Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	I avoided girls from Mindanao	Strange topic, I just had to read the thread, and now I guess I have to reply. My first trip in November 2006 to visit Jena was to Iligan City, Mindanao. Our government had a travel warning for all of Mindanao at the time. Having never traveled outside the US I was pretty nervous but Jena assured me everything would be safe. I put my trust in her and her family over the warning from our government. U.S., Australia warn of imminent terrorist attacks in Philippines 11:01' 11/10/2006 (GMT+7) The United States Embassy in Manila Tuesday said it received credible information that terrorists will stages bombing attacks in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao in the coming days. Mindanao, an island in the southern part of the Philippines The embassy warned American citizens in the Philippines to avoid travel to Mindanao due to threats of possible terror attacks, while American citizens residing and or working in the said area were urged to keep a low profile and reassess their personal safety.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-08-06 17:40:00
Philippines	How to use unlocked cell phone in U.S.A.	One has to look at the standard of living. Even in the philippines, prepaid is more expensive. Its just that people dont realize it because cellphone culture is tingi tingi and people hardly call because it is very expensive. I think it depends on usage in the US. We don't use our phones much so prepaid is cheaper us. Edited by kev_n_jena, 15 November 2011 - 10:49 AM.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-15 10:48:00
Philippines	How to use unlocked cell phone in U.S.A.	It wont take long in the USA before she realizes how screwed up the cell phone system is . She will quickly learn that prepaid in the USA actually costs more than being on contract, which is why most Americans are suffering $50 a month and up cell bills while hardly using them Know what my cell bill is in the Philippines? About $4 a month, Strange how a country like the USA can't get it together when it comes to communications companies but yet the philippines beats them in every fashion Prepaid is more expensive? I spend about $22/month on my phone and my wife spends about $30 for her phone since she calls Phils a couple times per month. That is prepaid with Virgin Mobile. I usually buy 200 mins. for $20 and 30 messages for $1.99. Kev n Jena	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-15 10:24:00
Philippines	Filipino Attitudes	I think that is the problem, expecting the Philippines, a developing country, to have the convenience that can be found in the US. My cousin, who grew up in the US, when he stayed in the Philippines for about a month, did not complain a bit about the inconvenience. Maybe because he is well traveled being in the military for four years and being deployed to other countries. Don't find the Philippines convenient, then go back to the US or live in expensive subdivisions to total isolation. I'm Kano but just the opposite. When we travel to PI, I prefer to stay in N. Samar in her small neighborhood. I mentioned to my wife that I could live in a nipa hut with no problem. I'd like it to be somewhere near the sea so I can have a breeze. Oh, and I prefer my beer cold, other than that, forget the conveniences. She told me I'd be living there by myself if I want a house like that	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-08 22:22:00
Philippines	Filipino Attitudes	LOL! I had the same experience with several Pinay I thought were my friends. I confronted 1 of the 3. I asked why they were treating me badly. She answered, "because they are jealous of you". Before I arrived in America, my husband contacted the archdiocese and identified several Filipina "plugged in" to the local Filipino community. All of them warned my husband and I to watch out and be careful. One of the ladies even advised hubby ko to discourage me making friends with Filipinas. When we asked why, she answered "because most of them will make trouble with tsismis and back stabbing. She said that "most are crazy competitive and crazy jealous." Filipino nga naman... Yep, I agree that can be true sometimes. We had a birthday party a couple years ago and invited a bunch of Filipinos to our house for lechon. We didn't realize that there were two groups of ladies that attended who didn't get along with each other very well. I guess they were very competitive. Since then, we just try to stay out of the drama.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-04 10:09:00
Philippines	4 days ......	Darren, You might consider doing the Filipino coin/cord/veil custom. It's very simple and with all the Filipino guests you're having, they might appreciate the touch. We included them in our ceremony. If you already mentioned it, oops, i missed it.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-08 22:05:00
Philippines	better if fiancee attends the interview???	OP, I'm glad I went back in 07. My wife had a hard time understanding the CO and I had to explain what the woman was asking a couple times during the interview. It was a great experience for us to go through together and we flew back to the US on the same flight luckily. Most people don't purchase tickets ahead of time but I'm a bit of a gambler and that time it paid off.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-09 19:57:00
Philippines	Registering the marriage to philippine consolate	Is the notarized letter explaining why waited so long to report the marriage, is that a requirement if you didn't report your marriage right away or what ? Coz we also didn't report our marriage yet, just planning to do that next year same time to renew my passport and have my name change at the New York consulate. Yes, I believe a letter is required. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Kev	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-29 20:52:00
Philippines	Registering the marriage to philippine consolate	We waited 3 1/2 years to report our marriage at the Chicago consulate. I think we had our letter explaining why we waited so long notarized since it's free where I work. You don't need a lawyer. Your reason for not filing can be as simple as "we didn't have time to drive to chicago". Kev n Jena	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-29 09:37:00
