Today I went to the Bureau of Immigration to get my last extended visa for 1 month.
Last time I was there I had to pay a 1000pesos bribe to get my visa in 30 mins, this time I thought NO WAY am I paying a bribe... it's only for a month so I will just wait in line.
Have you ever thought that you have got something right and been clever then life jumps up and bites your bum.. well that's what I felt like today.
I went there determined.. if the officer said to me wait at the side, I was going to say NO just show me the way to the visa office as I am not paying a bribe. I walked in upright and ready for action......... I said visa extension please... he said...no problem sir just over there.... that took the wind out of my sails !!
I was directed to another building and entered where it said VISAS.
I walked into utter chaos, the room was a big square with 30 glass windows with a teller at each of them. There must have been over 200 crowded in this room, some filling in forms and most others queueing at the windows, where do I go, what do I do ?.... I have my passport and money so I obviously need to fill in a form with my details, where do I get this form as there is no signs at all !! There is one empty window so I ask there.... I struck gold as he gave me a form... fill it in and take it to window 24... great stuff... so I am off and running. Finds a space on a counter and fills it in, walks to counter 24 and am told I need copies of my passport... there is a photocopier there with someone grabbing passports and copying pages from them, I do the same, cost is 4p... back to window 24.
I wait at this window with about 5 people in front of me, not too bad me thinks, their is a guy about my age from Newcastle just in front of me, we got talking, he is here for 3 months but he is lucky as he has a Filipino girlfriend with him that was doing all the talking and getting things done for him, and she was soooooooo beautiful, spoke perfect English and her uncle is in the NBI... so he was a very lucky man, I thought so anyway until he told me that he was robbed in Bohol in his hotel room, they got £2000 in cash and his passport.... well you can't have it all !!
Anyway he gets served so it is my turn... the teller puts a "closed" sign on the window........... NO I says... whats happening.. why didn't you say beforehand so I could join another queue, she replies " it's only for 10 mins sir"... yea right I know what the Filipino 10 mins means. Anyway all the other queues are big and I didn't know which one to go to so I thought I best to wait here in case it is only 10 mins, others were waiting along with me. 10 mins passes, 15.. then 20.. I knew it !! anyway some official in the room says to us that we best to go to this other queue, I complain and say this is unfair, lo and behold he puts me at the front of this queue, the other people in this queue didn't complain. I gets seen, the clerk takes all my forms photocopies etc and then returns them to me with a bill to pay, he says go this other desk, pay the bill and return to this queue. OK so I do, I wait in another queue to pay, the bill says 2550 pesos, it's a bit expensive as my visa is only for 1 month ths time not the usual 2. But I just want out of this place... the tension is irritating me.
It comes to my turn, 3550 pesos he says, I say but the bill says 2550 pesos, he hands me another bill that says 1000pesos this has been attached to my original bill, I look at it, it is a "express" fee, now what the express fee is about no-one has ever known but I do know that it is always charged but it is always 500 pesos so I ask why the difference of another 500 pesos. Can you believe it, 500p is for the express fee and the other 500p is for a certificate to say that you paid the 500p express fee !!!
Only in the Philippines.. I protested but the teller said if I want to complain I would have to join another queue.... no thanks so I just paid very grudgingly.
I then join the first queue again as I have paid so I have to show him the payment slip before he can officially stamp the visa in my passport. My turn comes and he takes all my documents and passport, after a few mins he says "10am tomorrow".... what do you mean, he says come back tomorrow after 10am to collect your passport.... WHAT.. I thought I paid an express fee to get it... well.... express (quickly)!!! No you have to come back !!! Give me strength.
I walks outside and stands there for a few mins. I have paid 300pesos in a cab to get here and return home, I have stood in queues that have made me feel so stressed, I was perspiring the same as everyone else as the room had no aircon, I paid 3550 pesos for a 1 month visa when it is cheaper for a 2 month one, I have to come back tomorrow and pay another 300 pesos for my cab and then wait in another queue to get my passport !!
I did this all as I didn't want to pay a bribe to the fixers at BI, I should have paid the fixers their 1000pesos, at least with them you get your passport in completed in 30 mins while you wait in a nice quiet non stressful area.
To save not paying that 1000p bribe(it may have been cheaper because of only being for 1 month) I have spent hours in a very stressful room, paid more than I should and I have to return tomorrow whilst paying another 300p for the cab and more of my time.
Moral of this story is that I wasn't as clever as I thought I was by not paying the bribe... although I was morally right to do so.
