Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	Best Way to Send Shoes	I agree with those who discuss using a BB box. Much cheaper, not usually subject to inspection, and for my gal anyways everything was still in it when it reached its destination, the drawback is that is does take much longer to get there. But, you are a Phil. citizen you know how the postal system works in your country. Best of luck! They have started opening and "inspecting" balikbayan boxes now. We were warned by our carrier on our last box out. Every gift wrapped present had been unwrapped. Apparently watches are something they've been stealing, and we sent cheap watches to the kids there as gifts. And yes things did disappear. About $80 worth of candy had been removed from the box.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-15 08:36:00
Philippines	Young filipino children adjusting to American Lifestyle	I agree for some, the reason you mentioned would be a main consideration. for others, fiancial reasons could make it difficult for children to come at the same time as the mom or the children are near finishing their high school education. I've also seen many mention that they want to come here first to get settled in and adjust to life here in the USA. for those, maybe more consideraion should be given to having the children come at the same time as their mom. as has been mentioned, most children do not have a difficult time adjusting to life in the USA. Most young children don't have an issue adjusting, that's pretty sure. Older children I think is going to be variable. Some will adjust easy, some hard, and everything in between. Its sad when they're separated just for money though. I've seen those cases stretch out too long at times. Waiting to finish a school year might not be a bad reason to, if the end is close. But then the mother can just delay and still come together. As to the mother adjusting first? I can see how some would think that wasn't a bad idea, and may be a good thing for some. If my wife had a child, it might have been a good idea in her case. I never would have guessed it before hand, but she adjusted pretty darn slowly, lots of emotional ups and downs, which have moderated now. On one hand she may not have allowed herself to go through that if she had a child with. On the other hand dealing with a child may have been a breaking point.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-26 12:57:00
Philippines	Young filipino children adjusting to American Lifestyle	I am a strong believer that children should come at the same time as their mother. I know many have reasons why the children come here at a later date, but I wish they would consider an important reason for coming at the same time as their mom, family unity. the time lost not being together as a family is time that can never be replaced. as far as adjustment to life in the USA, children seem to have a quicker and easier time than the adults. I've know women that have waited because they want to be sure its safe for their children. They're willing to take the chance and risk that the person they marry is the person they thought they were for themselves but are not willing to extend that risk to their children. Given the horror stories told in the Philippines, and even some stories here, I can't blame them. Parents separated from the children is not such an uncommon thing in the Philippines, so its much easier to make that choice than it would be here. It seems that many children there have multiple mothers and fathers the family ties are so close.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-26 06:32:00
Philippines	Couples living in Hawaii.	One cold Minnesota winter and you're talking bailing on the state and moving to a tropical island.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-04-03 15:26:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	Just an update. My latest balikbayan box arrived on Black Saturday, March 30 in Bukidnon, exactly 49 days after I dropped it off to LBC Carson, CA. It remained unscathed and my family was very excited to unravel their goodies. Great experience with the shipper and timely delivery so I'm sending another box in a few months. Thanks to LBC! I think I'm going to see to it our future boxes go via LBC. Could be LBC has been better making sure their customers are not sending banned items, so they're getting less scrutiny by USA customs.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-04-01 15:24:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	Where do you get these boxes and where do you send it from and how long does it take? While our last one just took three months to reach Davao City. Its hard to say how long they'll take. But since you're in California, you'll have better delivery time than us in Minnesota. The process is, boxes get sent to the shipper, usually in California. Here when we drop a box off, no one drives around picking them up in Minnesota, it might be a week or two before they're sent to the shipper. The shipper collects them until they have enough for a container. When a container is full, it will pass through customs, if they decide to inspect, its stuck there for 3 to 4 weeks. Then it goes to a ship and is loaded on board. Ship starts making its route and finally gets to Manila. Containers are off loaded, then boxes are sorted. Those going to Manila move pretty quick to their destination. Those going to other islands are saved up until they can be loaded onto a smaller ship or ferry and sent to that island. Then they get delivered to the final delivery place. So the shipping time is highly dependent on where you're shipping from, how many boxes are being ship by your Balikbayan shipper at the time, where its being delivered, and finally does US customs decide to inspect your container and box.