Philippines	money, ATM and exhanging	We xoomed money to my wifes father last trip (2011). We were in N. Samar and I couldn't find an ATM that worked. I also had a terrible time finding a place to exchange my nice crisp newer $100 bills. We drove around half the day before we finally found a place. We ended up exchanging a $1000 when we finally found one. That made me nervous too, riding 30 miles back to her folks house in a tricycle at night with 43,000 pesos in my pocket. Evidently there are night time highway robberies taking place around there these days.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-01-07 20:58:00
Philippines	How many pictures do I have to bring for the interview?	One of the most popular items we included was a picture of my family holding up a welcome sign for my fiance. Both the prescreener and the CO commented on it saying how nice it was. We also had pictures with my family holding a Philippine flag but since they were holding it upside down we didn't include it. We didn't want anyone to think there was a war starting Kevin	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-01-02 19:04:00
Philippines	Things you found strange about the Philippines	Hey, Jollibee is one of the things Filipinos overseas miss. You're not a Pinoy if you don't like Jollibee. And when your fiancee gets here, you would find yourself driving for miles just to get her "terrible" foods from Jollibee. Yep, good thing we have one in NYC. The wife is always asking me to bring her burgersteak or let's go to Jollibee. We just got back from Phils. It had been 4 years since Jena had been back home and she really was looking forward to Jollibee. The first day we were in Manila we went to Jollibee in the Mall of Asia. She ordered her favorite meal that she remembered but after eating, she realized that it wasn't as great as she thought. After living in the US for 4 years and eating at many different places, she has found many other resturants that she likes a lot more than Jollibee. She says she won't miss it now. She says that Jollibee isn't that great.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-07-24 15:58:00
Philippines	Things you found strange about the Philippines	I was a little surprised when the cook cut our porkchops for us with a pair of scissors on the ferry boat. Traveling overnight by ferry in economy class. I was the only kano. Don't look under the cushions of the bunks! Chickens tied to sticks and tree limbs were kind of interesting. You can buy single cigarettes for 1 or 2 pesos. On our last trip it was fiesta time in the barangay. There were fireworks every morning at 4:30 AM. The first morning I thought we were under attack by NPA. Scared the **** outa me! After the fireworks there was singing and praying over the loud speaker. During fiesta, the men started drinking brandy at 8 am. They drank till about noon, had a siesta and started drinking again! That's hardcore celebrating. There's a lot more, I'll have to think about it. Edited by kev_n_jena, 23 July 2011 - 02:02 PM.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-07-23 14:02:00
Philippines	New Addition to Our Family	Thank goodness he looks like Jena! Congratz Kevin and Jena Actually, he has Daddy's lips and Mommy's hair, but that's about all we can tell right now	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-07 18:33:00
Philippines	New Addition to Our Family	congrats on the baby. he is so cute and precious. enjoy ur time as a new dad(if you are)(if not just enjoy him in general) Yes, we are both first time parents and he's also a first Grandchild to my parents. Needless to say, he's spoiled already at five days old. Kev & Jena	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-07 17:33:00
Philippines	New Addition to Our Family	Kyle John @ 2 days old, born 04/02/12, 7 lbs. 13 oz., 20 in. and very cute IMHO  Kyle John 1 email.jpg   108.31KB   39 downloads Kev & Jena	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-07 17:09:00
Philippines	This CENOMAR insanity	We feel your pain. We've been waiting 8 months for them to tell us when her fingerprint appointment is. They already have her fingerprints too. But she has to take them again for Removal of Conditions. We do service requests and the answer is: "we will let you know when an appointment is available". It's all about obedience to authority. Learn this well: once you have proven you are absolutely servile to your government masters then you are fit to be an American Citizen. Not to highjack the thread but it seems that it may have run it's course for the time being anyway. I guess I see where the OP is coming from and hope it's resolved in short order. Speaking of Removal of Conditions and fingerprints, a friend of mine took his wife in to have her prints taken two times for Removal of Conditions and they couldn't get a good set either time. He ended up having to go to his local police department and have her record printed showing that she hadn't been in any trouble since she entered the country. For the amount of money they charge you would think they could get that information themselves fairly easily. That was about four years ago.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-14 22:28:00
Philippines	Just sharing- We're goin to have a baby girl...^_^	Congratulations! I tried to imagine what being a first time parent would be like but until I experienced it last week, I had no clue. I think I'll get off this computer and go hold my son. Just think, you guys are going to be able to hold your own little one soon too! It's so awesome my words just can't descibe the feeling! Thoughts and prayers for the health of mother and baby!	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-12 09:39:00