Do you know that the fee for the 2 months is NEVER the same, you would think that it would be a standard charge, it never is, I have spoken to many foreigners on websites and you never know how much you will be charged it all depends on the teller that does your application... the teller that I used also had a sign on his window that said " exact money only".... this is a bit difficult when you never know how much it is going to be.
Beaurocracy in a 3rd world country is amazing to watch and experience, even I could organize the visa section into a customer friendly and more efficient place than it is, Filipino officials couldn't organise the proverbial p--- up in a brewery.
Hope you all have a nice day.. I am returning to get my passport in 2 hours (it's now Tueady)... wish me luck.
Monday, 10 March 2008
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Saturday 8th
Well regarding the cricket... which I know you all love....... joking of course, but at least England had a great last session to make the match interesting... I still believe we will lose easily but hope to be wrong.
I am a couch potato at the moment, tonight I watched football which I rarely do, I watched Portsmouth beat Man u which was very enjoyable.... sorry Paul in Skegness !!!
Anne (my big sis) mentioned about how clean the clothes were on the street kids that I showed on my post yesterday, well this is common here and let me educate you on what is the general thing here for lots of young people even here in Manila.
Here in Manila and probably more so in Makati there are 1000's of young girls and boys working in the service areas, mostly assistants in the shops of all the malls here, there are more shops and all sorts of services, hotels have many working for them.
They all only get a 6 month contract because that allows the employers to avoid paying any benefits, so you work for 6 months and if you are lucky you may get another 6 month contract if your face fits. Really scandalous but this is the real world.
All these people need somewhere to live, eat and help their families on a meagre wage, from the many that I have spoken the following description is the norm. They can't afford to rent a house or a flat/condo especially not anywhere near Makati, what they have a lot of here which I have seen many times, is a bedspace to rent, they will rent a bed in a room, if you share with 3 others it is cheaper than renting with only 1 or 2 but all you get is the bedspace which could be a bunkbed.
Now every day I see these young people as I walk around Makati and I know some of them through badminton, they are always immaculately dressed with really well ironed shirts and trousers/dresses, some of them are lucky to have a uniform if they work in the big stores. The main thing is that in reality they have very few clothes but they look after them because they can't afford to buy new whenever they want.
So what you see on the outside doesn't tell the true story, most of them work all day, here in the Phils it's generally 12 hours per day and 6 days per week. They will go home rest and wash/clean/iron any clothes that they may have/need for the next day. They will eat cheaply somewhere probably from the street stalls which we even have here in Makati and they are extremely popular... couldn't touch them myself but I'm lucky. They will then have to sleep in a room with 3 others before doing the same thing the next day. Lots of them have to provide for their families that live in the province so they will not spend 1 pesos on themselves that they don't have to.
They may not have much but what they have they look after, that goes for most of the people that live in the slum areas.
I've seen some lovely well dressed young ladies but when you have a chat, you find out the above mentioned is their situation, if you met them on a regular basis you will see the same clothes every 3rd or 4Th day or some sort of permutation of same.
Nice jeans and clean T shirt is the norm here, sometimes walking through the mall it's like seeing 1000's of clones, long dark hair, white T shirt and tight jeans with a butt to match.
That is your little bit of Filipino education for this evening.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.... I am planning trips possibly to Cebu and Baguio. When the summer gets really hot I should really go to Baguio as it is colder there....... we shall see.
I am a couch potato at the moment, tonight I watched football which I rarely do, I watched Portsmouth beat Man u which was very enjoyable.... sorry Paul in Skegness !!!
Anne (my big sis) mentioned about how clean the clothes were on the street kids that I showed on my post yesterday, well this is common here and let me educate you on what is the general thing here for lots of young people even here in Manila.
Here in Manila and probably more so in Makati there are 1000's of young girls and boys working in the service areas, mostly assistants in the shops of all the malls here, there are more shops and all sorts of services, hotels have many working for them.
They all only get a 6 month contract because that allows the employers to avoid paying any benefits, so you work for 6 months and if you are lucky you may get another 6 month contract if your face fits. Really scandalous but this is the real world.
All these people need somewhere to live, eat and help their families on a meagre wage, from the many that I have spoken the following description is the norm. They can't afford to rent a house or a flat/condo especially not anywhere near Makati, what they have a lot of here which I have seen many times, is a bedspace to rent, they will rent a bed in a room, if you share with 3 others it is cheaper than renting with only 1 or 2 but all you get is the bedspace which could be a bunkbed.
