The Communications Group is proud to offer business investment services for investors outside of the United States of America. This is an excellent opportunity to obtain ownership of an American corporation. Ownership tremendously increases your chances of obtaining a work visa. We will only work with 30 applicants in 2008. We will provide a turn key solution. Please contact Tyrone Reid at (347)424-3922 or at tygercom@yahoo.com.
On April 1, 2008, my wife and I have decided to celebrate our daughter Jasmine’s thirteenth birthday at One Hundred Islands in Pangasinan. It was truly an awesome experience. Just a couple of days before, we couldn’t figure out how to celebrate our daughter’s birthday. The initial plan was to throw a birthday party in our house or one of the nearby resorts. But we’ve been planning to go out of town since my arrival to the Philippines last month and, since Jasmine’s birthday was coming up soon, her mom and I asked her to make a decision whether she wanted to celebrate in town or at the beach. Her answer came quickly. The beach. So we packed the things we’ll need for a day at the beach. The question then became, which beach?
There are many beautiful beaches to choose from in Luzon (one of the major islands in the Philippines), all requiring at least two hours drive from where we live. Most people we knew have already been to Batangas, which has some of the most popular and well-traveled beaches in Southern Luzon. The reason we picked One Hundred Islands in Pangasinan is because we’ve never been there and have been told by many people that it is really beautiful and worth the drive. Without much more thought behind it, we’ve decided that One Hundred Islands was our destination–not really having a good idea how to get there and how long the trip will take.
We got up early on Jasmine’s birthday and my wife Rita got the birthday cake out of the refrigerator. We celebrated the candle blowing event at five-thirty in the morning so we wouldn’t miss that special part of Jasmine birthday celebration; plus, we didn’t want to have to carry the birthday cake around on the beach. Since it’s been a tradition for most Filipinos to go to church on the day of their birthdays, a catholic mass at six ‘o’ clock in the morning seemed like an appropriate thing to do, especially before we set out on our journey. Afterall, we’re going to need lots of blessing on this shortly-planned trip. By the time we hit NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) heading north, at seven in the morning, there were already lots of cars on the road. I’m glad we’ve decided to head north, instead of south towards Batangas, to avoid the rush hour traffic through Manila.
It was past noon when we reached the seaside town of Alaminos, Pangansinan and boarded the covered bangka (a motorized outrigger) that will take us to One Hundred Islands. The boat trip took about 25 minutes and the sky turned gray and threatened rain halfway out of Alaminos. Our first of two islands stop was Governor’s island, which has the highest point of the rest of the One Hundred Island chain (our boatman claimed he’d counted one hundred twenty-three islands). We climbed to the top and took in a panoramic view of our whole sorrounding. It was a breathtaking sight to view the other islands and the distant town of Alaminos.
After taking a few pictures, we headed back down the steep steps, got back into our bangka, and headed towards Quezon Island where we’re going to set up camp, because that’s where most of the tourist amenities (two covered pavillions, snack hut, restrooms, and a small bridge that connected to a nearby island) are located. Quezon Island also has a longer stretch of white sand beach on one side for swimming and shallower coral reefs on the other side for snorkeling than the other islands. We spent the rest of the afternoon (with the sky eventually clearing up) Quezon Island. We started back for Alaminos around five-thirty, based on our boatman’s advice, before it got too dark to navigate through the Hundred Islands channel. After having loaded our gear back on our SUV, showered and changed, and bought souveiners from nearby shops, we headed out of Alaminos for a long drive home.
We were already out of Alaminos when it occured to all of us that there’s still one thing we needed to do to make our daughter’s birthday celebration complete. She–and partly the rest of us because no one has eaten dinner yet–will have to eat pansit (a noodle dish) for long and happy life as a birthday celebrant, according to Filipino and Chinese customs. Since we were already too far away to return to Alaminos and Tarlac (another bigger town a couple of hours away), we couldn’t find any restaurants that were not already starting to close for the day and served pansit at the same time. Our hope of finding a that serves pansit open at this time in the evening looked gleamer and gleamer as we pass smaller towns. It looked like my daughter was going finish her birthday without having the traditional “birthday pansit”.