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-20 07:15:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	Years ago I traveled for work carrying a lot of electrical components and tools right on the plane. I used to get some strange looks when they ran the x-ray, but everything was fine once they opened it and what looked like a bomb wasn't. They would even show me the x-ray so I knew how bad it looked I can't imagine trying to bring that same stuff on a plane today. They'd probably tackle me, cuff me, ship me off to gitmo, then explode the tool case rather then opening it to see nothing is really harmful inside. Last thing you wanted to do was to show up to work in some city and find out your bags, including tools and parts, went another direction. Heck I wonder what the TSA would do with it if it was checked today. Maybe the same.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-19 15:25:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	Outgoing containers? I find that hard to believe. Of course with Forex, I believe anything is possible. I thought it strange to, but its been going on a number of years now. All the balikbayan box shipping companies raised prices a few years ago because of the cost. Check out the link Kev posted earlier in this thread if you want to know more.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-17 12:21:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	LBC seals the box right in front of you. We have sent many boxes to the Philippines, never have the seals been broken. It pays to deal with an established large Filipino shipper, that ships using their own couriers both in the US and in the Philippines, plus has enough volume to regularly ship using their own containers, filled with only their boxes, frequently and regularly. Plus, when the containers arrive dockside, there are LBC's own experienced "fixers" to make sure no sticky hands need to look for "contraband" in your boxes. Now, air freight is another story. TSA and airline baggage handlers do not respect your privacy, or take the same care, when repacking a balikbayan box, or suitcase for that matter. I have seen some amazing randomly taped balls coming down the conveyor belt. US customs is opening and inspecting random boxes. Essentially handling things much like the TSA, possibly even worse. It they pull the container aside for inspection, expect your box to be delayed at least three weeks.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-17 11:32:00
Philippines	Balikbayan boxes being raided?	We've sent a number of boxes since my wife arrived. This was the first time a box was opened and inspected. I need to correct something I said before. It was only inspected on the USA side per the tracking with Forexworld.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-03-16 09:00:00
Philippines	USC Petitioning my dad who was denied entry 10yrs ago	Im a USC petitioning my dad and currently in NVC process (AOS). Back in 2002 my dad tried to visit the US on a tourist visa but was denied entry (they suspect him of working in the US without a permit). Is this going to somewhat present an issue regarding his petition to immigrate in the US? Thanks in advance for your answer What was he given as far as paperwork when he was denied entry? Did he sign anything? Some times people are just turned away and it won't be an issue. Other times they're charged with fraud and they end up convincing the person to sign a confession to fraud. Then he would have earned a ban, and he's unlikely to get a visa.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2013-04-09 12:24:00
Philippines	Philippine passport - change of name	Thank you! I will do more research for #3. Hopefully, everything will be ok. By the way, did anyone ever do a Report of Marriage to our Philippine Consulate? I am just wondering if it is really important, considering in the next year, I will be applying for US citizenship... Have a blessed day! If you wish your new passport to be in your married name you will need to report your marriage to the consulate. Its not hard to do and relatively cheap and fast. If you do decide to register your marriage, send any divorce decree your husband may have. They don't say you need it, but they will ask for it if he has had a divorce previously and that slows things down. You can renew in your maiden name if you wish it, but your marriage will remain unrecognized in the Philippines. When you get your USA citizenship, you have to renew your Philippine citizenship if you wish to keep it. You can be a dual citizen and one of the passport renewal questions on the form asks if you have ever had or currently have a foreign passport. For my wife and I, registering our marriage was important to us. We want her renewed Philippine passport to carry her married name, and get away from the issue of carrying extra paperwork. She also plans to get citizenship in the USA, but we want all her ID's and passports to carry just the one name, there and here.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-10 14:04:00