Now every day I see these young people as I walk around Makati and I know some of them through badminton, they are always immaculately dressed with really well ironed shirts and trousers/dresses, some of them are lucky to have a uniform if they work in the big stores. The main thing is that in reality they have very few clothes but they look after them because they can't afford to buy new whenever they want.
So what you see on the outside doesn't tell the true story, most of them work all day, here in the Phils it's generally 12 hours per day and 6 days per week. They will go home rest and wash/clean/iron any clothes that they may have/need for the next day. They will eat cheaply somewhere probably from the street stalls which we even have here in Makati and they are extremely popular... couldn't touch them myself but I'm lucky. They will then have to sleep in a room with 3 others before doing the same thing the next day. Lots of them have to provide for their families that live in the province so they will not spend 1 pesos on themselves that they don't have to.
They may not have much but what they have they look after, that goes for most of the people that live in the slum areas.
I've seen some lovely well dressed young ladies but when you have a chat, you find out the above mentioned is their situation, if you met them on a regular basis you will see the same clothes every 3rd or 4Th day or some sort of permutation of same.
Nice jeans and clean T shirt is the norm here, sometimes walking through the mall it's like seeing 1000's of clones, long dark hair, white T shirt and tight jeans with a butt to match.
That is your little bit of Filipino education for this evening.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.... I am planning trips possibly to Cebu and Baguio. When the summer gets really hot I should really go to Baguio as it is colder there....... we shall see.
Friday, 7 March 2008
Friday has been a lazy day watching England trying to avoid losing.
Thinking about the poverty that I saw yesterday reminded me that I had some pics that I haven't published yet. These were pics that I took last year, most of them i took from the outside, yesterday I was inside which was so interesting.
So below you can see those pics, I would describe these as the "posh" slums... I know that is contradictory but also true.
Yesterday while walking through Sante Ana I bought a coke for 8p, even in makati it is normally 25p min, so how can they sell it at that and still make a profit ?? The shop was a little space between 2 "homes".
Enjoy the video and welcome to the weekend
Thinking about the poverty that I saw yesterday reminded me that I had some pics that I haven't published yet. These were pics that I took last year, most of them i took from the outside, yesterday I was inside which was so interesting.
So below you can see those pics, I would describe these as the "posh" slums... I know that is contradictory but also true.
Yesterday while walking through Sante Ana I bought a coke for 8p, even in makati it is normally 25p min, so how can they sell it at that and still make a profit ?? The shop was a little space between 2 "homes".
Enjoy the video and welcome to the weekend
Thursday, 6 March 2008
my long walk.... thursday
I was up at 5am this morning for the cricket and it didn't go very well at all. It finished at 1pm here, I had a nap til 1.45pm and then I decided it was time that I went on one of my long walks.
I decided to head out west of Manila to see where it took me, I always think that is the best way, just walk and walk and see where you end up.
Anyway I walked about 30 mins away from Makati and things started to look interesting, you know what I like if you are a reader of this blog. I found this slum area that I never knew existed, people as always were giving me the "hey Joe" amongst other things.. all nice I may add, girls of all ages smiling and asking me where I was going and what was I doing there.... it's a hard life !!
Some guys asked me to sit and drink with them but that is a big NO NO here, I am at least street savvy. Just say thanks but don't have the time.
I left my condo at 2pm by 3pm I really was in the middle of somewhere that I didn't know and had never heard of, the place was called Sante Ana, I found myself walking down this really interesting street, it was fantastic, a place of mass human activity, severe poverty but everyone had a smile for me, people sitting on the pavement chatting, cooking... yes fires on the pavement everywhere !! .. homes that were the simplest imaginable, a labyrinth of buildings of the poorest quality. Just a piece of wood as a wall, if you were lucky a piece of corrugated iron as your roof. I simply can not describe this to you, I should have taken my camera but I only wanted to carry that which I didn't mind being stolen.
I walked and walked through this "estate", I thought that there may not be a way out as I had walked for over an hour through it. I really wish that you see things that I saw today through my eyes... but it's impossible and any words that I use would be insufficient. I kept walking and walking, it's now 5.30pm I have been walking for 3 hours and 30 mins, I came to a bridge there, people were living under and around this bridge, at first I thought it was a rubbish dump until I looked down over the parapet, people were living there, cooking their dinners, young mothers holding babies, children playing games... a real community.
