In addition, many would like to hear I have failed. Well life is not easy but I am surviving. It has been hard but rewarding too. I work many hours and when I can, I work six or seven days a week. It is also difficult only being able to see Elena over the internet. Even with the reduced visitors, I will not engage in the dishonest practice of “long hauling”, driving on the traffic clogged Strip or even short changing.

In addition, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my apartment was robbed. I know it was an inside job, but cannot prove it. My TV’s, cameras, and two laptops were stolen and about $1500 in cash. The worst part was, even though they did not take my desktop computer, they stole my external hard drive, which had all the photographs from my last 3 years. All my photos of my live in the Philippines are gone except what I could get back from my web site. The cash included the moneys donated by friends here and readers of this site.

Now for some good news

Tuesday December 21, I received in the mail a notice from USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The notice was to let me know our petition for Elena’s Spousal Visa was approved. This was so exciting I called my mother and brother and sent text messages to hurry Elena online to tell her. We are now on the last legs of a long journey.

On Thursday, December 23, Elena held the party for the kids at Agdao. As I heard and saw from the photos, it was a huge success. Each child had a Jollibee lunch, a gift bag with a shirt, a doll for the girls and a toy car for the boys and some candy. For most of these children, they have never experienced being inside or having a meal at Jollibee. They also received the ingredients to make spaghetti to bring home for their family to have a real “Noche Buena” (Christmas Eve). On Friday morning, Elena will return to Agdao to give out a roast chicken to each child to bring home. A huge part of this is from a reader who had taken our cause to heart and donated $350.00 to the kid’s party and $100 for Elena to give to the family of Angelica, the little girl I wrote about a while back.

All I will say is I will keep this generous mans identify secret unless he wants to let his name be known.

About a week ago, another driver told me, the new hotel Cosmopolitan was offering a free night with $150 credit for food and drinks in any of the restaurants and buffet for two to  taxi drivers who call a special number. Well I got through made my reservation. I only wish Elena was here to experience this night. Cosmopolitan is a hotel, condominium, casino at the City Center here in Las Vegas. I went Wednesday night December 22. It was wonderful except I was alone and Elena was not here to share it.

The room was on the 17th floor overlooking the lake and fountains at the Bellagio. The room was a Studio configuration with a larger bathroom including a separate toilet room and a large walk in shower. Then the main room was divided into a living room and a bedroom. There was two large LCD TVs and with the remote you can turn on, off or dim every light in the room individually or all per room. There was a terrace with a small couch and ottoman.

I invited a driver friend to join me for dinner and he came with his girlfriend. We went to the STK steak house. I had a 24 oz porterhouse steak for $65. It was so good; I even bit off the remaining meet off the bone.

While walking around I took many photos, but want to share this: a ceiling painted like an eye over some tables.

The next morning I went to the breakfast buffet, which was wonderful. I had a bagel loaded with lox an omelet, bacon and a fruit crepe on my first plate and some pancakes and French toast on my second plate. I made myself stop there so not to get sick.

I worked Christmas day and as the rest of the past week, it was dead. I have not had a good week since before Thanksgiving except for the week the National Finals Rodeo was in town.

It has gotten cold in Las Vegas. The mornings are as low as 31 degrees F in the early morning and up to only high 50’s during the day. We have had some rainy days too and luckily, I have two drivers who will give me a ride. With the Scooter, I create my own 40 mph wind chill so I bundle up well and still get cold riding to work in the early morning hours.

To all my readers who have stayed with me, I hope you all had a wonderful and Merry Christmas and wish you all a Safe, Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I have put all photos of both events on Picasa, so  you can click the links below to see them. There are a few videos of the room at Cosmo and the fountains at the Bellagio.

Click to  see all the Kids Party Photos

Click to see the photos at the Cosmopolitan

I just read Tom Martin’s post and his last comment rang true to me as well. Bruce met my wife and me for lunch before he left for Vegas. We chatted about many things. He was a little upset due to some expats comments, and rightfully so. I do believe we would have become good friends if he had stayed here.