Philippines	Less and Less Communication	Maybe your right about, maybe Im acting too mad or bothered about this. I thinking you have some good point about some of what you said. Im really confuse about what to do now. Im thinking maybe Im give in him some freedom about what hes going to do there when Im not there ? Other post have also good advice, but always wants to end this relationship. This is the only so far thats seems maybe gonna be good marriage after. Wish Im gonna make a decision about and not keep going back and forth. If this post is not going to happen then Im decision was to not marry this person, now Im thinking about if Im to do that. Now Im just pray and hope make right choice. My wife used to say it was alright if I needed to find a woman here in the USA to satisfy my needs. After all, a guy is a guy, and a guy needs a woman to take care of his needs. Our relationship was many years long before she came here and we got married. It wasn't easy being apart, it wasn't easy going without sex and waiting a year or more to be together again. But I do know it was important to me as a man to choose to only be with her. I can understand a guy that can slip up, and have sex when the distance is far and long. Things can happen, and to a degree a guy is a guy. But a guy that truly loves a woman would feel really bad he slipped up. Your guy didn't just slip up, he's having a relationship! He didn't even say he would end it until after you were here! A marriage is not always easy, it will take hard work and at times things can be rough between a couple. A man that chooses to stay true despite the distance, is a man that will stand true and strong to his marriage when the rocky times come. The man that chooses another relationship because its easier than waiting, is a man that will walk away from his marriage just as fast. This isn't about a guy being a guy, this is about the character of the man. Does he do whats right or does he choose whats easy be it right or wrong? Boys choose whats easy and makes them feel good regardless of the pain it will cause another. If you wish to be married to a boy, who will only care about what feels good and is easy for himself, then stay in your relationship. Heck it could be when you get there, you'll still be sharing him with this other woman. If you want a man that will stick with you when the going gets tough, then send him on his way and when you're ready, find a man instead.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-02 10:44:00
Philippines	Less and Less Communication	Thank You for all Reply, I appreciate much . Im sorry to have such bad topic here. After read posts from all, I make my decision about . First I am thinking , I give him chance to be faithful when Im with him, but when I read post I change my thinking again, and now have make decision. Im going to broke up with my Fiance, Its really hurt my feeling to do that, but I dont want to be a woman who put up with that kind of thing. If I want to be with man who do that then I have to share with other woman my husband. I dont want to be that kind of person. Im really, really sad now. I think its most sad ever in my life time. I cry all night long, and dont sleep well. I think if I marry to this person he will make me cry again, and again. Im going to call him today and tell him , no more for us. Im dont want a man who cannot wait to be with me, and make other woman happy when Im not here. Im Journey is over now, Please thank you for your support, and I hope all your Journey is better than mine, good luck to all of you .... I feel so sad reading your story. But I feel you're making the right decision. If the guy had just slipped up once, maybe you could forgive and move on, but this was hardly a slip up, this was an on going relationship. When a real man truly loves a woman, he desires no other. Find that kind of man and you can find a happy life.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-29 09:05:00
Philippines	Is this typical for a Filipina?	And as for showering and brushing teeth... that is an individual thing, certainly does not apply to a group of people, unless they live under the same roof. I know my wife brushes at least three times a day, and flosses about the same. Never had a cavity in her life. And has the sweetest breath I have ever been around. So if you are insinuating that Filipinas aren't as clean as Americans... you are WAY wrong. Ever hear of a tabo before you met her? I think not... Everyone is an individual, but the clean gene runs a pretty high percentage in the Philippines. Although its not an "all of them" type of thing either. I've been to some homes in the Philippines that were not even close to clean. I've often wondered if its a culturally trained survival trait. If you don't keep yourself and your environment clean enough, some tropical bug or germ is going to get you decreasing the chance of survival. Those that learn to stay clean, have a better chance of living long enough to have and train children to be clean. Also if don't sweep the house often enough in a day and the ants will be all over the place biting your feet and legs to.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-18 16:22:00
