Retirement Bliss

Photo courtesy of pra.gov.ph

We’re all working incessantly to enjoy 'now' and to prepare for the future. Our golden age is supposed to be a time for reaping the rewards of our hard work.  I was asked a couple of times where I want to retire…guys,  I just turned a year wiser but do I really look 65?

Come to think of it, I haven’t really thought about it at this point in time but I am sure, this place will be sunny, filled with friendly people and close to nature and recreation. I don’t envision being a hermit and be secluded from everyone. I need the vibe.

Our country has a program called “Smile at Life in the Philippines” being managed by the Philippine Retirement Authority.  This is an invitation to our former Filipino citizens and foreign nationals alike to make our country, their second home. Maybe, you’re thinking why you should retire in the Philippines? I challenge you, why not?

We are a tropical island. You can choose from our 1701 island paradise. We have the best healthcare professionals, they are  so in demand abroad. We speak  English, the universal language. Our being hospitable is known all over the world. We are a friendly bunch (even Starbucks barista asks your name when you order your coffee – talk about personal service!) Our telecommunications infrastructure is world class so you can communicate non-stop to your family and friends back home,  in fact Philippines is the text/sms capital of the world. Our literacy rate  is high. Unlike our neighboring countries, most of us graduated in our country because there’s really no need to study abroad since our standard of education is world class. Family is at the core of our society being a predominantly Catholic nation. Last but not the least, cost of living here is quite low. Your cents and dollars and yens and euros will have a better mileage.

If you really think about it, this retirement program is great because you can still do business here if you want. You can come in and out of the country as you wish. You don’t get taxed on your pension and annuities – your money is all yours, we don’t take it. You can purchase your own condominium and buy club membership – how about playing golf for 365 days?

What more can you ask for? Philippines, is truly a retirement paradise. 

Trivial Trivia.

Photo courtesy of laguna.net

I bet you guys love trivia as much as I do. So for those who are totally unfamiliar with the Philippines, I hope these bits of information will shed light  on our existence. Here it goes.

1.      1. Don’t ask us about distance. When asked how far one place is to another, say from northernmost part of Metro Manila to the south, our standard answer will be, ‘1.5 hours without traffic or 2.5 hours with traffic ‘.  If you press us to state it in kilometer or miles, we’ll give you a blank stare.

2. We  use both systems (metric and non-metric) when we measure things. Example: a fabric can be  4 yards or 4 meters. Coke is 1.5 liters while water can be measured in  gallons. When baking, 100 ml of vanilla powder or half cup of sugar .  Height is in inches while weight is in lbs.

3.  If other nations have  winter, spring, summer or fall, and neighboring countries have wet  and dry season, Philippines  has  2 seasons as well –  Christmas and after Christmas.  Christmas season starts as early as September, when the BER months commence (SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER).  In January after the Three Kings,  signals the beginning of the after Christmas season.

4. We have our own Einsteins and gifted children. Abelardo Aguilar,  Filipino scientist created the antibiotic erythromycin, the moon buggy inventor Eduardo San Juan.  Jose Rizal, our national hero can read and write at the age of 2 and he was known to speak 20 languages.

5. One out of 10 Filipinos are working abroad. That’s why you bump into us everywhere, even in Gaza Strip.

6. We’re a country of entertainers and understated global celebrities. Most five star hotels all over the world employ Filipino bands. What do the Britney Spears’ wedding gown designer (Monique Lhuiller), Jennifer Lopez’s make-up artist (Mally Roncal)  and Nick Lachey’s girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo have in common? You’re right, they’re all Filipinos.

7. The British invaders not the Americans introduced the English language in 1762. Philippines is the world’s 3^rd largest English-speaking nation next to the USA and the UK.

8. The Philippines is the biggest community of Catholics in Asia. The other one is  East Timor.

9. Our flora and fauna are very diverse. We have the smallest monkey called tarsier measuring 3-6 inches in length and  3-6 oz in weight. Of the 500 known coral species in the world, 488 can be found here as well as  7 out of 8 known giant clams.