I stopped on the middle of the bridge, there were 4 naked young boys... about 9/12 years old, they were jumping into this river which was about 60' down !! they asked me for money (everyone does) to jump in the river, I refused but they did anyway...I was amazed, they jumped from a statue on the bridge straight into the water. I watched them for a while, they were on the base ot the bridge near their homes, this was their play area, they were running into an open sewer naked... whilst watching them this is where they kept their dry clothes !!!!! I threw some money over for them to dive into the water to get...it pleased them a great deal... I thought that they deserved it.
I continued walking and found myself in a part of Mandaluyong.... somewhere I have been before..... this is north of Manila... how did I get here ??..... anyway I kept walking and began to recognize some roads.... I remember that it used to take me 2 hours to walk home from Mandaluyong, it was now 6pm.... I had been walking 4 hours and had 2 to go from here.
I reached the area that I lived in for the first 2 weeks of my stay here in Manila, it was a place in north manila. I reached there at 7.15pm but was getting thirsty and hungry so I decided to have a wander down Burgos St.... this is the dodgy area.. sort of red light area. I sat in the outside restaurant of a fancy hotel.
I ordered 2 beers and some food and people watched..... very interesting indeed.
Most of the guys sitting in the same area as me were similar to me...meaning white, old and alone. I shouldn't say this but I like to think that I am not unacceptable as a male, nature didn't do some of these guys any favours if you know what I mean.
There were Germans there, French and Brits, they all looked sleazy to me but then again, maybe they were thinking the same thing about me !! The standard thing is some old fat ugly white guy with an attractive young Filipina.. very little in common but who am I to judge, I was imagining balloons above their heads... the white guys balloon said " wow this is gonna be great sex ".... the Filipinas said " how much cash can I get out of this idiot ".
I feel for the girls... honestly... you really have to understand things here.... feeding yourself and your family...be it parents or children is a real big issue. No jobs.... eat or don't eat.... needs must.
I had a nice meal and drinks then left to go home.... by taxi ... I couldn't walk the last 45 mins.... on the way to the cab this lovely looking filipina who had been standing by the side of the restaurant waiting as they all do.... said to me... sir would you like a massage.... as it happens I really needed a massage after such a long walk.. but that wasn't the type that she was offering !!!!
I got home before 9pm, I'm going to have a cold shower and an early night so that I can get up at 5am for the cricket again.... yes glutton for punishment.
Nearly another weekend here......................
I decided to head out west of Manila to see where it took me, I always think that is the best way, just walk and walk and see where you end up.
Anyway I walked about 30 mins away from Makati and things started to look interesting, you know what I like if you are a reader of this blog. I found this slum area that I never knew existed, people as always were giving me the "hey Joe" amongst other things.. all nice I may add, girls of all ages smiling and asking me where I was going and what was I doing there.... it's a hard life !!
Some guys asked me to sit and drink with them but that is a big NO NO here, I am at least street savvy. Just say thanks but don't have the time.
I left my condo at 2pm by 3pm I really was in the middle of somewhere that I didn't know and had never heard of, the place was called Sante Ana, I found myself walking down this really interesting street, it was fantastic, a place of mass human activity, severe poverty but everyone had a smile for me, people sitting on the pavement chatting, cooking... yes fires on the pavement everywhere !! .. homes that were the simplest imaginable, a labyrinth of buildings of the poorest quality. Just a piece of wood as a wall, if you were lucky a piece of corrugated iron as your roof. I simply can not describe this to you, I should have taken my camera but I only wanted to carry that which I didn't mind being stolen.
I walked and walked through this "estate", I thought that there may not be a way out as I had walked for over an hour through it. I really wish that you see things that I saw today through my eyes... but it's impossible and any words that I use would be insufficient. I kept walking and walking, it's now 5.30pm I have been walking for 3 hours and 30 mins, I came to a bridge there, people were living under and around this bridge, at first I thought it was a rubbish dump until I looked down over the parapet, people were living there, cooking their dinners, young mothers holding babies, children playing games... a real community.
I stopped on the middle of the bridge, there were 4 naked young boys... about 9/12 years old, they were jumping into this river which was about 60' down !! they asked me for money (everyone does) to jump in the river, I refused but they did anyway...I was amazed, they jumped from a statue on the bridge straight into the water. I watched them for a while, they were on the base ot the bridge near their homes, this was their play area, they were running into an open sewer naked... whilst watching them this is where they kept their dry clothes !!!!! I threw some money over for them to dive into the water to get...it pleased them a great deal... I thought that they deserved it.