Philippines	Is this typical for a Filipina?	Maybe for now she just happy to be with you and enjoy the minute of every momment of it lol. Especially if she just got here in the US. Also there is alot more of adjustment for her probably than to focus of your quistion of what she want in the future. Who knows, maybe actually in her mind is what she wants is you to tell her if what's your plan in your both future together than asking her what's her plan alone. Why not try to tell her if what's your plan and goals for the both of you, then ask her for her opinion and if she have other more better idea about it. Also give her plenty of time and be more open minded and patience about her. She will really going to need that. Not easy to adjust in a new place without your old friends and famillies around. Took me almost 2 years before I totally adjusted in lifestyle in this country. Goodluck to both of you . So only 14 more months for my wife then? I never really understood how hard the adjustment was until my wife got here. I'll be very happy when she's through the entire adjustment process. She's came so far in 10 months, but she's still going through parts of it.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-18 15:11:00
Philippines	Is this typical for a Filipina?	Ask her what she'd like to experience. Does she want to travel, make money, be a dedicated housewife, save the world from dark forces or just sit around? The answers may not come right away and they will change through time but help her get started somewhere. If she doesn't have a single idea then offer some options that you believe are fitting for her or will match her abilities. If she's not capable of doing a thing then suggest that she can take up lessons of her choice. Being aware of that is a good start. I hope you won't be complacent and just really take the role of deciding for both of you. Relationships are better made of mutuality, or at least interdependence. If you don't think she's self-sufficient, then you gotta guide her to be so. I have many little cousins in the Philippines and I heard one of them say when he was six years old that he wanted to be a truck driver when he grows up so he could buy his favorite bread everyday. Most people, big and small, wanna do something, wanna be someone, or wanna go somewhere. It's interesting how some posters here try to explain why a person lacks opinions and goals for the future. OT: I don't know why but sometimes I have a feeling that there are posters here who think they're saving their wife or fiancee from a presumably difficult life in the Philippines. Hero complex. My wife's dreams are changing and growing as her knowledge of the USA does. But a big one is us being back in the Philippines. One dream I never knew she had was to own a real store there, not a sari sari, but a regular store. She's developing dreams here to. More schooling, a more responsible job, travelling around the world, but they're in a state of flux now. Changing and mixing with unspoken dreams she had when living in the Philippines. I don't think she really spoke about dreams other than being married and having children when she was in the Philippines. When I would ask her what type of work she'd like to do in the USA, she had no idea. She also leaves many things up to me. We can discuss them, but very often she wants me to be the one who decides in the end. But I better decide the right way at times to. Thats a fairly funny line I've been learning to identify. As to being her Hero or Savior for bringing her to America, I'm actually more the bad guy that took her away from her beloved Philippines because she fell in love with me. Still there are many things she could easily do herself that she wants me to do for her. Order her food when we go out to eat, or even speaking for her to government officials. She has to get her immigration status check updated on her drivers license now that her green card is in. She could easily do it by herself, but she wants me there with her. She even asked me if I didn't like doing those things for her now. I guess that put me in my place, I'm just a dumb guy after all. But I guess its my job to be her face and spokesman to the official world. I've seen her many times in her own country represent her business, her family and herself, it just seems strange to take on this role now when I'm so used to seeing her do so much on her own in the Philippines. But then I wasn't her husband then and it was her country before. I'm not sure which of those two things is the biggest difference now?	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-18 13:53:00
Philippines	princess rose	I hope everything has gone well for you today. Congrats	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-05 15:37:00
Philippines	Setting An Interview Date Question	affidavit of support papers , sorry. i know aos might sometimes mean adjustment of status..sorry i forget. thanks for the response. Makes much more sense now	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-18 08:53:00