10. Filipinos love shoes! Oh, I bet you already know that.

-r- 

King of the Road

Whenever I visit another country, I make it a point to try atleast one of its public transportations because I believe that it’s one of the ways that you can say that you’ve experienced the culture (aside from its food of course).  Where’s  the fun in touring another  country in taxi or hired vehicle? Come on, give yourself a break from boredom and the expected. 

Citizens of less developed nations would be amazed by Japan’s bullet trains, America’s trams, Europe’s metros, and the on schedule buses of Singapore. The favor should be returned in the spirit of fun. Try Thailand’s tuk tuk, Vietnam’s xe om, Indonesia’s busway,  Malaysia’s monorail and…our country’s JEEPNEY!  

In the mid – 1940’s post liberation, there was an abundance of surplus  war jeeps from the  US. Filipinos, being naturally imaginative and resilient  thought of creating a vehicle that would transport the public.

Decades later, the jeepney had evolved and you will definitely not miss their presence on the roads because the exterior body alone is heavily decorated – that’s pop culture public utility vehicles style folks!  Its loud personality is sometimes matched by the sound of its horn.  Majority of the jeepneys still use the usual ‘beep-beep’ but  a number of them are plying their routes with their attention grabbing sound.  If the exterior decoration amused you, wait until you get inside. Its interiors has a story to tell. You can pass time easily just by reading the smart aleck sayings  or looking at the cartoonish illustrations.

Photo sourced from the web.

The jeepneys are custom built. So if you have a design in mind, why don’t  you get in touch directly with the foremost manufacturers like Sarao or Francisco.

Oh… by the way, brace yourself for one hell of an amazing ride.

Photo courtesy of cgstock.com

-r-

The name game.

Was  initially toying with the idea of blogging the unique and most of the times funny nicknames of Filipinos but decided to deviate a bit  after I read this article. Matthew Sutherland’s essay is hilarious, I cannot top it. He is an expat from UK (though I’m really sure if he still resides in the country) and he wrote about his observation as a foreigner living in Manila. I suggest you read it and you’ll know what I mean.

Anyway, at first  I didn’t really find our nicknames funny until I got exposed to several cultures.  I reckon it’s perfectly normal to have a Dad nicknamed  “Boy”, a schoolmate  named “Agirl”, to call a friend “Boy Blue”. My neighbors have perfectly normal nicknames as well, like “Baby Boy, Len-Len, Gigi and Jhem Jhem”. My Belgian hubby further brought this uniqueness to my attention. When he met my uncles, Alberto “Berting” and Ernesto “Erning”, he directly baptized them “Bert” and “Ernie” of Sesame Street fame.

Most if not all Filipinos have nicknames.  It’s a term of endearment given by their parents or an elder in the family. Some nicknames last through lifetime, while others evolved through time.  What’s amusing though is that some nicknames have no semblance whatsoever to the person’s real name and most often than not, we remember the nicknames but not the real name of our friends/colleagues.

This nicknaming phenomena can only be found in the Philippines.

Just for comparison, the nationalities in Asia have their own  naming system as well. Take Indonesia for example. Back then, when I was still new in the office, I asked a former colleague her full name because I want to introduce her to a Client. She said ‘Suryani’. I asked back “full name please”. She replied “Suryani”. I thought this one was pulling my leg.  I even had to explain to her that my first name is “Rochelle” and my last name is “Rosales”, so what’s hers. She again replied “Suryani”. I later found out that a number  of Indonesians only have first names, no surname at all. Thais  have super mega long names. A sample surname would be “Niratpattanasai”  and we’re just talking surnames here. Their first names are quite long as well but their nicknames are composed of 3-4 characters like “Pla” or “Oak”.Vietnamese is the hardest for me primarily because it’s made up of 6 tones versus Mandarin’s. 4.  My previous team is named “Huyen, Nguyen, Hoang, Hoan… believe me, to say it the first time was like tongue twister advance class.