I continued walking and found myself in a part of Mandaluyong.... somewhere I have been before..... this is north of Manila... how did I get here ??..... anyway I kept walking and began to recognize some roads.... I remember that it used to take me 2 hours to walk home from Mandaluyong, it was now 6pm.... I had been walking 4 hours and had 2 to go from here.
I reached the area that I lived in for the first 2 weeks of my stay here in Manila, it was a place in north manila. I reached there at 7.15pm but was getting thirsty and hungry so I decided to have a wander down Burgos St.... this is the dodgy area.. sort of red light area. I sat in the outside restaurant of a fancy hotel.
I ordered 2 beers and some food and people watched..... very interesting indeed.
Most of the guys sitting in the same area as me were similar to me...meaning white, old and alone. I shouldn't say this but I like to think that I am not unacceptable as a male, nature didn't do some of these guys any favours if you know what I mean.
There were Germans there, French and Brits, they all looked sleazy to me but then again, maybe they were thinking the same thing about me !! The standard thing is some old fat ugly white guy with an attractive young Filipina.. very little in common but who am I to judge, I was imagining balloons above their heads... the white guys balloon said " wow this is gonna be great sex ".... the Filipinas said " how much cash can I get out of this idiot ".
I feel for the girls... honestly... you really have to understand things here.... feeding yourself and your family...be it parents or children is a real big issue. No jobs.... eat or don't eat.... needs must.
I had a nice meal and drinks then left to go home.... by taxi ... I couldn't walk the last 45 mins.... on the way to the cab this lovely looking filipina who had been standing by the side of the restaurant waiting as they all do.... said to me... sir would you like a massage.... as it happens I really needed a massage after such a long walk.. but that wasn't the type that she was offering !!!!
I got home before 9pm, I'm going to have a cold shower and an early night so that I can get up at 5am for the cricket again.... yes glutton for punishment.
Nearly another weekend here......................
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Wednesday 11pm
I was up at 5am this morning to watch the cricket between England and New Zealand, I can't say it was fantastic because it wasn't but England finished the day probably about 1 point ahead.
I had to go out today to buy some reading glasses, I couldn't find the cheap ones so had to pay £4 to go into the fancy opticians to get a pair.... quite nice if I don't say so myself.
I'm about to go to bed again as I have to be up at 5am... yes for the cricket of course.
I have finally managed to upload some interesting video that I took in Saigon when I was there. I never got round to editing it until today, please take a look I'm sure you will find it interesting..... maybe even funny... not for me though.
If anyone is interested in helping out at the orphange please let me know and I could arrange something..... no pressure, it's easy for me as I am single so I do understand for families it isn't so easy.... but... if anyone wants info... just let me know.
enjoy my video and have a laugh at my expense..............
I had to go out today to buy some reading glasses, I couldn't find the cheap ones so had to pay £4 to go into the fancy opticians to get a pair.... quite nice if I don't say so myself.
I'm about to go to bed again as I have to be up at 5am... yes for the cricket of course.
I have finally managed to upload some interesting video that I took in Saigon when I was there. I never got round to editing it until today, please take a look I'm sure you will find it interesting..... maybe even funny... not for me though.
If anyone is interested in helping out at the orphange please let me know and I could arrange something..... no pressure, it's easy for me as I am single so I do understand for families it isn't so easy.... but... if anyone wants info... just let me know.
enjoy my video and have a laugh at my expense..............
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Tuesday 10pm
It was a day of cricket today, I watched Australia lose unfortunately. I have to go to bed early tonight as England's match starts at 5.30am tomorrow.... yes I will be up to watch it... sad I know.
I went into Marks and sparks today for my little treats, alas they are getting too expensive.. a tin of mince is now £5.20.... I love it but it's just too much, I bought some choccie digestives for £1.60, a computer mag which costs £3.99 in the UK was over £12 here so I couldn't bring myself to pay that much. Tins of Heinz baked beans were £1.15 so I treated myself to them instead.
it's strange but since I have been here in Manila for so long the mozzies leave me alone but yet whenever I visit other parts of the Phils I get bitten.... any explanations for that !!!!
Mary thanks for the long comments, I have replied to you in an email, enjoy your last 4 weeks.
Hope you all had a good day as I am off to bed now....
