Even before I was a Computer Science student at DLSU I’ve always been hearing and seeing people travel abroad such as US and Australia. When I was around 8 or 9, my Dad would travel occasionally on consulting assignments in Europe, Asia and the US. When I was around 12, cousins and aunts on both sides of the family migrated to the US. Since then, I was kind of dreaming that someday I, too would have a chance to go abroad, even go to the US and see my relatives again. When I was in my 20’s even my sister left for Canada! So you could imagine how much I wanted to be there as well. On my first job, I started as a Programmer Trainee for three months. During this time, I would always hear about our more senior staff getting hired and leaving for the US. It even got to the point where the President of our company gathered everyone for a meeting to talk about it. He basically told us that he also lived and worked there himself. He then told us what are the pros and cons of living in another country. Nevertheless no one really took his warnings seriously. In short, all the senior programmers and analysts left eventually. On the meantime, our current batch was already starting to wonder how we could also land a job ourselves. Pretty soon we found out we didn’t really need to look further. Every now and then someone would spread the word that Mr. so and so would be at this certain hotel having a talk and of course would be collecting resumes. This happened quite regularly, some recruiters came from Singapore but most of them were from the US. Read more…

For the past few weeks I was searching for a nice getaway for my birthday.  It was a Sunday when I bought a Manila Bulletin newspaper and there it was the advertisement for a promotional fare from Cebu Pacific Air to Osaka.     That made the decision easier and so I booked the ticket through the website.  However, after submitting everything, I did not get a confirmation message immediately.  Instead I saw a message saying that the credit card I used was still being checked and so the booking was still pending.  The credit card I used was a foreign card so I wasn’t surprised.  I immediately called their customer service and after a long long time of waiting I finally got an answer : they said I just needed to wait one more hour.  I also called my credit card company and found out that they already did approve the transaction.  Two days after, it was still pending and I frantically called the customer service of Cebu Pacific Air.  This time they told me that they will prioritize my issue.  Later on, I was about to give up.  I still did not receive any confirmation e-mail.   But then when I retrieved my booking I was surprised that my booking was finally confirmed!

The next thing I did was to search for a place to stay and interesting places to visit within the area of the Kansai Airport.  First I looked around Osaka.  I was particularly interested in staying in a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan).  However, I had trouble finding something that fits my budget and there were no special places that really interested me there.  While looking around, I found out that Kyoto was actually just a few minutes away.  Travel from Kansai to Kyoto was 70 minutes while Osaka was 50 minutes by train.  After making a quick search of interesting places and available inns in Kyoto the decision was made.  We were going to Kyoto. Read more…

One time, MrC went to the local small grocery.  Before he left he asked me if I wanted anything.  I asked for any kind of Filipino ice cream: any ice cream which he finds exotic-sounding.   While in there he called up my mobile and told me he only found one flavor: the Selecta Quezo Real.  I said, “sure please get it!”

Up to now, I still find it surprising that Cheese Ice Cream is classified among the weirdest and more alternative type of ice cream flavors.  To us Filipinos, it is just a regular ice cream because we grew up eating this flavor.  When I lived in the US I was kind of disappointed to only find ice cream flavors that are mostly in variants of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and strawberry!

Here in the Philippines, one can find the following ice cream flavors:

Halo-halo: based on the local favorite cold dessert which means Mixed up.  It includes fruit bits such as langka, bananas, and coconut meat products, mixed with yam, flan, beans, topped with crushed ice and milk.

Ube: This is a purple colored ice cream which is based from sweetened purple yams which is called halaya in Tagalog.

Sweet Corn: This yummy flavored ice cream tastes like, you guessed it, corn, with real corn bits.  It is also based probably on the local cold dessert called mais con yelo (corn on ice) which is a mixture of corn, milk, sugar and crushed ice.

Macapuno: I have always remembered this as my grandmother’s favorite.  I think this flavor has a long history indeed. Macapuno is simply sweetened shredded coconut meat.  The ice cream is plain white like vanilla but has that creamy coconut taste and bits of the sweetened shredded coconut meat.  Simply unforgettable!