I have been here in Davao for almost a year now. I have not done a lot of socializing because I have been working 6 to 7 days a week building a house. I have met several expat here. I have one for a neighbor, one down the road and another down the road the other way. One, I actually think might become a good friend, but school is still out on that until I transfer (move) into my house later this week.

My neighbor’s idea of friendship is a shoddy barb wire fence that looks like a 10 year old put up, with grow sticks laced in between the strands and native thorn bushes he transplanted down the fence row, in my front yard! Not to mention three coconut trees he planted specifically to block my view of Mt Apo. That will take a few years, if they don’t die. Did I mention I bought my property from him. Nice guy till he saw he was not going to get any more money out of me.

Another foreigner with a bad plan. I would tell him what I think, but he hides or turns his back and goes inside if I get within shouting distance. He always waits until we are not there to do his deeds, early morning or after dark. My wife and I laugh and wonder when he will find the time once we move there. However, given that, the real sad part of it all is the fact that my wife and his wife grew up together, been friends most of their lives. I think his wife has came back to visit my wife one time in 6 months. Such a shame, but fear not, I believe in Karma…….we reap what we sow.

As for the other expats I have met, I put them into three categories. The ones that have little and want to be a King and the ones that have a lot and think they are Kings. Then there are the ones like me that came here because they love the culture and the challenge of a third world country. These seem to be far and few between. I do have several expat friends in Cebu who we visit and are waiting to come here when my house is finished. Yes, there are many inconviences here, downright frustrating at times. However, you got to love the people. Most have nothing but they are always smiling and full of hope. I do have several Filipino friends. All I have to do is mention I need this, or need someone to help me. They always come through and are there to help whenever I have a need. They expect nothing in return.

Well it seems that Tom Martin and I may have a few things in common. Maybe he will read this and who knows, maybe we will become friends. However, I do empathize with him no matter the outcome.

I have had people that are coming here for the first time; ask me about being taken advantage of by the Filipino’s. They are concerned and worried that they will have to pay more than they should. I have to laugh. But it’s true, you may get the white guy price or a Taxi driver may try to get away without setting the meter, (but we know Bruce would never do that). But it’s usually only a few peso’s more. The only way to really combat this is to learn some of the language. More times than not I get a better price then the Filipino’s. I always ask the price of something in English. Once they tell me, I then tell them in their language it’s too high and I want a discount. They are usually so shocked they get a big smile on their face and start lowering the price. As for as being taken advantage of, well my advice is to beware of other foreigners. They will more likely dent your wallet much harder the any Filipino. Sad but true.

Tomorrow I need to get up early. A friend I made through this site is arriving from America. His plane is scheduled to land early. His Filipina girlfriend, her sister and their mother are planning to meet at the airport too. Since the city will be in a closed condition and since I made his reservation at an Apartelle I know, I promised to pick them up at the airport and drive them to his accommodations.

It will be nice to meet in person someone I have only known through this site. This is a kind of opposite story of how he found this site. His Filipina girlfriend was a reader and then contacted me for advice about their online relationship and to assist in any thoughts I had about their meeting and future. I am not a psychologist or relationship counselor but with my time here, my experience and all the contacts I made, I explained to them things they need to understand with the different cultures and respect.

One time this American asked Elena and I to do shopping for a birthday gift for his girlfriend and her twin sister. We were happy to assist and Elena did the shopping. One-day the girlfriend’s mother and sister came to Davao to meet with us and collect the gifts. We had coffee and talked for a while. I was amazed how the mother discussed with me about some of the more controversial articles I wrote and being a Filipina told me my understanding of the people and culture was correct.

It is nice, meeting people who have followed my site and have asked for advice and then want to meet me when they visit. As many know, there is a more popular site about live here in the Philippines and the owner of the site has become a kind of celebrity being noticed in public and someone visitors want to meet.