Our only chance now was to head for a bigger town of Tarlac, which was still a couple of hours away. By the time we got there at nine-thirty, most of the fast-food chains like Jollibee and Chowking were already closed. We could have headed straight home, but we drove around and looked for anyplace opened. With luck and longstanding blessing from the catholic mass we went to that morning, we found this cozy Chinese restaurant in downtown Tarlac. They were about to close, and we were the last customers to enter through their door.
We cut through the other appealing items on the menu and ordered pansit, fried rice, and sweet and sour fish fillet. Everyone made sure Jasmine got the first serving of her birthday pansit. We washed the wonderful meal down with an endless servings of hot green tea, rested for awhile, and got back on the road for the rests of the drive home. We pulled up to our driveway just a little after midnight, unloaded our gear, and went to bed. Jasmine’s birthday was a classic combination of impromtu planning, lots of luck and blessing, and of course, adventure, as my wife and I recounted the previous day’s experience the next morning. No one believed we did it all in just one day. I guess some things turn out great just by doing it, without putting too much thought behind it. I wonder where our next adventure (or mis-adventure) will be. Till next time….
Last Sunday marked a milestone for Philippine Voyager and Tyrone Reid’s business venture when writer Rob dela Cruz, Tyrone Reid’s business partner Marie B, and myself agreed to meet at Greenbelt mall in Makati for the first time. Along with my family and Marie’s daughters, we introduced ourselves to each other inside the Greenbelt chapel. It felt great to finally meet Rob, whom I had the honor of co-writing with on Philippine Voyager in the past few months and Marie B., whom I’ll be working with here in the Philippines, along with Tyrone Reid back in the United States.
Rob, Marie, my wife Rita, and myself continued our conversation in the nearby Seattle’s Best Coffee shop while my wife’s sister-in-law took the kids to the bookstore and the internet cafe. We talked about a lot of things: The future for Philippine Voyager, Tyrone Reid’s business venture, and our lives in the Philippines. Our talk was so enjoyable and meaningful that it lasted for almost two hours. We still continued to exhange ideas and experiences as we worked our way back to the chapel to pick up my wife’s sister-in-law and the kids. By the time we said goodbye and went our separate ways, we had a clearer idea of what we wanted to do. I couldn’t help but think about how well the meetup went when I drove back home that evening.
It was a pleasure to share with two very intelligent and hardworking professionals the same passion I have for the Philippines. This is probably why we all clicked immediately after we met. Even my wife Rita got carried away with the excitement in our talk that she’s now considering having Rob write about her experience of moving back to the Philippines on Philippine Voyager. And it doesn’t stop there. We have big plans for Philippine Voyager and Tyrone Reid’s business venture, as we continue to share our experiences of living and working in the Philippines. I’m certain Rob, Marie, Rita, felt the same way I did that Sunday afternoon. We’re on a beginning of something big; we’re on a mission to change the world’s negative views about the Philippines, and we’ll let everyone know just how great it is to live here. Till next time….
Two months ago, my brother in law, Rico, came home from the US to see his family here in the Philippines. Rico left for the US many years back leaving behind his five children after a drastic separation from his wife, Rachel (my sister). Rachel and her children heard only one thing about Rico since he left – he is living with another woman in the US.
Such a sad news about her husband made Rachel confused and worried not because she still loves Rico very much but because she did have any idea how this truth would affect the lives of her children. Rachel, a very loving wife and a very hardworking mother, still could not find the reasons why Rico had to leave her and their kids and worse, living with another woman. Though in pain, Rachel, did not dive in loneliness and anger. Instead, she started to carry on the duties of being both a father and a mother to her children. For many years, she worked harder – sending her five kids to school, providing them everything they need, and this, she did all alone. She struggled very hard to give her children the love they wanted despite the absence of their father. Rachel did not hide the truth about Rico from her children. She knew they had the right to know no matter how painful it is.
After many years of being away, Rico had the chance to see his children whom he left behind many years ago. My parents invited him for a dinner at home and we welcomed him with warmth and sincerity. Of course, my sister, Rachel was there. Rico was so astonished and was in tears when he saw his children who now are all grown up. The eldest, Jackie, is now a registered nurse. The second, Jennifer, plays volleyball for the country’s national and regional competition. The third, Janice, is presently having her career as an artist. The fourth, Jimboy, is now in his senior college and the youngest, Jay-R, is graduating from high school next year.