-r-

The Story of the Barong Tagalog

photos courtesy of flickr.com/photos/wescraftfoto, kaboodle.com, onesimus.com.ph

We’re all proud of our national attire.  Most of us are  familiar with the coat and tie, kimono, cheongsam, kebaya, even Vietnam’s ao dai.  In the Philippines, we have Barong Tagalog, which means a Tagalog dress. This is an embroidered formal garment worn untucked over an undershirt. Making this requires utmost skill because the fabric used are very delicate and made of indigenous materials such as  ‘pineapple’, ‘jusi’ (blend of banana fiber and silk) and   ‘banana’  fibers.     

History tells us that  during the Spanish colonial days, Filipinos were mandated to wear a sort of uniform to differentiate themselves with the Spaniards. Rules have to be followed in creating this menswear. First, it had to made out of see through or flimsy material so they cannot hide any weapon under their shirt. Second, it should be untucked to designate low rank and lastly, it cannot have any pockets so the Filipinos cannot keep anything / dissuade them to steal. The Filipinos, being creative and ingenious in nature, used the indigenous materials found in their vicinity such as pineapple fiber and jusi since they were forbidden to use imported fabric. Our ancestors further showed their creativity and turned the so-called uniform into a work of art by doing hand embroidery on the front portion of the shirt. 

This is such an exquisite piece of clothing that you should get your hands on. You will definitely look manly and oh so dignified. It's so unique and can be found only in the Philippines. 

-r-

Happy New Day!

Photo courtesy of filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com > map exhibit at Boston Public Library.

By now you know what this blog aims to achieve (that is if you didn't skip reading the  'about me' entry :) In short, this will be a random ramblings of just about anything and everything that you can find and experience Only in the  Philippines.  For non-Filipinos, I hope that the Philippines as a destination will pique your interest and that you'll take the first flight out and land in our shores (ok, ok.. I know I'm exaggerating but I believe you'll get there :P). For my fellow countrymen, this is our chance to form a deeper appreciation for our motherland -- happiness can also be found outside the shopping malls  after all.

Once again, a big appreciation for my dear friends/colleagues who agreed to contribute their precious time and views on what is uniquely Filipino. You'll know more of them as we go along so keep this site bookmarked. 

I reckon, before I even proceed further, there's a need to have a brief explanation of our country's history so we're all on the same boat.  As Allan Bloom once said:

"We need history, not to tell us what happened or to explain the past, but to make the past alive so that it can explain us and make a future possible."

Here it goes...

The first people in the Philippines were hunter-gatherers. However between 3,000 BC and 2,000 BC people learned to farm. They grew rice and domesticated animals. From the 10th AD century Filipinos traded with China and by the 12th Century AD Arab merchants reached the Philippines and they introduced Islam. The first Spanish expedition arrived in country in 1521 led by Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan. He named the country  Islas de San Lorenzo. He was defeated by the local chieftain Lapu-Lapu. 12 years after, another Spanish expedition led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos came and named the island Las Islas Filipinas after  King Philip II. Spanish settlement was not yet established that time and once again 12 years later, a Mexican named Miguel Lopez de Legaspi led another Spanish expedition to the country. Spanish leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. 

In 1762, Great Britain occupied the country for a few months. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 restored Spanish rule and in 1764 the British left the country fearing another costly war with Spain. The brief British occupation weakened Spain's grip on power and sparked rebellions and demands for independence. Spain ruled the country for 300 years.

Fast forward, the Philippine Revolution started in 1896 and two years later, the Spanish and American war commenced. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite, establishing the First Philippine Republic under Asia's first democratic constitution. Though not absolute because by that time, Spain still has the walled

city of Intramuros under its reins. Spain for some reason sold the Phililppines for USD 20 million to the Americans. Even the Germans came into the picture by saying that if the American do not want to conquer us, they will. For 48 years, the Americans ruled us. 

World War II started and just like most countries in Asia, Philippines was occupied by Japan. The United States ceded its sovereignty over our country on July 4, 1946 and at last WE WERE FREE!

Whoa, that was some kind of roller coaster ride!  From the Spaniards, to the British, Americans, even Germans and lastly Japanese. Aren't we a hodgepodge of cultures? That explains why... what?  Anyway, if you love to know the  nitty gritty of how we evolved, click here. 

This is the start of a new beginning. 

Happy new day!

-r-