A few times, I have been out and someone will come up to me and say “you are American in Davao.” After I get over the shock, I reply with a smile, “well there are many Americans in Davao” where they then smile and say they recognized me from this site.

With my plan to move back to the states, I set May because in April there will be three different visitors to come to Davao and have asked to meet with me and assist them in different things. One visitor has even offered to hire me for 2 days as a driver to take them to some of the local tourist spots.

I will write about these meetings, as long as the visitor gives me permission to do so and I will also report about this year’s Good Friday.

I have written on this site for over two years now. At first, it was about my family and my adjusting to life here. I would fill the article with photos. When you first move here, everything is new and different.
Over time this site and my writings has become more about the culture and life here for an Expat. But, it is difficult at times to think about new subjects to discuss. I have even gone into areas I felt were too taboo to discuss and have been surprised to get positive comments and rarely arguments from my feelings.

Now, I ask my readers to help. If there are things you would like to know about, information to share or just questions about me, my life here or life here in general, please let me know.

One friend and reader asked me to discuss the Filipino sense of humor, since many times our jokes are not appreciated or misunderstood. I looked online for Filipino jokes, but most I could find were in tagalog and I did not get them translated. If you are a Filipino reader and have jokes that are funny to the Filipino, could you send me them and I will post them in an article and discuss the differences in our sense of humor. Send them through the Contact Me form on the top of the site so I can see, and edit if needed before posting.

I thank you all for following my little site and continuing to read, comment and show appreciation. At times I even get a few donations to help support the cost and time spent here sharing information to you all.

Now this is not the main reason for this article, but I want to explain a little history.

I had dreams of making an income from advertisements on the site. I soon found out, this is a difficult way to make an income online. Most readers of blogs come to read and do not even notice the ads. I then put the “Donate” button on the sidebar and then on the bottom of each post. Some readers have been kind and I do receive a donation at times, but this is not enough to support myself, my family or really cover the time and costs of this site.

I have mentioned my architectural experiences in articles and had a few who have inquired about me doing design, full construction documents for permitting and even managing construction. I have done a few designs and then never went further. I have wondered if my free designs were giving to someone else or not, I never made any money for my time.

I started this site mainly to journal my life as an American living in Davao, hence the name American in Davao.  At first, many of my articles and photos were about my family and my life. Over time, I have developed to write more about how life is here for a Foreigner in third world country.  I try to tell the truth and not “sugar coating” what observations or advice.  There are many wonderful parts to living here, but there are difficulties too. I have tried to assist people to understand how to conduct themselves here and how to be careful in different situations. Many times my wife Elena has assisted too.

Over time, I have had many comments or direct emails asking for advice, information or even assistance. I have helped visitors find accommodations, helped locate restaurants, doctors and shopping. I have had many emails from future Expats-to-be or from men with online girlfriends who were planning to move here and I have offered any assistance I can give.

Last month I was surprised when I received an email from an International Relocation Service. They had a client company sending a representative here to Davao to open a branch office. I was offered the position as a consultant to assist this person find acceptable accommodations such as a furnished house or apartment, obtaining a bank account, services and a list of restaurants, entertainment, attractions and activities.  I would be paid for expenses, mileage and an hourly rate for a preset number of hours.  The hourly rate was good even if I was in the states.

I accepted the offer and then started trying to locate high-end furnished rentals. This was no easy task. It is not like in the states with magazines and classifieds listing all the apartments and houses for rent. There are some websites that individual real estate agents have, but sometimes they do not have decent descriptions, places shown are already rented or the furnishings are not what would be desired. I felt it was my responsibility to visit as many as I could before this man arrived. I did not want to embarrass myself by bringing him to a location and discovering there was problems.

In addition, many real estate agents do not want to show a property to someone in my position with the fear I would steal the business and they would lose their commission. I did locate a few on my own and found some to be below the standard needed and one that was great. I also planned to show him a place that would be good for a temporary   residence until we could find something better.  To make this long story shorter, we found a place he liked and with my wife’s help, we negotiated a good price.

