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Changing the world...one day at a time....
I too, can relate to a lot of the feelings expressed in this thread.
Having spent the majority of my adult life working abroad(marine seismic navigator), in mostly Asian countries, for some strange reason I don't feel "at home" unless I'm in Asia. I genuinely do feel alone and isolated in Australia.
My wife is also Filipina, born and raised in the Panglao island area. Julia was married to a senior police commander who lost his life in the conflict in Mindanao, and she'd steeled herself for an uncertain future, raising 4 kids with no assistance. Times were tough for her and the kids, as you can well imagine, so perhaps it was divine intervention which took a hand in our collective fates.
It was simply by chance that we even met, likewise on the internet, as was Rick's experience, for Julia had only connected the "net" to aid her 4 children in their studies, and was not adept at using it herself.
A girlfriend of Julia's, Rose, was using Yahoo "chat" one evening, and teaching Julia how to use the PC and somehow we crossed paths. We can't even remember how this happened, but it did. Basically we met and instantly an "interest" developed and we took it from there. We all look back and laugh about it now as it's quite "odd" the way in which we met.
We both had time on our hands, and found ourselves in daily contact, just talking about all sorts of things and generally passing time. Christmas was fast approaching back then, and I felt it sad that the kids were not accustomed to receiving "gifts" as such, due to economics, so I sent a little Christmas gift money over, in order to bring a little sunshine into an otherwise poverty stricken Xmas time. The look on their faces(webcam) meant a lot to me, and I cherish those memories.
I decided to visit, and in short time we met in person at Manila airport and made the journey to Julia's home in Marilao Bulacan, where I was greeted by a very curious assortment of people. Not many foreigners ever venture into that neck of the woods, and while I may have been the only "white monkey" around, I felt right at home.
We found ourselves to be quite comfortable in each others company, and a few weeks later when the next door neighbour mentioned he wished to sell his home, I jumped right on it and purchased it on the spot. I then set about employing a local builder to remove the common wall between the 2 homes, and set about renovating them to make them more practical. I added a new refrigerator, water cooler and a few odds and ends.
The water "situation" was absolutely terrible, 4 hours of water in the early morning, 4 hours in the evening, and it was definitely not good water, it smelt and always had debris, and wasn't even suitable for cooking. I couldn't get a driller in there quick enough, to bore us a nice deep well(180 feet) of our own, and fitted a pump to keep our nice fresh water supply running whenever we wanted it. Now all the neighbours flock to our home for their water.
Last year, I was over there 4 times, Julia was here once, and this year, we've been focusing on adding a few more things here and there, renovating a bit more, and generally working at making life a bit more comfortable. We have 3 motorbikes now, and the home is beginning to "look" and feel much nicer than what we began with. The kids are all rewarding us with good solid grades, and they're always smiling and laughing. Nobody can deny that the spirit of these people is remarkable, even when the chips are down. I like this spirit. I yearn for it. When I'm away from it, I feel a loss.
I've paid for the kids to have swimming lessons, as it alarmed me when on an outing to a swimming hole(we regularly tour), the 2 girls got into difficulties as they'd never been taught to swim. I sorted that out right away.
Where is Julia now? She's right here with me(Australia), in the dining room, pottering around, as she always does, probably ironing or doing some other menial task that you can't stop her from doing. Sadly she goes back to the Philippines tomorrow morning, and we'll be physically apart again. We are fortunate in that we can stay in touch via the internet, we always have the webcams on and the mics turned on, so even while we're apart, we are still together, every day, and we wouldn' have it any other way at this point.
I've installed a new PC in our Marilao home, solely for our keeping in contact, and we leave the kids to their own devices with "their" PC.
Plans at this point are to keep moving forward, and I hope to be living over there full time within the next few months, if all goes well. We plan to open a small business, and just be together as much as we can. We're very happy and comfortable, it could be "love" people, we're no sure what it is, but it feels pretty good. Whatever it is, we like it!
While we've discussed the option of living on Panglao Island, I still like living in Marilao, away from the other "white monkeys". The kids aren't liking the idea of a rural existence either, so we'll see what transpires.
Happiness is often found in the most unlikely of places, and if actively sought, can often be elusive, so sometimes it's better to just let fate take the reins, and steer you wherever it may.
As long as your happy, who cares......
Apologies for the rant.