Nangkasoy: jackfruit and cashew ice cream.  I haven’t really tasted this for years but I remember this was also one of my childhood favorites.

Durian:  I believe this is a new flavor which I have yet to try.  This is based on a fruit that is abundant in the city of Davao.

Tsokonut (or Chocnut): this is based on a unique Filipino candy that is like coconut and chocolate flavored and a bit powdery but for some reason stays solid.. anyway, you can compare it to an American candy called Reese’s.

In response to the last post of what I would miss in the Netherlands (and US for that matter), here is what I look forward to upon going back to the Philippines:

Netherlands: Colorful trees in Autumn and Blossoming in Spring

Philippines: Being able to grow plants and veggies all year round, Coconut trees, Tropical flowers and green trees all year round

Netherlands: Mashed potatoes with rookworst and andives/Rookworst  sausage from HEMA

Philippines: Purefoods hotdog, or langgonisa with tomatoes for breakfast, dried fish, tapsilog, barbecue, salted eggs, singangag (garlic fried rice)

Netherlands: WYSIWYG and brutally honest people

Philippines: Friendly, easy to get along with people with great sense of humor

Netherlands: delectable Indonesian takeout food

Philippines: you can find almost everything else there: Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, you name it, and all for less.

Netherlands: visiting exotic European cities and people watching, grandiose architecture and other man-made structures

Philippines: Boracay, Palawan Ilocos, rice terraces, Mayon volcano, Batanes and all the neighboring Asian cities for less than the price of a ticket to London

Netherlands: working with people from various cultural backgrounds

Philippines: getting into the exciting world of IT outsourcing and developing a new business venture

Netherlands: cool, but comfortable spring weather and fresh air

Philippines: ok, ok,  airconditioning never beats fresh air

Netherlands: late sunsets in the summer

Philippines: bustling night life, seeing a lot of people walking around even late at night, Christmas lights and lanterns  (parol) during the “Ber months”

Netherlands: good strong, coffee

Philippines: Starbucks?

In two weeks I would be leaving the country which I called home for 3 years.

I would miss:

• Colorful trees in Autumn and Blossoming in Spring
• Mashed potatoes with rookworst and andives
• Rookworst  sausage from HEMA
• Gouda cheese
• WYSIWYG and brutally honest people
• good strong coffee
• delectable Indonesian takeout food
• visiting exotic European cities and people watching
• grandiose architecture and other man-made structures
• working with people from various cultural backgrounds
• cool, but comfortable spring weather
• late sunsets in the summer

I would not miss:

• Cold, blustery (and depressing)  winters
• Walking outside in the cold, getting sore muscles from it, dryness, static cling, static sparks!
• wearing thick jackets and boots
• Cloudy skies
• Rude city people
• ham and cheese sandwiches everyday for lunch
• watching people eat ham and cheese  or peanut butter sandwiches with milk everyday for lunch and wondering why they do it
• expensive restaurant bills
• very small bottles of juices or drinks in cafes and restaurants
• using only knives and fork when eating
• hearing conversations in a foreign language wherever I go
• attending Dutch inburgering (integration) class
• working 9 to 5 and having to use the train to go to work
• ollie bollen, and other greasy snacks such as bitterballen and kroket

I would like to share a link to the website where you can watch the Dutch TV show Westerman’s Nieuwe Wereld.  This is a series of documentaries by a Dutchman who is a public figure and have lived in the US for 30 years and who just came back to his home country.   It also provides a balanced side by side expose of the US and The Netherlands.  I like the way he chooses the topic of each episode.  I can definitely relate to most of it.

Although most of it is spoken in Dutch, some of the interviews are spoken in English so it’s kind of easy to follow for non-Dutch speakers.  It’s definitely fun to watch especially if you are an American living in the Netherlands.    This show is also broadcast on KRO TV.

I was 8 then and we just moved from the province and I just started studying in a school in Paranaque.  It was also where I first learned about using money and along with it, greed, and extortion in the form of bullying and asking for loans. It was also when I first learned how to “fend” for myself in times of personal crisis.