During this process, I received an email from a man planning to come here in the near future and asked, from reading my site, if I offer any services.  I told him I could offer myself and car for transportation around town, help him find accommodations and local attractions he might enjoy. I told him I would not help him find women or clubs where he can find women.

This man replied he was coming to meet his online girlfriend and offered to pay me to drive them to different attractions in the city. He stated he did not want to ride Jeepneys or has to worry about hiring drivers and/or taxis where language could present a problem.

Today I met a person who is somewhat new to the city. While we were talking about these services, he told me, if he had known about me before he moved here, he would have liked to have someone who could have assisted him finding an apartment, finding and purchasing furnishings and even getting services such as cable and internet. He said he would have had no problem paying me for my time assisting him.

Another friend I have made is planning to come visit his girlfriend he met online. Her birthday is soon and asked if my wife would assist him in buying her a present. He sent us the funds for the purchase. Elena was happy to assist. For this, he offered to take us to dinner once here and to bring both of us certain items we would like from the States.

Some people I have met through this site have offered remuneration, bringing me items from the states I might need, or just a nice dinner with my wife. All of these offers have been nice.  Even though I would like to earn a steady income, being able to assist fellow foreigners with needs, information or advice is something I am enjoying and will continue to do so. If there is a way to assist and earn, I am not against that either. From these few earnings and from the donations I have received it makes me feel it was the right thing to keep this site going and continue the time to write articles and answer comments.

It is also all my visitors to my site that shows me this site has a need and a worth.  Even though it is difficult to find items to write the three articles I try to publish every week, I will do so as long as I am able.

Thank you all for showing me my effort and work is appreciated.

Later it was reported to be a 5.3 level earthquake and 31 km south of Tagum. I am not sure the distance from Davao City.

I had lived in Southern California for 18 years and felt many earthquakes, but never experienced one where there were no high frequency vibrations and just a swaying feeling as if in a boat.

While looking at the new reports and views of all the destruction, I thought about if this could happen here in the Philippines. Yes, it can but it would need a bigger earthquake. As I heard from the report, many of the buildings are built with masonry block but no structural steel reinforcements.

Being in the Asian “Ring of Fire” an area from New Zealand through Asia to Alaska, there are many earthquake faults and active volcanoes. As we have seen over the past years there have been many earthquake activity in the Philippines, China and Japan. Recently there was a volcano activity on Luzon. It has not been much in the news so I think that threat has calmed down.

Regardless of where a natural disaster happens, it is a tragedy.  The loss of homes and life is something nobody wants to hear. It is even worse that some of these loss of life could be reduced with lower populations crowded into small areas with homes built on top of each other and such a density that would never exist in a first world nation. With good and enforced zoning laws and well-engineered construction technologies, many of these problems would not exist.

We have seen much destruction in the Philippines not too long ago when Luzon was hit repeatedly with Typhoons. Flooding and mudslides causing loss of life, homes and agricultural areas destroyed. Sound planning, construction, planting conservation and drainage could defiantly help. However, as I see in Davao, once everything is over built over many years, how do you tear everything down and start over.

Maybe with a natural disaster wiping out an area, once it is rebuilt it could be zoned and controlled to do better. I can remember where whole neighborhoods in South Florida were gone after Hurricane Andrew. From working in the architectural industry in South Florida after this tragedy, I saw how the building codes and inspections became more and more stringent.

We are to learn from our past. I hope this will be a learning experience for Haiti and homes and buildings will be constructed better for their future.

Well, through the Expat group, Friends of Mindanao I learned of and visited a wonderful and different concept for a well needed charity. This is Balay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of Those who have Ambition.

There is a man, Dennis T. Mabayao who as a seminarian worked doing ministry work at the Davao City Jail and Rehabilitation Center. There he had an opportunity to meet many young boys who, for different reasons were in custody at this facility. Because of poverty and peer pressure, these boys were arrested and incarcerated for crimes, including stealing, drugs or even gang murder.