I too, can relate to a lot of the feelings expressed in this thread.
Having spent the majority of my adult life working abroad(marine seismic navigator), in mostly Asian countries, for some strange reason I don't feel "at home" unless I'm in Asia. I genuinely do feel alone and isolated in Australia.
My wife is also Filipina, born and raised in the Panglao island area. Julia was married to a senior police commander who lost his life in the conflict in Mindanao, and she'd steeled herself for an uncertain future, raising 4 kids with no assistance. Times were tough for her and the kids, as you can well imagine, so perhaps it was divine intervention which took a hand in our collective fates.
It was simply by chance that we even met, likewise on the internet, as was Rick's experience, for Julia had only connected the "net" to aid her 4 children in their studies, and was not adept at using it herself.
A girlfriend of Julia's, Rose, was using Yahoo "chat" one evening, and teaching Julia how to use the PC and somehow we crossed paths. We can't even remember how this happened, but it did. Basically we met and instantly an "interest" developed and we took it from there. We all look back and laugh about it now as it's quite "odd" the way in which we met.
We both had time on our hands, and found ourselves in daily contact, just talking about all sorts of things and generally passing time. Christmas was fast approaching back then, and I felt it sad that the kids were not accustomed to receiving "gifts" as such, due to economics, so I sent a little Christmas gift money over, in order to bring a little sunshine into an otherwise poverty stricken Xmas time. The look on their faces(webcam) meant a lot to me, and I cherish those memories.
I decided to visit, and in short time we met in person at Manila airport and made the journey to Julia's home in Marilao Bulacan, where I was greeted by a very curious assortment of people. Not many foreigners ever venture into that neck of the woods, and while I may have been the only "white monkey" around, I felt right at home.
We found ourselves to be quite comfortable in each others company, and a few weeks later when the next door neighbour mentioned he wished to sell his home, I jumped right on it and purchased it on the spot. I then set about employing a local builder to remove the common wall between the 2 homes, and set about renovating them to make them more practical. I added a new refrigerator, water cooler and a few odds and ends.
The water "situation" was absolutely terrible, 4 hours of water in the early morning, 4 hours in the evening, and it was definitely not good water, it smelt and always had debris, and wasn't even suitable for cooking. I couldn't get a driller in there quick enough, to bore us a nice deep well(180 feet) of our own, and fitted a pump to keep our nice fresh water supply running whenever we wanted it. Now all the neighbours flock to our home for their water.
Last year, I was over there 4 times, Julia was here once, and this year, we've been focusing on adding a few more things here and there, renovating a bit more, and generally working at making life a bit more comfortable. We have 3 motorbikes now, and the home is beginning to "look" and feel much nicer than what we began with. The kids are all rewarding us with good solid grades, and they're always smiling and laughing. Nobody can deny that the spirit of these people is remarkable, even when the chips are down. I like this spirit. I yearn for it. When I'm away from it, I feel a loss.
I've paid for the kids to have swimming lessons, as it alarmed me when on an outing to a swimming hole(we regularly tour), the 2 girls got into difficulties as they'd never been taught to swim. I sorted that out right away.
Where is Julia now? She's right here with me(Australia), in the dining room, pottering around, as she always does, probably ironing or doing some other menial task that you can't stop her from doing. Sadly she goes back to the Philippines tomorrow morning, and we'll be physically apart again. We are fortunate in that we can stay in touch via the internet, we always have the webcams on and the mics turned on, so even while we're apart, we are still together, every day, and we wouldn' have it any other way at this point.
I've installed a new PC in our Marilao home, solely for our keeping in contact, and we leave the kids to their own devices with "their" PC.
Plans at this point are to keep moving forward, and I hope to be living over there full time within the next few months, if all goes well. We plan to open a small business, and just be together as much as we can. We're very happy and comfortable, it could be "love" people, we're no sure what it is, but it feels pretty good. Whatever it is, we like it!
While we've discussed the option of living on Panglao Island, I still like living in Marilao, away from the other "white monkeys". The kids aren't liking the idea of a rural existence either, so we'll see what transpires.
Happiness is often found in the most unlikely of places, and if actively sought, can often be elusive, so sometimes it's better to just let fate take the reins, and steer you wherever it may.
As long as your happy, who cares......
Apologies for the rant.
, or 1 Year
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