Makati City, Philippines

[Tonchi]

So is Uganda

If you haven't noticed, I am a "cultural relativist". I believe strongly that all native peoples should be left alone by the rest of the world, and specially the misguided super-powers and their missionaries, so they can do what they do the way they have learned over millenia that they are best served. But that only goes as far as the point where one of them comes after ME, or somebody I care about. At that point, I will majorly kick their ass so that I can escape and get as far away as possible. That's the way I feel about the Philippines right now. I can neither fix anything there or convince the people that there is anything THEY might do to prevent the misery and ignorance which they accept as normal. Nor is it my right or duty to do so. As soon as we get Luisa out of there, that whole place can get on with their self-destruction and they won't hear another word from me.

[Elspode]

sarcasm We can leave 'em all alone, as soon as they've accepted Jesus as their personal savior, or died in the effort. /sarcasm

[slang]

I'm sorry for your troubles there in manila tonchi. Life for me is certainly different.

Best wishes to both of you.

[sarcasm] but things might be easier if you accepted Jesus as your personal saviour [/sarcasm]

I have more photos from La Union but not prepped for posting.


More later.

[Perry Winkle]

I just went back and looked at all the pics from this thread. It makes me wonder what in gods' name made me decide to visit central Europe in WINTER instead of somewhere warm like the Phillipines.

Gin and orange soda are one of life's great pleasure. It's good to know that it's also a world-wide sentiment.

[Tonchi]

Originally Posted by slang

I'm sorry for your troubles there in manila tonchi. Life for me is certainly different.

You bet it is. And the best part for you is, YOU are going to walk away from it. Gates do not slam in the American faces. You have that all-precious visa and a bank account so you are GOD. They will worship you, be delighted with anything you say or do and fall all over themselves to provide anything that will please you. That is the #1 fact of life in the Orient. For as long as you have more money than those around you, you will be able to glide over the heads submerged in the cesspool. But the minute nature takes its course and the events around you succeed in removing the money from your wallet and absorbing it into the surrounding environment, Life would be VERY different for you indeed. You'll never have to find out, though, how nobody over 30 is allowed to even apply for a job in the Philippines, because you do not HAVE to work there. You have everything all set and secure and your plane reservations confirmed, your escape is guaranteed.

None of my business of course, but how many Filipinos have already been working on you to get them a visa to get out? By the "cultural norms" I'm familiar with, every member of her family will now consider you their "ticket"

[zippyt]

Jeasus Fucking Christ !!!!

Tonchi, If you hate the fucking place SOOOOOO God Damn bad , then FUCKING LEAVE Any way you have to , legal or illegal !!! And take ANY body else that you feel you have to with you !!!!!!!
But i get the feeling that Any where you go you would be missrible ,
pissed off that there is NO gold in the streets for you to pick up !!!

Slang is trying to have an adventure !!!!

He seems to be experencing the difference in the cultures quite WELL if you ask me .

Third world countrys can SUCK , we GET IT !!!!!!!!


Just my 2 cents .

[wolf]

I think that Tonchi's focus is on getting Luisa to leave.

[Tonchi]

Zip, you have not been reading this in any other sense than a WHITE sahib who likes/liked to go to the "exotic" Orient, where by means of your money (and to no small extent your maleness) you fondly remember how you could stay drunk and lazy and dirty and nobody cared, and where women would wait on you or sleep with you without the hang-ups of the civilized world. In other words, the Shore Leave mentality. Well good for you and all your male acquaintances, because you were contributing to the Third World economy in one of the few ways they have one. And like I have said, you make the mistake of thinking that because Orientals smile and bow that means they respect you or are enjoying your company. You are drunk and on "an adventure" or just trying to block out the way your life is elsewhere, so it pleases you to think that because the women are so friendly and easy that means you are a really cool dude, life is good, and these kind of women adore you. King for a Day. King for a DOLLAR.

I'm talking about YOU now, not Slang. Although I don't believe he is telling us everything he is seeing or doing because he can't, Slang is on a mission, he has a job to do which he chooses to make into a series of adventures. I admire him for that, he obviously does it well. But YOU, my dear, have chosen to attack me on a personal level because I do not swoon over the Sailor in Paradise fantasy. Well, you have already told us elsewhere what your life was like in "those days" and also what the extent of your substance abuse was. I did not attack you for that, nor make personal slurs nor tell you to get a life. I did not curse at you or make assumptions about your personality or background. So knock it off, OK? Illusions are a way of life and an industry in the Orient. The Sailor in Paradise fantasy is just that - a fantasy. Glad you enjoyed your fantasy, you were supposed to, but you could just as easily have ended up rolled in some alley depending on the opportunity you gave somebody.

I have no illusions about these fantasies, because I am too well aware of their cost. My best friend could have been sold as a bar girl in Manila, her aunt got a very good offer for her. After all, what else can you do with a worthless girl when nobody is around to marry her and you would rather save the money it takes to feed her? You see, WOMEN are not allowed to have "adventures", in NONE of the places Slang has told us about. They are only permitted, culturally and legally, to have "profitable acquaintenances" and if they don't turn out profitable the woman is labled a whore - even to her face on the street - and that definitely limits her chances in the future. No, I never lived in the Philippines, something else you missed in translation, and for very good reasons I never intend to visit it. Why would I want to? I will not be going to India, San Salvador, or Africa either. That is called smart, not prejudiced. People who DO live there are giving even their lives to get out, "any way you have to, legal or illegal". And one way or another I WILL get my friend of 8 years out of that place. Like everything else in the Third World, all it requires is money and time.