Dennis realized these boys, once their sentence ended would have no decent life. The pressures that drove them into a young life of crime would be even worse since they now have a criminal record. With this realization, Dennis had a dream that he put into action. With the help of a church organizations support at first, on November 3, 2004 he opened the home. They started with about 14 teen-aged boys, which is the capacity of their location. They were given the land and built a home for the boys.

These boys live in the home, go to local schools for their education and at the home receive spiritual and life skills training. The boys have strict rules of their schooling, studies, and chores at the home. They know if they break these rules, they will be asked to leave the home. Dennis is a kind and loving man but is strict to keep the boys on a straight road to a better life. Dennis had a radio show and an herbal supplement business, but gave this up to be able to have the time needed to run the home. With giving his life to the home and the boys, he expects the best in return.

Presently there are eight boys staying at the home. Two are college students, five high school students and one elementary pupil. They hope they can accept more boys in the future but now their financial resources are limited. The home can accommodate a maximum of 14 boys.

The emphasis of the home is on education and formation. They constantly monitor the boys to make sure that they attend their classes and do their assignments. At the home, the boys must be present for morning and evening prayer and do their scheduled assignments, such as cooking, cleaning, washing and caring for the pets and plants. This all helps to instill a sense of order and discipline to their character.

They regularly conduct group and individual counseling, life skills training lectures, school, and home visitation to observe their performance. They try their best to balance the programs and services so that they can achieve their objectives as stated in their manual of operation: “To provide education, to provide spiritual and human formation and to provide life skills training programs.”

These boys, without the home and the education would probably continue their life of crime, since they will be back in the “unwanted” part of the population. Many street boys who live a life of crime lose their lives due to gang turf wars or vigilante killings.

At the home, to earn income they thought of raising pigs but the location prohibited this type of business. They then tried growing vegetables for sale, but that was not a profitable enterprise. They now have large holding ponds breeding tropical fish and cages for the breeding of parakeets and lovebird pet store distributors. They also have a selection of plants and clay pots for sale, which were donated to the home.
Dennis and his dream are wonderful. Most people look at the cute little faces of the young children and their hearts go out to them, but the older children are ignored and forgotten. With the poverty, broken homes, many older boys end up in crime and then forgotten. Dennis is a man with a dream he turned into reality. He took these boys and gave them a chance to get their education and self-esteem back so they can become productive citizens with a future. However, this dream comes with a price. The support of the home and the feeding and schooling of these boys need the help of others to keep this dream alive.

If you would like to help, use the PayPal donation button on my site. Just leave a comment on the donation that your donation is for Dennis and his dream and the money will be forwarded to him.

alay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of those who have ambition, registered in the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission as Non Stock, Nonprofit organization with SEC Reg. NO. CN 200827995

Please help Dennis continue his dream and give these and future boys a chance in life. Let us make these “forgotten” boys have something they will never forget, that there are people who care. Let us also give them a Christmas they never thought they could have and a future life with Dennis.

Help Dennis and Donate to his Dream

Saturday Elena and I joined her group of expat wives, a few of their kids and two other of us husbands and went to use the pool at the Marco Polo Hotel. At one point there was a commotion and I asked what was going on. They all mentioned Noynoy Aquino was there on the other side of the Pavilion Restaurant.

As a Foreigner, I do not write or comment on government issues, politicians or campaigns. It is not the place of this site or for me to discuss issues or my views. Actually, I was told, it is illegal for a foreigner in this country to campaign or comment for or against any candidate. It was just interesting being in the same place as Senator Aquino and he was gracious to allow me to have a photo taken with him.

Benigno Noynoy Aquino III is a the son of the late former President Corazon Aquino and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. Noynoy Aquino is a Senator in Congress and a candidate for President in the 2010 Election.