I went into Marks and sparks today for my little treats, alas they are getting too expensive.. a tin of mince is now £5.20.... I love it but it's just too much, I bought some choccie digestives for £1.60, a computer mag which costs £3.99 in the UK was over £12 here so I couldn't bring myself to pay that much. Tins of Heinz baked beans were £1.15 so I treated myself to them instead.
it's strange but since I have been here in Manila for so long the mozzies leave me alone but yet whenever I visit other parts of the Phils I get bitten.... any explanations for that !!!!
Mary thanks for the long comments, I have replied to you in an email, enjoy your last 4 weeks.
Hope you all had a good day as I am off to bed now....
Monday, 3 March 2008
I'm home again.... Monday
I arrived home yesterday but the internet was down most of the day so I couldn't post until this evening.
Well my 5 days in Mindanao were interesting. When the family in Ozamiz knew that I was visiting Mindanao they asked me to visit them again as they wanted me to meet more of their family and they wanted me to go with them on a family outing to the beach.
It was a nice couple of days, I have included some pics of the outing and their homes. Well I hope to add them to this site asap anyway.
I then took the bus again to Cagayan de oro, on the way we were stopped at an army check point, some people got off the bus but most just stayed on, I just thought that the ones that got off did so for a smoke or stretch their legs. 3 soldiers got on the bus, one came up to me and said "off" and pointed his rifle to the door, I didn't need to be told twice, he wasn't being aggressive, I just think his English was limited.
It turned out that all men have to get off to be inspected and soldiers also check the baggage on the bus, women are allowed to stay on the bus....... now is that sexist or what !!!! Of course if I was a terrorist it wouldn't take rocket science to understand that if you have any weapons just make sure that your girlfriend is carrying them !!!!
Strangely it only took us 4 hours to Cagayan this time, last time it was 5 hours, both drivers drove fast and only stopped at official stopping points so I simply don't understand the difference !!
Got to Cagayan and met the couple that manage the children’s home in McDonalds as agreed. It was a 45 minutes drive south to the home, we arrived there about 4pm, they showed me to the "guesthouse" where I was stay for my 2 nights there.
I was introduced to the nurse "Rachael" and she showed me around, there are 24 kids in this home and they live in little houses with 2 "parents", this helps them to live as a normal family.
I just found out that day that this is actually an orphanage, all the children have been given up for adoption.
I met 4 siblings in one house, they were all between 3-6 years old, James, Eduardo, Mercy and Joy-Joy, they were all so cute and Joy-Joy the youngest wouldn't leave my side, she was holding my hands and jumping up and down and always stayed with me. Amazingly all 4 are in the process of being adopted by a family in the U.S... so sometimes there is a happy ending.
James, Mercy and Eduardo
Joy-Joy... so good they named her twice !!
I also met another child that is a "special" child, he has a house to himself and 1 to 1 care because of his problems.
I met Benedict, a 10 year old boy that has been adopted, his new parents are picking him up today, he was a very happy boy when I spoke to him.
In one of the other houses there was 9 children, 6 siblings from one family that can't be adopted, they are aged 12-20, their mother has signed the release papers but the father wants money to sign, he says that he can get money for them if he lets them go to Japan..... he means the girls could work there as "hostesses"...... what a wonderful father to have !!!!
This is the family that I will be helping, I am sponsoring one girl to go to high school, she is starting there this June and I am also helping the 2 oldest to go to college which I believe starts very soon, they had no sponsors so thought that they would be unable to attend their college courses so I guess they will be happy when they find out that they will be going after all, all 3 will be for the next 4 years.
The eldest is a boy (Alfredo 20) he is attending a college but he is a bit.... how do you say.... "slow" minded.
After meeting them I was then served dinner in my guesthouse and left alone. it was then about 6pm, it was very dark and supposed to be very quiet as we are on a mountain in the countryside. The building that I was in was very old and a bit dilapidated, the first thing that I had to do as I entered my bedroom was to kill this huge cockroach, only then did I feel like leaving my bag there... closed !!
There was no TV or radio, I hadn't brought my laptop as there is no internet either, luckily I had brought a book with me which helped. The first night there was very creepy, I now know for sure that I am definitely a city boy. I tried to read but it was difficult as it was my first night, I had centipedes, cockroaches on the floor, Geckos on the walls and ceilings and this cacophony of sounds from outside.
The countryside is supposed to be quiet and peaceful, I can assure you Makati is quieter in the rush hour traffic !!! I could hear a thousand crickets....cricketing or whatever you call the sound that they make. I could hear sounds right by my window ( which were all open and I couldn't close them but there was screens on all windows) sounds that I have never heard before, at one point I could hear the sound of a rattlesnake, now of course I thought to myself I doubt very much if there are rattlesnakes in the Phils, they are mostly in the U.S but that was definitely the sound that I heard, I guess there must be insects that make a similar sound.