And please don't make any further assumptions about whether I would not be happy anywhere, because you don't have a clue about all the places I have lived and worked and studied and the hundreds of people from countries all around the world who I am in touch with because of my job as a monitor elsewhere. If any of those places HAD been mentioned here I would have been glad to tell you about them. I'll even start a thread about FRESNO, at least I have some great memories of how it was in the '70s.

[zippyt]

Point taken , I appoligize for my ASSumptions , I was out of line .

Best of luck getting your friend out and safe .

[slang]

I'm drunk off my ass again......


Just thojhght that I';d check in ....


Merry Christmass to all ......

[slang]

Originally Posted by grant

I just went back and looked at all the pics from this thread. It makes me wonder what in gods' name made me decide to visit central Europe in WINTER instead of somewhere warm like the Phillipines.

Gin and orange soda are one of life's great pleasure. It's good to know that it's also a world-wide sentiment.

Dont decide on another vacation without us talking about whether or not you might like visiting the Philippines.

I could help you stay safe, sound, entertained and drunk (if that is your desire) with all the good contacts that I've made here.

This has been a very good trip for me. The people here are very good....and many understand English enough to be very, very funny.

I will surely be back. Hopefully you would seriously consider visiting too.

[slang]

Originally Posted by Tonchi

None of my business of course, but how many Filipinos have already been working on you to get them a visa to get out? By the "cultural norms" I'm familiar with, every member of her family will now consider you their "ticket"

This is a fair question and deserves a reply, though I'm truly sorry that you are so unhappy here.

From the first moment I meet everyone here I make it chrystal clear that I am " a very very small man in the US", without wealth or influence. This is believable not only because it's completely true but also because it's obvious.

What American would ride a Jeepny or a tricycle that's rich and famous in the US? What American would stay in a hotel without hot water if he were truly rich or looking to be "God"?

It's bordering on insulting that people would even assume that I'm here to give Filipinos crap for their having been born in a third world country and that somehow I'm just here to have my ass licked becuase I have a handful of pesos.

From the beggining of this trip and my trip to Pak it has been my goal to make contacts, friends and to open the possibility of doing some kind of business in the growing Asia.

I make it clear that no one is coming back home with me and that I dont have power, money or influence to get someone a visa. Period.

What I might be able to do though, that would be mutually beneficial to me and the locals is to look for small business opportunities that we might be able to work at through the net.

This is not a small job though, as I am reasonably good at designing things but completely suck at business.

There are people here that I believe would be able to help me with my "fantasy project" of making computer animations. There isnt time for me to put into doing all that's required to make them.

Many of the locals here though, have all the time and skill to do such things without the money to buy the software to do that specific work.

There are still many details to be worked out and I honestly dont know if this project will ever be a reality but it seems most logical that non- americans would appreciate having regular work (making computer models), be completely satisfied, even grateful for small wages as opposed to none, and be willing to grow a small production company with me over time into something great.

That's my mission.

It's working with the trends of today. Asia is emerging. The US is in decline.That doesnt mean that I'm going to sit back and bitch and moan that there is no longer opportunity in this world....just that it looks different now and there are different challenges.

(steps off soapbox )

[Tonchi]

Slang, I always thought of you as a knight in shining armor and admired the fact that you even TRY to learn about other countries and cultures. Most Americans have a sense of cultural and personal superiority when they are abroad that is truly depressing, as well as dangerous. You have been able to do in person what I can only do on the internet. I never doubt your sincerity and good will, I just have been wondering why you couldn't see the obvious in the place where you are now.

Yes, Asia is emerging, but the Philippines is sinking. Education as you know it does not exist, English is no longer taught in the schools, grades are purchased, there are no textbooks. Anybody with true abilities or experience has left the country. "Business" is defined as what the rich do to siphon off all the money and opportunities. Software like we get everywhere is not purchased in the Phils, they get counterfeited copies from China. People who are graduated (or buy a diploma) in computer/software subjects can't pass even the simplest qualifying exams and are never considered for positions which Korean, Chinese, or Singapore nationals so completely outclass them for. If you are 30 or older, no company may hire you and training institutes will not accept your application. Multinational companies will not keep branches in the Phils anymore because they can't get educated and reliable employees and the taxes and extortion and kidnappings have driven them to safer countries. The taxes were just raised again by 15% and a plebecite is scheduled for next year which is expected to further consolidate the power of the government against the people.

The Filipino people are NOT stupid, they are not inferior, it's the country which has the problem. People have to start their own businesses because there are no jobs, and they have endless imagination as to extracting gain from any situation, any object, any person. It is deeply ingrained in the Oriental cultures, quick wits and quick hands. They live in an impossible situation and they make the best of it in any way they can. Unfortunately, too many of them accept deception, counterfeiting, cheating, and using other people as part of these necessities of life. They are also torn between being grateful for assistance and being suspicious of the motives of the assistor. In other words, they don't know if they should use you or avoid you when you try to "help" them. I have seen both of these faces in my dealings with this group of people.

I wish you luck, Slang. Your heart is in the right place. Just one more word of caution: Don't simply write a check. Accountancy does not exist there, and money evaporates into the pockets of every person in the extended family because what you would consider a whim is considered an "emergency" to them.

[slang]

Originally Posted by Tonchi

Just one more word of caution: Don't simply write a check. Accountancy does not exist there, and money evaporates into the pockets of every person in the extended family because what you would consider a whim is considered an "emergency" to them.

Thank you, but a young man from Pakistan has already taught me that lesson. I'm sure there are some good teachers of that class here in the Philippines but I took that class last year. Passed with flying dollars too.

I'm going back soon and may not be online for a few weeks. I'll have about 5 million more photos and movie clips that will be posted on my own site for people to see the wonder and excitement of the Philippines.

[slang]

trip officially complete and I'm back home in the US (and exhausted from the flight).