I had a chance to talk with Rico. He told us stories about his life in the US and honestly related his relation with another woman from that country. He sincerely told me how he regretted having left his children here in the Philippines and how he missed his marriage with Rachel. He humbly asked an apology from my parents for what he did, and what struck me the most was his gesture of embracing Rachel so tightly as though he would not want her to go. Rico kept on reminiscing about how wonderful her marriage with Rachel was. He confessed he had done something that had hurt Rachel so much. Although, he did not relate in details how his relation with another woman was doing, I felt pain and regrets in his words. I could still remember the words he told me “Iba talaga ang Pinay kung magmahal.” “Walang katulad si Rachel. Sayang lang talaga lahat. “ Though I felt he wanted to add more, I stopped myself from asking more questions and elaborate what he just said. I knew and I understood it. I saw him in tears again but he knows very well that these tears could not bring back the lost time and the lost love anymore.
After a month, Rico had to go back to the US. For whatever reasons he has, for whatever life he is living at the moment, only God knows. Rachel gave Rico what she thought was what he needed – forgiveness – for the infidelity and the broken dream of living together as one family.
The words Rico left still haunts Rachel, perhaps, in her heart, though she may not admit it, she still hopes to be with Rico again someday. Only time can really tell. For now, Rachel is happily living with her children. A true Filipina woman she is, Rachel has loved and lost and yet she still loves.
Philippine Voyager would like to extend its warm welcome to the newest member of our community, China. China has been a commentator on some of the previous articles featured on this site and a lot of what she said made sense. She has a very in-depth knowledge of human psychology and a variety of experiences drawn from her personal life. Her wish is to keep her true identity anonymous for personal reason, and I’ll respect and honor that request. I’ve chosen the symbol of the Ying and the Yang to represent China, because her attitude in life reflects the balance that she–and the rest of us–are striving to find in this world in order to become happy. I’m certain everyone here on Philippine Voyager will anticipate China’s future articles. So, without further ado, Welcome Aboard, China. Till next time….
I’m pleased to announce the Grand Opening of our operations in the Philippines. It was an amazing process which only took six months to launch. Julius and I initially came up with our concept and game plan in November 2007. We’ve hired high quality personnel and will continue to look for more talented individuals. Julius Bantigue will set up and oversee the “Asian Operations” and Marie B. has been named “Vice President of Marketing Asia”. I’m very fortunate to have such wonderful leaders to work with for the continued growth of TheMusicSyndicate.com, Inc and The Communications Group, Inc. Our goal in bridging the Eastern and Western Societies for business and personnel development is well on it’s way. For more information feel free to call me at (347)424-3922 or tygercom@yahoo.com.
Jeremiah graduated from high school last weekend, and it was both a happy and sad occasion for him. He’s happy because he’s now finished with this phase in his life and ready to move on to other dreams and goals. He’s sad because he’ll no longer be going to the same school and see the same people he’d known in the last three school years in the Philippines. Whatever it was Jeremiah felt on graduation night, I’m quite sure he’d experienced mixed emotions. He told me the next morning that he was unable to sleep—mainly because of what he was feeling during and after the graduation ceremony, and the numerous text messages that were coming in and out of his cellphones from him and his classmates, who also experienced similar emotions. I’m glad my son went through this memorable moment in his life. It’s all part of growing up.
I just wished my my wife and I would’ve brought the children to the Philippines sooner than we had almost three years ago, so that Jeremiah would’ve gotten a chance to develop much earlier and longer friendships with his classmates. Some of Jeremiah’s classmates have been together since preschool and elementary, and I can’t even begin to fathom what his classmates, who had known each other all of those years, must be feeling their last day together as classmates and friends. This is the part Jeremiah didn’t have a chance to experience, not having spent his early school years in the Philippines. Whether or not he has any regret, I’ll never know. The only consolation I can suggest to Jeremiah now is to look forward to college, where he’ll be able to meet more people and develop lasting friendships.