It was then that I first heard the word “pautang”  (loan me) asked directly from me.   When my Dad learned about this, he was furious and all I remember now is that he strongly admonished me to never ever loan to anyone or even ask for a loan myself.   He definitely knew what he was talking about, after all, he worked with loans on a daily basis at the Central Bank of the Philippines.   I got the message and that is why all these years I have been steering clear of big loans such as mortgages and personal loans.  I fully paid my car loan ahead of time and now I only use my credit card for convenience such as for occasional online purchases but never to buy something which I have no immediate cash to pay for.  That kid even threatened to get me in trouble with a teacher who was her aunt if I didn’t give her money.    I was 8 remember? –and a probinsyana, innocent and all.  I didn’t know then that it was indeed classic bullying and I was scared enough by it.  However, for some reason I was scared to tell my parents about it.   I totally forgot the whole details of that incident until recently my aunt told me that she knew about that story.   She told me that my Dad actually noticed that I had less money all the time and seemed to be in stress.  He knew that someone was extorting me or probably I had shown hints of it.

Another incident that happened when I was 8 which I will never forget is being left by the school bus and having no money.  At that time, it was the 80’s so we know that there were no mobile phones yet or sending load for that matter.  For some reason, I didn’t have the money to even take the jeepney or tricycle to get home.  I was scared!  I think it was even my first day in school.  I lived in BF Homes and the school was in Sucat.  You know what I did? I walked throughout Sucat and found myself along the road, maybe near Irineville where there is a tricycle terminal and took the tricicyle home — at least I could pay for it when I arrive at home!  I was 8 and walking alone in Sucat for goodness sake! But at least I arrived home safe.

Cold water (koud water), chocolade, capuccino, koffie compleet, espresso with milk, black coffee without sugar, coffee with milk but without sugar, tea, hot water, soup

Being asked for a drink is a common custom in a Dutch office. I don’t know why but the Dutch thinks it is their duty to get others coffee when they get their own coffee — and you are expected to reciprocate the gesture by also going around and asking anyone for a drink of their choosing. And it doesn’t matter if you are 5 or 20 in the whole room! I don’t know how far you need to ask though but i guess the norm is to include only your usual close group plus any guest that might be currently present. I guess it’s also a gesture of hospitality. Pretty soon, if you do it often, you’ll remember what everyone always gets regularly so even if you have 15 orders you’ll probably get 95% if not 100% correct. Not me though, coz maybe I don’t do it so often.

I just received a letter recently from a Filipino-American reader who was asking about my opinion of Amsterdam, and maybe Netherlands in general. The letter came at a very nice time. I would like to share most of what I said in my e-mail. This is mostly straight from my heart. It may not sound fair or sensible at times and that because it is based on my emotions at this time.

I resigned from my job yesterday. My husband and I are leaving the Netherlands. I only moved here to end our long distance relationship that went on for some months and finally join my Dutchman. I quit my job in NJ and moved here not knowing what awaits me. I did not come here for economic reasons or for a job offer. I loved living in the US and have also felt that it offered me many opportunities to live the so called American dream except that I ended up finding my partner across the Atlantic. I still want to come back there someday.

Reading about your situation there, I strongly discourage you from living in Amsterdam if you like that kind of quiet and easy suburb picket fence lifestyle — you would live the big city life and that includes the harsh realities and rat race lifestyle that goes with it. Sorry to say but Amsterdam is not a family-friendly city. It is harsh and the people are also rough — comparable to what New York is like. You mentioned also the fact that your wife’s needs are of greatest importance as well. Having household help is such a luxury outside the Philippines! We currently pay a nice Moroccan lady 200 Euros a month: she comes here for 5 hours a week to do household cleanup and do laundry as needed. 10 euros per hour is on the lower end of the range. The classified ads at Expatica.com would give you an idea what nationalities are providing services as well as rates.

The biggest difficulty you and your wife would probably have is Read more…

Check out the following gallery from my recent trip to Germany.

[Show as slideshow]

The places we visited were: Marburg, Fritzlar, Loreley Rock, and Cologne. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley which is somewhere between Frankfurt and Cologne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thea area where we visited is full of beautiful scenery, fairy tale villages, castles, good food, abundant nature, fresh air and friendly people. What more can you ask!?