Philippines	Setting An Interview Date Question	Hey guys especially Hank , I was just wondering about setting the interview date.. I read on another page someone said that the interview dates were very limited (example July 17 and 18 for July and August (mid week) only..) My NOA2 is expiring on September and I am kind of scared. My AOS papers took longer than usual (sigh). Just to clarify, is this correct? I'm a bit confused here, you do not AOS until after you get to the USA and get married on a K-1. But the embassy can also extend your time on the NOA2 by calling them.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-17 14:23:00
Philippines	Flying from Manila.	I always fly Delta because they have the shortest fly time between my home and Manila. Went United one time to save a couple hundred bucks, and it wasn't worth it at all. Plus a late departure made me almost miss my connection to Hong Kong, then another long wait until leaving for Manila. Those extra 10 hours traveling were a real killer. I've never had a coach flight that gave enough leg room and I've never managed to get much more than a nap while on a plane. Essentially those coup,e hundred dollars probably cost me 4 vacation days in adjusting there and readjusting back here again. Its just not worth it to me.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-23 09:14:00
Philippines	Totally Awesome Day!!!!	Congrats, and keep your head down until you're home.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-27 08:52:00
Philippines	wedding in the philippines	Where did your friend get married? Below are posts from VJ member Pinay Wife from this thread: 1) If marriage was solemnized abroad, foreign divorce will be recognized in the Philippines (even if initiated by the Filipino citizen) after Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree is granted. 2) If marriage was solemnized in the Philippines, foreign divorce will only be recognized if initiated by the foreign spouse, but will not be recognized if initiated by the Filipino citizen. Our annulment laws are complicated, as you will see below: 1) If the Filipino citizen gets married in the U.S., and then gets divorced in the U.S., and it was the Filipino citizen who initiated the divorce, Philippines has no choice but to recognize the divorce. Philippine courts have NO JURISDICTION over the US marriage because Filipino citizen married under US laws. Only US courts can dissolve a US marriage. There is no basis for filing an annulment in the PI because the Philippines has no jurisdiction. No Philippine court will hear the case. In this regard, Filipino citizen can marry either in the PI or the US, as long as the US divorce is final. As far as the Philippines is concerned, if its citizen married in the US, then US laws apply. Since divorce is legal in the US, then the Philippines has to recognize US laws even if the party involved is a Filipino citizen. 2) If the Filipino citizen gets married in the Philippines, and then gets divorced in the US, and it was the Filipino citizen who initiated divorce, it will not be recognized in the PI. However, if the Filipino citizen has naturalized at time of filing/granting of divorce, then the divorce will be recognized in the PI. If petitioner, on the other hand, was Filipino citizen at time of filing, and then has become a US citizen by the time divorce was granted, divorce will not be recognized. 3) If Filipino citizen gets married in the Philippines, and then gets divorced in the US, and the US spouse initiated divorce, the Filipino spouse needs to file a Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree if she wants to marry in the PI again. Judicial Recognition not required if re-marrying in another country. Here's a website which talks about Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce and about annulment: My link. That's what I see as the big question. Will the marriage be legal in the Philippines all depends on if the marriage was reported to the Philippines and who filed for the divorce? An unreported marriage, shouldn't really affect her in the Philippines, because the NSO would still see her as single. If she can legally marry in the Philippines, its legal in the USA.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-31 17:30:00
Philippines	K-1 I129K visa Co-Sponsor / Manila	Don't tell this to "carton025". He will tell you that you are wrong and he will "eat your lunch". Many people decide what they think is right and then say its the way things work. But what's right and the way things are, often differ. I just think the OP needs to know the best way to get a co-sponsor accepted. No one can say it will work, but there are ways to improve the chances. Although if I needed to rely on a co-sponsor in Manila, I would definitely go the get married and use a CR-1. It would suck so much to wait so long and then get denied over a co-sponsor. I've never heard of a co-sponsor being rejected in Manila when the petitioner went to the interview. I've seen some say after getting the white slip denial for income, they've replied with the co-sponsor I-864A and gotten approved.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-26 11:56:00