I walked over to the other side of the poolside restaurant and there he was with a large group of his supporters. I called over and asked if I could take a photo with him. He nodded his agreement and motioned after he took the photos of all his supporters.  When he finally came over to me, I first gave him my condolences of the loss of his mother and then wished him good luck in his campaign. We then shock hands as our photo was taken.   He also took a photo with Elena, the other wives and one of the ladies two daughters.

Even though I am a foreigner and not a Filipino it  was nice meeting someone of his authority in the government and possible future President, and allowing me to approach and have a photo taken.

Thanks Ken, I appreciate your gift.

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But, we guessed that they would do the same and have the floats on display at SM City Mall in Ecoland but we were disappointed.

We did our usual Sunday morning chore of going to the Palengke for our usual meat, fish, and vegetable and fruit purchases. After we were done we stopped at McDonalds for a quick breakfast. When we got home we unloaded our provisions and after the girls unpacked and put away all the foods, we relaxed a little, showered as usual.

Instead of going to Gaisano Mall, as we usually do, we decided to head out to the other side of town and go to SM to have lunch, see the floats and finish our marketing there. We took two of our nieces, one had review school, and our new addition to our house, our maid/helper (this will be explained more I a future article) and headed out to Ecoland. As I guessed, the parking lot was very full but after waiting in an aisle, a car moved out and we got a decent spot.

The mall was so very much crowed but we made our way to one of our favorite restaurants at that mall, Turquoise, a Turkish Restaurant (More about this restaurant will be highlighted in a future article also). Because of the crowded mall all the restaurants had waiting lines and Turquoise was no exception. We were lucky and only had to wait about 5 minutes until we got a booth and a waiter brought a chair right away for the 5th of our group to sit at the end of the table. The restaurant was overwhelmed with the crowds and also they were short two of their wait staff. Because of this, the meal was slower than usual and Elena had to wait a long time for her entree to arrive.

After we finished we headed out to see the beautiful floats, or so we expected. Last year one whole section was dedicated for the float display. As we were walking and got closer, we saw the area had cars parked. We kept wondering if they moved the display to a different area. We decided to continue to head our way and see for sure. As we got real close, we saw a float towards the far end. As we arrived, we saw there was only one big float, one medium sized and 2 small ones that would have had to be pulled my man or maybe a small vehicle. One other arrived being pulled by a horse. This one came in, passed by us and then continued out of the mall lot to head home, I would guess. We took a few photos and then headed back into the mall. As we got through the crowd at the door Elena and I was going to go to the Super Market and the girls were going to explore the mall.  For reasons that will be explained later in the week about “Peso Mentality” we decided to text the girls to meet us and go to Gaisano Mall instead.

Again, because of the Kadayawan festivities, Gaisano was packed with people. I dropped Elena and the girls off before parking and planned to meet at the Super Market. It turned out there was a show planned with celebrity singers at the mall, so along the rails on the upper floors and the main floor was packed with people. As I went to go outside for a cigarette, the crowds of people entering almost filled the isles to the exit.

I finally met up with Elena, and after we finished the shopping, the girls met us by the cashier. As usual, Elena, now with the girls, went outside with the groceries and I would take the receipts to get our shopping points and go get the car. This is because at Gaisano, the parking is a multilevel parking structure. So I get the car, and drive down to the lower level to have all our bags loaded into the car. Well, by the time I reached the first floor, the isles leading to the Atrium where the stage is was packed with people. I had to squeeze through the crowds to get to the information desk where they enter our receipts into their computer. Then with my ears ringing from the screaming fans, I had to squeeze my way out to get to the escalator to get up to the 3rd floor to get my car.

I know as most people do, and probably more so for Filipinos in Davao, who rarely get to see and hear their famous celebrities in person, the mall was so full. With the threats in this country, and even for a fire emergency possibility, I wonder what would happen, and how many people would get hurt if any type of emergency happened in there with such crowds packed in the mall. I hope and pray it never does.

Maybe next year I will be able to get the energy and give a better report with more “On the Scene” photos of the events of Kadayawan.