Chilling in the Philippines--4 weeks in!

September 25, 2013

Ok... Time to fire back up the blog.  We have been here 4 weeks now. Although I have posted some day to day musings on Facebook and twitter, I thought it would be good to give an overview on here.  If anyone has specific questions on things I may not have covered, feel free to ask. I will respond and cover them in future blogs.

Flight--
Our flight was broken up in 3 segments. DSM to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Tokyo and Tokyo to Manila. The first one was a bumpy, cramped ride. In minneapolis the train was broken so we had to go all the way to the other side of the airport by foot.  I was having flashbacks to a scramble Paxton bennett and I had to do there back in 05.  At least this time, we had a couple hours.  The flight to Tokyo was 12 hours-- smooth flight-- We were served a couple meals. I watched The movie 42 about Jackie Robinson (it was good, although not much new information) and then the first 3 die hards. Next thing ya know, we are in Tokyo!
We had a 45 minute layover in tokyo and had to go through full security. We did not get much time to see anything. Then it was on board for a 4 hour trip to Manila.  Vince rode with us the whole time.  He was really good for the most part being his first time flying and he had to hold it for almost a day.  We left Des moines at 1 pm Monday and got into Manila at 11PM Tuesday. That was weird.

Time difference--
13 hours ahead of CST.  So its like 1130 Wednesday morning here as I write. back home its 1030 Tuesday night.

Eastwood City--
We Live in a planned subdivision of Quezon City. Quezon City is part of what is called Metro manila. Quezon City has a population of 3 million of the approximate 13 million in Metro Manila. This is the most densely populated place in the world. People are everywhere. all times of day. Eastwood City is kind of like a West Glen in West Des Moines... Only 10 times more people in half the space. instead of 3 story buildings, there are 30 story buildings.  Our Building, Eastwood Park Residences, is right above Eastwood mall.  Eastwood mall isn't huge-- but has 4 levels... Maybe 50 shops total.  There are other off chutes of the mall with other shops and restaurants. There are metal detectors and armed guards at every entrance. Prices here are similar to prices in iowa.  The further into Manila we go, the less expensive things are.

Condo--
Our condo is 2 bedroom, 2 and a half bath. Its fairly small. about 750 square feet Id guess. but its home. Vinny likes it. We are on 7th floor.  5th floor has a walking are for Vin and the pool and workout area. I havent been able to try the pool yet as it has rained 23 straight days.  The staff here is great, but speak limited English, and that has been a challenge.

Language barriers--
Suzy had told me before we left that most all people spoke English and people could use dollars as payment.  Based on that I didn't study my Tagalog too hard.  I should have. Very few people speak English outside of "GOOD MORNING, SIRRRR" Dollars are not accepted. Everything is in Philippine Pesos. I am trying to get out as much as possible to interact and try to pick up on things.

Banks--
Checking accounts take 6 months to set up. Savings accounts are easy.  However, I cannot take a check from the US and deposit it into a Philippine account. That is a separate type of account. There are tons of rules and everything is still old school. paper work on everything. nothing electronic really. Guards at the bank we go to let you in then lock the door behind.

Restaurants--
Plenty of good eating, unless one is wanting real American food.  Nothing close to a Jethro's here.  Some places that are close to an American feel like Johnny Rocketts are WAY expensive. About 10 bucks for a burger and fries.  They do dance often at Johnny Rocketts and play a great sel;ection of 70s and 80s songs so I do like walking by there.  McDonald's has a few options.  They offer McDelivery. They use the metric system here, but still offer the quarter pounder with cheese.  They also offer fries called the Mcshaker fries. Basically, your fries come ina bag and they give you a powdered cheese thats like what you use for mac and cheese to pour on top and shake.  They also have sour cream and chive flavor.  There is fried chicken called the McDo. it comes with rice or spaghetti.  At other restaurants-- there is a huge rush to get your order. They get that in, and then getting service after food arrives is almost non existent. It is very hard to get attention from servers even to get a check to pay the bill. That is weird not having someone saying "how is your meal?"  The Friday's here is one exception.

Food markets--
On Thursday and Friday nights there is a food vendor area set up in the courtyard. Grilled squid and chicken intestines is as crazy as Ive gotten so far.  There is a dude who yells "U.S. Roast Beeeeeef. U.S. Turkeyyyyyyyyy"  and maybe I will try that someday, just trying to be more adventurous.

Shoes and clothes--
It is tough being a bigger guy with big feet. The largest shoe size is 10 or so for guys around here. Clothing? Ha... havent found a waist size over 36.

Taxis--
Taxis are an adventure-- some speak English, most are limited. The cost isn't too bad, the cost equivalent is like 4 bucks for about a 15 or 20 minute ride.  Traffic is an issue, and gets worse when it rains... which right now is often

Weather--
This is the rainy season. There is rain daily which ranges from drizzle to tropical storm style downpours.  We have another month or so of this before things start drying out for a few months.  January and February there is literally no rain. Looking forward to that.

Jobs--
Suzy was able to start less than a week after getting here. We are still working on my visa to get my job situation going.  I am working with Wells Fargo Solutions here to get squared away but the process takes time and the pace of life is much slower here.  Suzy is working nights and I sure hope to also get on at night so I will actually see her.

TV--
We get 80 channels on cable. There are about 20 that apply.  The mainstays for us is Bio, History, and Crime and investigation. There is also HBO and NBATV but not a lot else-- cnn and fox news do keep us in tune with US news. The New "seasons" of shows like Duck Dynasty are actually shows from last year.  The schedule seems to run 6 months behind.  I did see that the new Survivor was on Sunday here so I am looking forward to at least watching that. American Pickers is just called "The Pickers" but its nice to see familiar faces.  Its only like 12 buck U.S. for monthly service so that isnt bad.

Phone and internet--
Landline and DSL is approximately $40 U.S. and is limited to 15GB of usage monthly.  Cell phones were an adventure. We bought a phone each and then had to get a pre paid Sim card as the Cell service company wants 2 months residency at a minimum. so all of that is temporary.  My cell service is unlimited for people with the same company but since I know no one else-- that is moot.

What Ive learned so far--
Patience. the pace here, although bustling, is slow. People are not in a hurry.  I have to get used to that. In America, it becomes customary to demand get things quickly. Not the case here. People are friendly, but quite shy. not too many want to open up.  At times being away from home has been depressing. it is quite a change. On the other hand-- I have to remember that I am in the middle of an area where people eek out an existence trying to make a few pesos before sleeping under an overpass. Life is still good and its important to give thanks.  I wouldn't trade this experience for anything and it will make me a much stronger person.

More to come-- especially details of day to day here in the big city-- questions? let me know!

Chuck