Philippines	K-1 I129K visa Co-Sponsor / Manila	Many have gotten both approved and denied using a co-sponsor with a K-1 in Manila. The CO is not required to accept a co-sponsor on a K-1 visa, it is up to the CO's discretion. They are required to accept co-sponsors with the CR-1. Those that have a strong case on all other aspects tend to get approvals. Besides strong proof of a relationship, have a close family relationship to the co-sponsor who is strong financially, used the I-864A form for the co-sponsor, and/or have the petitioner show up at the interview. Use as many as those as possible to get the co-sponsor accepted. The CO can easily use non acceptance of the co-sponsor to deny the visa when he doesn't feel the K-1 applicant has made a strong case in other areas.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-26 10:06:00
Philippines	report of marriage and passport renew	hello to all, I have another question, I will do my report of marriage and passport renewal in Washington DC, do i need to bring 2 return postal envelop? because it says that both need a postal return? i wonder if 1 return envelop will do my original marriage certificate and the renew passport. I'd call the consulate and ask them. When ever I've called Chicago, they've been really helpful in answering questions.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-08-07 16:09:00
Philippines	report of marriage and passport renew	Yes, that is the website I have always used. I got my visa there. Where did you go to the outreach? We haven't yet. We just signed her up for the Minnesota outreach to renew her passport on August 11th. We did the report of marriage by mail already. Her passport expires in January, so the timing has worked out perfect for us.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-30 07:29:00
Philippines	report of marriage and passport renew	How can I find outreach programs for the Chicago consulate? Pleeaase.. For some reason Chicago has two web sites. This one will have the information on the outreach program. http://www.chicagopcg.com/ Chicago wants those applying at the outreach events to send their applications in early. They told me one month ahead of time, but when we didn't hear back with our appointment time, I called and they haven't actually done anything with the applications and won't until they finish up previous outreach events. You can show up and wait, but I've heard those that show up without an appointment end up in a very long line.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-29 14:17:00
Philippines	CFO SEMINAR	They need the maiden name because in states there is "no" family name.. So there is a possibility that there is a lots of ..... ...... (fiance name) in states but once they attached the maiden name of your fiance mother, only one person will come up.. Their point is they want to check if the petitioner did petitioned any filipina before or to see if they are block listed here.. Landline number is because, simcard can be replaced instantly and the landline cannot "cut" easily!!! They discussed it on the seminar.. The problem is 1/3 of Americans no longer have landlines. As more and more people get cell phones, fewer are seeing the need for paying for a landline they never use. I have a magicjack line, only because my daughter is over sometimes and she might need to call out when I'm not there. Even she has a cell, but she forgets to keep it charged all the time or leaves it at her mother's house. I don't recall if my wife needed my landline number when she went through the CFO, but she did know the magicjack number.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-08-03 08:55:00
Philippines	How did you earn your first buck?	8 years old, I shoveled snow off driveways. $1 for a normal snow, $2 if over 6 inches. First actual paycheck was at age 11. I delivered a local advertising paper. One cent per house delivered to 360 houses, once a week. Felt I was rich at that time with $3.60 per week coming in.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-26 07:47:00
Philippines	My wife took her oath of enlistment today in the military	Wow, its all I can think to say. I don't think I'd like my wife gone that long personally, but its good you're supporting her dreams.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-26 07:42:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	something I have noticed is breastfeeding.... almost seems normal and natural in my wife's village. Something moms are expected to do. In the US, it is completely going against the grain. Any mom breastfeeding in the US can expect either praise or ridicule. And usually if you are out, are expected to "cover" yourself in the US for exposing yourself during feeding. Explaining this to my wife is not easy. Village culture she grew up in is very different. Around here, women cover themselves for modesty and because its often cold while breast feeding. Although I have noticed the occasional mother letting it all hang out while breast feeding, never in the winter though. Given viewpoints vary so much around here, some are shocked and some don't care at all. If she can handle the stares of the few that are offended, let her hang it out while feeding. Heck there are women that show more breasts at the beach than most breast feeding women do even when not covering the act. In the USA you don't have to act to keep the most prudish happy.