The next morning I mentioned this to Rachael when she brought me breakfast..... no she said we don't have rattlesnakes here... I breathed a sigh of relief.... but she said we do have pythons........... WHAT !! thanks a lot that really makes me feel safer !!!!!
Saturday morning I said that I would take a walk into town, I was getting bored as Saturday is their day off and I wasn't going to be involved with anything until that evening. They said (as all Filipinos do) you can't walk that far, we have to make sure that you are safe etc. Anyway all changed because an American visited me, he lives there and has an organisation called H.E.L.P. he has a great program for helping people there, he raises goats and gives them to people, they have to give him the first born to keep his herd up and lets them bring their goats to his place to be serviced so that the breeding continues.
He also has a rubber tree plantation which he took me to see, he has 35 hectares with each hectare producing about $2000 per year which he uses to support needy children. I also visited his home which was very nice, his wife’s sisters live there and he tried to pair us off.... !!! peleassee !!
I then went into town.... town in the loosest sense of the word, it was just lots of shacks side by side selling coke and a lot of tat but probably necessary tat for there. Now remember this place is a long way from a real town so they seldom see a white face, I'm used to people staring as it happens everywhere that I go outside of Makati but this was on a different level..... people just stopped what they were doing to look at me... groups would just stand still staring as I browsed their wares, children were pointing, guys shouting the usual "hi Joe", 3 girl assistants in 1 store ran into the back of the shop when I walked in, the owner said that they are shy of Americans..... I'm not an American.. that's what I was thinking but was pointless in saying. I then walked the couple of miles back to the orphanage, it was really VERY hot, luckily I had borrowed an umbrella to use as a parasol which really helped.
I forgot to mention that when I was on the beach in Ozamiz, about 8/10 of the children always followed me everywhere, as I was walking along the beach I decided to take off my shoes and socks so that I could walk along with the water hitting my feet, as I took my socks off everything went quiet, I looked up and all the kids were staring at me.... !!! I asked the one adult there what are they doing... he said that they are just amazed by your feet, your feet are so very white and they think they are beautiful !!! well that's a first.... my feet... beautiful... I don't think so but I do know how much they are mesmerised by whiteness...... they LOVE white !!
I will end here or this post will be too long, I could write so much more about Mindanao but maybe another time.
I hope you all had a great week end and are refreshed for this new week
Well my 5 days in Mindanao were interesting. When the family in Ozamiz knew that I was visiting Mindanao they asked me to visit them again as they wanted me to meet more of their family and they wanted me to go with them on a family outing to the beach.
It was a nice couple of days, I have included some pics of the outing and their homes. Well I hope to add them to this site asap anyway.
I then took the bus again to Cagayan de oro, on the way we were stopped at an army check point, some people got off the bus but most just stayed on, I just thought that the ones that got off did so for a smoke or stretch their legs. 3 soldiers got on the bus, one came up to me and said "off" and pointed his rifle to the door, I didn't need to be told twice, he wasn't being aggressive, I just think his English was limited.
It turned out that all men have to get off to be inspected and soldiers also check the baggage on the bus, women are allowed to stay on the bus....... now is that sexist or what !!!! Of course if I was a terrorist it wouldn't take rocket science to understand that if you have any weapons just make sure that your girlfriend is carrying them !!!!
Strangely it only took us 4 hours to Cagayan this time, last time it was 5 hours, both drivers drove fast and only stopped at official stopping points so I simply don't understand the difference !!
Got to Cagayan and met the couple that manage the children’s home in McDonalds as agreed. It was a 45 minutes drive south to the home, we arrived there about 4pm, they showed me to the "guesthouse" where I was stay for my 2 nights there.
I was introduced to the nurse "Rachael" and she showed me around, there are 24 kids in this home and they live in little houses with 2 "parents", this helps them to live as a normal family.
I just found out that day that this is actually an orphanage, all the children have been given up for adoption.
I met 4 siblings in one house, they were all between 3-6 years old, James, Eduardo, Mercy and Joy-Joy, they were all so cute and Joy-Joy the youngest wouldn't leave my side, she was holding my hands and jumping up and down and always stayed with me. Amazingly all 4 are in the process of being adopted by a family in the U.S... so sometimes there is a happy ending.
James, Mercy and Eduardo
Joy-Joy... so good they named her twice !!