My wife and I wouldn’t have change a thing on our decision to raise our children here in the Philippines. I’ve always been a firm believer that one important element of the overall education of our children is to have a positive academic experience. Living in the Philippines has provided that academic enrichment I wanted my children to have. I found out when I arrived in the Philippines on March 5, that my youngest son Jericho, who started his formal preschool training at the age of three and half, will also be graduating on the same day. He’ll only be in the first grade next school year and he already knows how to read, write, and solve basic math problems well. The core discipline of Jericho’ academic skills were already being honed in even at a very young age. On a separate ceremony on the morning of Jeremiah’s graduation day, Jericho and his classmates walked down the aisle and up the stage, in their cap and gown, to receive their pre-school diploma. The experience of having a preschooler graduate in a cap of gown was all new to me and, as a parent and former educator, I couldn’t be more proud of my children’s accomplishments. It makes me feel good to know that education is always given a top priority in the Philippines.
The other important element of our children’s educational experience that we wouldn’t have been able to teach them by living in another culture–regardles of how hard we try– is to have them learn their Filipino culture first hand. No matter how much of our Filipino culture we’ve tried to instill in our children at home while living in another culture, is easily overtaken by the more influential pop culture. Some of my friends in the United States used to ask me: “why is it so important that your children learn their Filipino culture?. There are lots of things wrong with the Filipino culture. Why don’t you just teach them the good and leave out the bad?” I agree that there are many things wrong with the Filipino culture; but, it’s still our–and my children’s–culture. Wherever my children go in this world, their awareness–or lack of– their Filipino culture will either help define who they are or haunt them for the rest of their life.
We never have to worry about not giving our children a wholesome educational experience by living in the Philippines. My wife and I have provided our children with invaluable academic and cultural experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten as a whole by living in another culture. The other positive side that I didn’t mention is that educating our children in the Philippines is affordable, too. As parents, we had to make drastic life changes in order to make this dream a reality. In the end, it’s all worth it because we’re doing it for our children. I’m certain that our children be grateful to their parents someday for what we’ve done for them. The only thing I’d ask of my children for their gratitude is they do the same thing for their own children so that the legacy I’ve started will continue. I hope I’m still alive to see my dream come true someday for my children’s children, too. Till next time….
Another blissful experience of being back in the Philippines. The last time I was here was back in January. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been away for two months, but I have. After making and saving enough money to live on for the next month or so, I’ve decided it’s time to go back home. The question on when I’ll be coming back to the Philippines is the thought that’s constantly on my mind while I’m in the United States. I supposed I’m just too much of a romantic and adventurous fool, who long and actually live the life that most people would pay lots of money for and spend only a short amount of time on when they go on their vacations, especially after working long and hard most of their working life. Or maybe the kind of life I lead now is something that they hope to live someday when they retire. The choices we make in our life determines our happiness, but only a few people actually get there because they get caught up in trying to make a living.
Life just keep getting better for me and my family in the Philippines since our move here two years ago. First, we’ve now finished renovating our home that is now both roomier and comfortable. I’ve never imagined before just how much of a difference the renovation had on everyone’s attitude in our household. Second, we’ve gotten rid of our aging family van and replaced it with another more reliable vehicle. Third, my oldest son Jeremiah will be graduating from high school this week, and will be starting college in June. I wish him the best on his dreams and goals in life. Finally, in less than a weeks, Rob dela Cruz, a co-writer and a friend on Philippine Voyager, will be coming back to the Philippines to live. It’ll be a great homecoming for him after five years of being away. We’re both looking forward to a meetup, after he settles in, so we can talk about the future of Philippine Voyager.
“My life is so relaxing in the Philippines,” is what I always tell my friends and relatives back in the United States. The Philippines is a place where you can let your hair down–so to speak–and lose your identity just to be yourself. In fact, you can be anyone you wanted to become, as long as you do it safely and without harming others and yourself. There are no hangups, minimal stress, as you go through your day-to-day living. For many hardworking and stressed out people I run into everyday in the United States, they couldn’t picture themselves doing what I do. That is I gave up a successful career as a schoolteacher and a chance at a “normal life”, so I can just sit around and do nothing. Well, I’d like to set the record straight. No one just sits around and do nothing in the Philippines, although there are plenty of occassions for doing nothing at one’s own choosing. You still do things to improve your life in the Philippines, but we just don’t seem to be in any hurry to do it, as long as it gets done and we enjoy going through the process. Hmmm….I guess Rob’s “In Defense Of Filipino Time” article has lots of relative truth to it when he alluded that a person can still get something accomplished, without having to hurry to get it done. Somehow it makes living that much more fun and relaxing.