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-10 05:23:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	Yeah I have seen dog served at a wedding, I have probably eat dog just did not know it. Don't think being poor or can't afford other meats has a lot to do with it, just a tradition thing i think. If I had to, guess I rather eat dog compared to grilled chicken guts!, he he. How about grill dogs guts? Yeah is seems eating dog is a tradition in some areas. My wife never likes the assumption that Filipinos eat dogs. To her dogs are pets. But I do know in other places, make your pet look too good and fattened up, you better keep it locked up tight or its going to end up on someone's dinner table.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-06 12:55:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	Are you using banana leaves instead of paper plates? If it doesn't freeze where you live, you can grow a banana tree for a ready supply. Can't grow banana trees here, it gets much too cold. I have seen we can buy banana leaves frozen in the local Filipino store. I think my wife likes the convenience of paper plates here over banana leaves though, when we have need for them.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-06 10:39:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	very true even i eat everything with a fork it seems just natural. Infact if you eat rice wid spoon it seems odd Seemed odd eating rice with a spoon to me at first. Now its just seems normal. And if we're eating messy finger food, then eating rice with your fingers does a good job keeping them clean.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-06 08:50:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	Younger = spoiled, demanding, foolish Older = mean, miserly, boring Which is why I may not be getting any younger, but I'm refusing to grow old. My wife laughs at me because I started counting my age backwards at a certain year. I just told her by the time I get Alzheimer's, I'll be counting the right mental age	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-19 10:55:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	They're doing what the electorate wants. The retirees participation rate in elections is something like twice the youngest eligible cohort. There is no political counterpart to the AARP for young people. The older people have money and power whereas the young don't. So I don't blame politicians. It is the corruption in the people. The system was wrong from the beginning. Old people that didn't put a penny into the system just started getting checks from working people. Every generation since then uses the theft from them to justify theft from the next generation. The Filipino way is not only more honest, but retains the strength of family bonds. Often the burden falls on the few or one in the family though, even if more could help. I'll say yes in a way it can be more honest, at least you have to face that you're taking from your children. In the USA, the system is based on having income so cheap can't just opt out. The Philippines does have SS just like the USA now though. Although I think those that did not contribute do not get anything.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-04 14:22:00
Philippines	American vs Filipino	Jeez! How lucky Hawaii and California as they get most Filipino stuffs pretty easy. Even the Philippine mango! They got it. Hope they share some to midwest. Haven't noticed the cookies, but the ice cream and golden mangoes just like the Philippines are available in my part of the Midwest, Minneapolis/St Paul area. The ice cream is at the only Filipino grocery in town and the mangoes are all over the Asian groceries when in season. And we really don't have a whole lot of Filipinos in Minnesota compared to other parts of the country.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-05-31 16:14:00
Philippines	airport pick up plans?	My wife's final destination was her POE. She had a roaming sim for a smart cell phone, but I think it didn't get activated before she left, as it never worked. I had a USA cell phone for her on arrival. But she was so slow getting through immigration and customs that it was me freaking out waiting for over 3 hours for her to get out of there. I even called the airlines to make sure she didn't miss her connection in Japan. Although she was nervous, she handled it perfectly, even asking questions in Japan when she was unsure which way to go. Her only complaint was how long the flight was between Japan and the USA.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-08-20 15:53:00
Philippines	Consular outreach	You have to see how your consulate works the outreach program. We're still waiting to get contacted by the consulate on our appointment for the outreach in Minnesota, we go through the Chicago office. I've heard you can wait in line if you don't have an appointment, but the line is extremely long here. As the consulate explained it to me, here they start working on the next one, once they've finished the last one. The last Chicago held was the 28th of July and the one here is the 11th of August. But they wanted our application turned in a month ahead of time. The location was just posted about a week ago, so everything is pretty much set up at the last minute. Maybe your office has a little more planning than Chicago does. But its always been easy to call the consulate and get updates on what to do and what the current plan is.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-07-31 17:24:00