I also met another child that is a "special" child, he has a house to himself and 1 to 1 care because of his problems.
I met Benedict, a 10 year old boy that has been adopted, his new parents are picking him up today, he was a very happy boy when I spoke to him.
In one of the other houses there was 9 children, 6 siblings from one family that can't be adopted, they are aged 12-20, their mother has signed the release papers but the father wants money to sign, he says that he can get money for them if he lets them go to Japan..... he means the girls could work there as "hostesses"...... what a wonderful father to have !!!!
This is the family that I will be helping, I am sponsoring one girl to go to high school, she is starting there this June and I am also helping the 2 oldest to go to college which I believe starts very soon, they had no sponsors so thought that they would be unable to attend their college courses so I guess they will be happy when they find out that they will be going after all, all 3 will be for the next 4 years.
The eldest is a boy (Alfredo 20) he is attending a college but he is a bit.... how do you say.... "slow" minded.
After meeting them I was then served dinner in my guesthouse and left alone. it was then about 6pm, it was very dark and supposed to be very quiet as we are on a mountain in the countryside. The building that I was in was very old and a bit dilapidated, the first thing that I had to do as I entered my bedroom was to kill this huge cockroach, only then did I feel like leaving my bag there... closed !!
There was no TV or radio, I hadn't brought my laptop as there is no internet either, luckily I had brought a book with me which helped. The first night there was very creepy, I now know for sure that I am definitely a city boy. I tried to read but it was difficult as it was my first night, I had centipedes, cockroaches on the floor, Geckos on the walls and ceilings and this cacophony of sounds from outside.
The countryside is supposed to be quiet and peaceful, I can assure you Makati is quieter in the rush hour traffic !!! I could hear a thousand crickets....cricketing or whatever you call the sound that they make. I could hear sounds right by my window ( which were all open and I couldn't close them but there was screens on all windows) sounds that I have never heard before, at one point I could hear the sound of a rattlesnake, now of course I thought to myself I doubt very much if there are rattlesnakes in the Phils, they are mostly in the U.S but that was definitely the sound that I heard, I guess there must be insects that make a similar sound.
The next morning I mentioned this to Rachael when she brought me breakfast..... no she said we don't have rattlesnakes here... I breathed a sigh of relief.... but she said we do have pythons........... WHAT !! thanks a lot that really makes me feel safer !!!!!
Saturday morning I said that I would take a walk into town, I was getting bored as Saturday is their day off and I wasn't going to be involved with anything until that evening. They said (as all Filipinos do) you can't walk that far, we have to make sure that you are safe etc. Anyway all changed because an American visited me, he lives there and has an organisation called H.E.L.P. he has a great program for helping people there, he raises goats and gives them to people, they have to give him the first born to keep his herd up and lets them bring their goats to his place to be serviced so that the breeding continues.
He also has a rubber tree plantation which he took me to see, he has 35 hectares with each hectare producing about $2000 per year which he uses to support needy children. I also visited his home which was very nice, his wife’s sisters live there and he tried to pair us off.... !!! peleassee !!
I then went into town.... town in the loosest sense of the word, it was just lots of shacks side by side selling coke and a lot of tat but probably necessary tat for there. Now remember this place is a long way from a real town so they seldom see a white face, I'm used to people staring as it happens everywhere that I go outside of Makati but this was on a different level..... people just stopped what they were doing to look at me... groups would just stand still staring as I browsed their wares, children were pointing, guys shouting the usual "hi Joe", 3 girl assistants in 1 store ran into the back of the shop when I walked in, the owner said that they are shy of Americans..... I'm not an American.. that's what I was thinking but was pointless in saying. I then walked the couple of miles back to the orphanage, it was really VERY hot, luckily I had borrowed an umbrella to use as a parasol which really helped.
I forgot to mention that when I was on the beach in Ozamiz, about 8/10 of the children always followed me everywhere, as I was walking along the beach I decided to take off my shoes and socks so that I could walk along with the water hitting my feet, as I took my socks off everything went quiet, I looked up and all the kids were staring at me.... !!! I asked the one adult there what are they doing... he said that they are just amazed by your feet, your feet are so very white and they think they are beautiful !!! well that's a first.... my feet... beautiful... I don't think so but I do know how much they are mesmerised by whiteness...... they LOVE white !!
I will end here or this post will be too long, I could write so much more about Mindanao but maybe another time.
I hope you all had a great week end and are refreshed for this new week
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