But for people who are constantly on the move, this kind of life may not be for them. As I had mentioned on my previous article, all of us have been conditioned to constantly improve our economic status in life since childhood. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this idea. However, where a person goes wrong is when he or she takes the idea to the extreme, where it negatively affects other aspects of life. This is very unfortunate because life is too short to spend most of it in unhappy and stressful situations. It’s been said that most people will spend most of their life in their jobs and among co-workers than with their own family. And whatever time they spend with their family is usuallly not quality time but chore time, like taking care of the personal side of day-to-day living. So this means there is not a lot of time left to spend doing what we really enjoy doing as individuals or with our family.
The only solution I can think of to alleviate this situation is to take a serious inventory of our life. I don’t mean to try to evaluate your economic status in the past, present, and future, and how you can offset it to match what the Smith’s and Joneses have. Far from it. What I’m talking about is to evaluate the quality of your life in terms of what would really make you happy and relaxed, which is what our ultimate goals really are. The popular belief is, if we work hard and make lots of money, we can afford the things that’ll make us happy. Whatever else that is in-between are just stepping stones to get there, so we put our life on hold until we get to where we want to be. I’m afraid this is delusion in its purest form, for it makes a person supresses real living. But if you’re not willing to wait that long to make yourself happy and relaxed, then you need to make gradual but drastic changes in your life. The changes may not happen overnight; but realizing the problem, taking life inventory of what you have and don’t have, writing down the possible solutions, and making a commitment to actively pursue the state of being happy and relaxed is a start. That’s what I did and, almost three years later, my life is still a bliss in the Philippines. Till next time….
This will be an exciting trip for me on March 4. My oldest son Jeremiah will be graduating from high school. This is probably one of the proudest moments for parents, to see their child graduate from high school. Of course there’ll be a ceremony, a celebration, and a long discussion about Jeremiah’s future. For now, all plans are tentative. Jeremiah is planning to study Nursing and we’ll have to decide which school he’ll be attending. This is something Jeremiah, his mother, and I will be discussing after the excitement of his graduation settles down. One thing is for certain, he wants to go to college in the Philippines where he feels right at home. Till next time….
I’ve always been fascinated about what makes people do what they do, and the idea of discovering the reasons why Filipinos will not go back to live in the Philippines has always been a topic that I’m passionate about. There is no statistical record to prove or disprove what I’ve already confirmed to myself, but it’s still worthwhile to bring to mind this sensitive topic that Filipinos worldwide have been trying to avoid or deny for years. As Philippine Voyager columnist Rob dela Cruz succinctly pointed out, the idea of moving back to the Philippines goes against or “breaks the conventional wisdom” of Filipinos who live in more developed countries.
Filipinos are very practical people.They have been conditioned since childhood to keep moving forward—not backwards; to improve their economic status—not deteriorate it; and to prevent their children from experiencing the same hardships they’ve experienced or witnessed growing up in the Philippines—not to relive it. But what is the price Filipinos in more developed countries pay for this improvement in their living condition? After many years of personal contemplations and inteviews with hundreds of Filipino expats worldwide, I’ve finally narrowed it down to two things. The cost of endless and practical pursuit of material wealth in more developed countries have caused Filipinos to lose their emotional ties with their homeland and deprived their future generations of becoming intimate with their own Filipino culture.
Each time I ask Filipino expats why they chose not to go back and live in the Philippines, I’m met with the usual responses: “I have everything I need in in this country; why should I go back?” Or it could be as banal as, “the opportunities are in this country; there is no opportunities in the Philippines?” Some of Rob dela Cruz’s friends and acquiantances even went as far as saying that if they moved back to the Philippines they’ll experience nothing but hardship and starvation–which is more of a speculation than a reality. No one really starves in the Philippines, including the genuinely poor. They somehow managed to get by, even with their meager means.
