out of and also downright dangerous.  If you want a good horse, you want one who is meek … a willing, considerate ‘team player’.

    I was kind of inspired to write this post today by my story of excessive timidity yesterday, “There I was …“  In my time here in the Philippines, I have been blessed to meet more than a few “meek” Filipinos.  Of those men and women, I fully agree with my reader’s sentiment that their “meekness” is, indeed, a powerful and valuable trait, which serves them and their country well.

    But sadly, I have met far, far too many folks who are not “meek” at all, but”timid” instead and handicapped by their own belief that standing up for what is right is not only wrong, but somehow ‘bastos”, a very undesirable trait.

    day after day I meet and observe people here in the Philippines (and people in other countries too) who “are where they are” because they never really tried to make things any better.  people so obsessed with the errored definition they carry of “meekness’ that life just passes them by.

    There will always be adversity in life, and no, there is no magic solution that will cure everyone’s problems in this life.  But before you give up and just accept things as they are because you believe that is what “meek” people do … and you’d rather see your children hungry or uneducated so that things will be better in the “next life”, when the “meek shall inherit the earth”, think about some of the tasked we were challenged with in this life. (The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28)) might be a good place to start.

    We were all put here for a purpose, no matter what our nationality or station in life.  We all not only have the right to make the most of our talents, but, indeed, the duty to do so.  It’s our duty to be ‘meek”, but never to be “timid”.  If you happen to believe “you are a child of God”, and I know many of us do, then remember some important guidance I was once given along those lines … “remember who you are, and act accordingly”.

    Popularity: 6% [?]

    All OK, Thanks, But Help Is Certainly Needed

    I have had a number of messages of concern .. thanks to everyone from me and Mita. We are all ok, likewise Gia and Ina our two ‘surrogate daughters’ who spent the night alone Saturday wehen the flooding was at it’s peak. Mita and I were stranded in Zambales. Much of Metro Manila is still essentially closed down … no schools and limited shopping because schools and malls are refugee centers.

    The local governments and the Philippine Armed Forces are doing a great job. For those who don’t already know, Manila got more rain than New Orleans did in all of hurricane Katrina. The wind was not bad but huge amounts of water fell and just overcame all the paths of escape.

    here in Marlao we stayed high and dry, although I think at least 12 folks perished along the Marilao river. Mita and I spent part of the day collecting clothes, in the AM we’ll take them to the barangay hall and get a better feel for what else is needed in the town.

    For those who want to help,
    http://www.abscbnfoundation.org can take secure donations, world-wide. ABS-CBN is one of the major broadcast networks here and they have been working 24-7 to collect and distribute supplies as well as keeping the public informed.

    I’ll talk to you again soon.

    Popularity: 10% [?]

    San Gabriel Market — Photo Essay — Part 1

    Today I have another treat for us, those interested in sightseeing, learning the countryside and (my kinda folk) those who like to eat. Thomas Glenn, one of our PhilFAQS guest writers gave me another great post with especially wonderful pictures. It’s most kind of Tom to share and the pictures are big, so I think I’m going to space this post out over several days. Be patient, tune in every day, and your patience will be rewarded.
    —————————————————————————-(Noyte, if you see a huge white space here, scroll down and you’ll eventually come to the picture …I don’t have time to fix it right now … it only happens if you are using an outdated, non-standards-compliant browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer. Switch to a moderne browser like Firefox and all will fall into place. … Philly)

    Hi,

    Today’s topic is close to my heart, and even closer to my stomach. Most of the towns here in the province of La Union have a public market. This is built with taxpayers’ money and serves the whole community. The stalls in the market are rented out to vendors, primarily of fresh fruits and vegetables (including rice), animal flesh (chicken (manok), pork (baboy), beef (baka), goat (kambing), and a variety of fresh and dried fish. Any day of the week these permanent vendors open up their stalls and work the whole day. In my area the markets also have what they call “Market Day. There are vendors of non-traditional food and non-food items who set up for business on Market Day. Most of these vendors will not have a stall, but will place their items on some fabric or plastic or tarpaulin on the ground in the area surrounding the permanent vendors. The Market Days in the towns adjacent to one another schedule their days (usually two times a week) so as to not conflict with the nearby towns. This permits the transient vendors to travel from town to town and sell their goods on Market Day. A major attraction of these regularly scheduled days is that they attract many more buyers than the normal days. For some people this provides the opportunity to make major purchases for the kitchens for the entire week. Market Day is an exciting time, both for the vendors who hope to sell their entire stock and buyers who are hoping to find the foods they want at bargain prices. Over a period of time all these vendors, permanent or transient, come to know one another so there is a lot of greeting and gossiping (chika-chika) going on.

    Today we went to San Gabriel so that Julie could spend some time with her employee and to do some photography herself. I took this opportunity to go to the market with my camera. There is no way that I could sneak into the market incognito. A person six foot, one inch, weighing almost 300 pounds and with Scotch-Irish complexion and blue eyes just naturally appears as a foreign object. After a while I forget that I am a pink spotted giraffe and begin to relax and enjoy myself. Invariably the people I see there are friendly and inviting. A few are Hollywood stars and want their picture taken but for the most part the people are shy and sometimes conceal their faces if I point the camera in their direction. The children have no reservation about having their picture taken. I don’t know what it is but something must happen after childhood and into puberty that changes a camera hog into a camera shy teenager. Then the MUCH older people enjoy having their picture taken. But, enough of all this text and on to the photos.

    Take care,
    Tom

    ————–

    Popularity: 1% [?]

    More on Seat Choices

    Here’s another site with some good information on airline seat selection

    I like this one becuase it clearly shows the “Deluxe” seat space on Eva Air.  Notice that info is available from many other Asian-based airlines.  Recommended.

    Popularity: 6% [?]

    U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER TEST

    The 2009 Foreign Service Officer Test will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at the U.S. Embassy in Manila

    Deadline to register is September 28th

    Eligibility:

    • U.S. citizen on the date of registration
    • Between 20-59 years old on the date of registration (over 21 and under 60 on the day of appointment as a Foreign Service Officer)
    • Available to serve worldwide

    To register for the Foreign Service Officer Test or for more information on career opportuntities with the U.S.Department of State, please log on to:

    www.careers.state.gov

    Popularity: 3% [?]