What’s discouraging is most of these negative comments came from Filipino expats who took advantage of the financial opportunities in their adopted countries when they were young. They’ve worked and managed to build healthy retirement portfolios, compared to most Filipinos in the Philippines who didn’t have such opportunities. Yet these Filipino expats still feel they don’t have enough to live on if they were to move back to the Philippines, and that their money will run out or be pilferred away by their relatives or racketeers who’ll single them out because they’re citizens of more prosperous countries. I believe that Filipino expats are just using these excuses to justify their reason for not going home because they don’t want to leave behind their lifestyles and material accumulations.
What these Filipino expats are not aware of is their Filipino counterparts in the Philippines continues to enjoy their life well into their golden years by living there. Their social roles will never be limited no matter where they go, in spite of their age and race. They’ll continue to receive recognition, respect, and remain an active part of their community, even if their contemporaries are dying around them due to old age. They will continue to flourish by making new friends and acquantances from generations of young and the old. And they’ll also continue to remain a vital part of their family tree, instead of being cast aside and forgotten, like millions of senior citizens in more developed countries.
And when age and illnesses catches up and they’re no longer able to take care of themselves, they’ll not be sent off to a nursing home to be cared for by strangers. Instead, they’ll be taken care of at home by loved ones until the day they die. I’ve personally witnessed the life and death experiences of older Filipinos in the Philippines on numerous ocassions by living there. There’s no questions in my mind where I would be spending my life when I’m old.
The other price that Filipino expats pay for not going back is the deprivation of their decendants’ cultural identity. Filipino expats in a more developed countries all have admirable intention for being good providers to their family. Filipino expats are willing to work hard to ensure their children’s future so they’ll become a productive part of a very competitive world. However, there is one area in their children’s overall makeup that Filipino expats failed to see and nurture, which is just as important than other aspects of their lives—the way they should see themselves as a culturally-grounded Filipino to the rest of the world.
Filipino expats’ pragmatic way of thinking has compelled them to put a price tag on everything they do, including where they put their money when it comes to their children’s future. They’re completely sold on the idea that if they provide food, shelther, clothing, a good education, and a positive social experience for their children, that they’re doing their job. I have to disagree. The overall education of their children is not just limited to a positive academic and social experience. Their children also need to be educated on their cultural identity because it’s one of the basic foundation on how they’ll see themselves as Filipinos. And this is not something that can just be learned at home or in ocassional Filipino social events. This cultural education is something that Filipino expats have to allow their children to experience first hand.
Having grown up in America, I’ve seen countless numbers of culturally-deprived children among post first generation Filipino children. These children are “divided between a rock and a hard place” when it comes to knowing and being proud who they are. A part of them could not relate to their parent’s Filipino ways and the other part didn’t feel completely accepted as Americans because of the way they look. This is why I came up with the term, Cultural Identity Crisis, because this is the dilemma that every post first generation children experience growing up in their parent’s adopted country. These children never developed an intimacy with their Filipino culture. Post first generation Filipino children’s cultural education is just as important as their acadamic education, and it should be provided for by their parents because they could not get it on their own in their parent’s adopted countries.
These are heavy prices to pay someday for closing the doors of our heart and mind by not going back home and try to rekindle the spirit of our Filipino culture. Most of us willl have to face the prospect of growing old someday. Do we want to spend the remainder of our life financially secured, but lonely and unhappy? Or do we want to spend it with the feelings of belonging and happiness? What’s even worse is if we don’t pass down our culture to our children, by investing our time and money to take them to the Philippines regularly, they–and their children—will be forever lost in the sea of people who are lacking in cultural identity.
As a parent, perhaps having my children lose their Filipino culture may or may not affect their mental and emotional well-being. However, I’m not willing to take that chance. That’s why my wife and I have decided to move and raise our children in the Philippines two years ago. Today, I can honestly say that not only are my children’s material needs are provided for, they have become intimately aware and proud of knowing their Filipino culture. I stopped taking the practical approach of endlessly pursuing material gains. Instead, I broke free of the “conventional wisdom”, and counted all of my blessings. I couldn’t be more happier. Sometimes, the impractical things we do in life do bring us much more happiness and peace of mind in the end. Till next time….
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