Philippines	pregnancy... and traditions	PLease don't flame me, burn me, or otherwise get annoyed. BUT...... last night I noticed there are some filipino traditions different from American traditions..... so I am trying to understand some of them.... It seems in the Filipina world, the Filipina throws the baby shower? Or something like this? I also understand there are certain foods they do and don't eat during pregnancy? Just interested to get other people's perspective..... new territory for me.... been trying to be a hubby ko for her.... lots of going to Doctors, dentists, etc. Just trying to learn... do have other questions... but trying to understand this one first..... Darren, Here are a few things I heard during my wife's pregnancy. They're not really traditions per se. 1. Don't drink or eat cold things or your baby will be BIG! 2. If your tummy itches the baby has a lot of hair. 3. As you said, if the woman is glowing, it's a girl, if she's "poor" looking it's a boy. 4. If your neck gets dark it's a boy. 5. If you eat dark food like chocolate your baby will have dark skin. 6. When you are a young girl, if you watch a woman or animal giving birth you will have a hard labor when you give birth. Make sure to look away or cover your eyes. We went through prenatal classes together and educated ourselves as best we could. As far as the above suggestions and ideas and many more that I can't recall, Jena always discussed them with me and we always had a good chuckle. Good LUCK!	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-17 21:44:00
Philippines	food likes and hates	Jena's tastes didn't really change during pregnancy. She had been in the US for about 4 years before we decided it was time to stop being so careful. Her tastes had already changed quite a bit. We only eat rice once or twice a week, usually for Sunday breakfast or when we run out of bread and potatoes. We grill most of our food during nice weather and often grill during the winter too. Throw a whole chicken on the grill for about an hour, it's easy, cheap, and delicious. Buy a whole pork loin and slice it up. Again, it can be very inexpensive and delicious. We steam or grill all of our vegetables besides fresh salads. We almost never fry food at home.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-17 13:10:00
Philippines	10 Reasons To Marry A Filpina	My wife would prefer it if I lived in a warmer part of the country. But then would probably not enjoy AZ summers either. We're expecting 91 today and she's all excited. I myself broke down and turn on the air conditioning. Here in Illinois, Jena loves the change of seasons and prefers cooler weather. I guess she had enough hot humid weather growing up in N. Samar. We were there last May for 2 weeks with no aircon and the humidity was horrid. The air isn't on at our house yet, I'm too kuripot .	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-18 10:10:00
Philippines	Finances and Such ... Philippines	I am not trying to judge. Please, don't get me wrong. I don't know if you understand how food stamps work, but normally, people who can afford to buy a Mercedes would not qualify. That was the point. If she plans on giving food to the homeless out of charity, she should do it on her own dime. Using US citizens' tax dollars to feed self or others is not charity. Now, about those people on the streets. This is where logic comes in. People with enough money, no food stamps. People on the streets, food stamps. No, I care about "wherever" my money goes. If I want to contribute to charity, I will. That is what makes it charity. I have no say in what the government does with my money. I am not against welfare at all. I am against people whom don't need it and take it the same way I am against people whom would enter my home and decide what they would like from me. I believe you do have a say in what your government does with your money. #1 VOTE #2 RUN FOR OFFICE #3 Contribute to a candidate you agree with. #4 Volunteer for a group or candidate with the same opinion as yours. #5 Post on the internet like you are doing here. There are many other ways to have a say in what your government does. These are just a few.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-26 22:40:00
Philippines	Finances and Such ... Philippines	We get all kinds of name brand stuff. Shirts are $2, pants $6 at the thrift store. I got sweatshirts from obscure religious camps, rock bands I don't like, and sometimes get comments..."Oh dood those guys are great, saw them in L.A." For cars we have mostly Subarus - eight of them including the one I buried for a septic system. The most expensive thing in the yard is a 55,000 lb dump truck. That was five grand, but looks like four. We prefer the newer rigs, the newest one is a '91 Toyota truck, and we use that for logging so it's by far our favorite. I had a Honda CRX we got for $300, but they clocked me at 104 mph in that thing so it was best to get rid of it. The ticket cost more than the car. We like to keep our car payments to a few hundred ideally. Not per month. Total. She helps her family, but that is her business. Anyway, it is real important how we look to others so clothes are important. If you don't wear clothes people are going to stare. With cars, they have to be reliable. If you have eight of one model, it's a cinch you can get at least two running at the same time. The Subarus you mention remind me of my Father. He had 4 AMC Eagle station wagons all the time for the rural mail route. He usually kept 3 running and one for parts. He gave me one to drive to work when my other car died. After a snow storm the engine compartment was packed with snow and I didn't clean it out. The car backfired and blew a whole in the top of a piston. I removed the the plug wire and drove it on 5 cylinders every day for about 6 months before I sold it to the junk yard. Top speed was about 50 mph. I like your location description. "No town thank God". We've done our best here to stay isolated, living on a dead end road in the woods with no neighbors visible from our property. Getting more than 2 inches of snow means plowing ourselves out if we're home or in if we're at work.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-26 05:54:00
Philippines	Finances and Such ... Philippines	My wife knew how kuripot I was right away. I made sure she knew everything about me so there would be less surprises when she arrived. As it turns out, she's as cheap as I am on most things. She worked for 2 1/2 years and just turned in her resignation today so she can stay home with our new son. Her family lives in N. Samar and there aren't many ways to make a living there. She supported them on her promo salary before she met me. Luckily her Dad found work about a year ago. They don't have much and there are still three young kids to feed and clothe there. She's done her best to help them out over the past five years but now it's time to take care of our son and save for him. She would never think of buying expensive branded items. She cringes every time she opens her wallet and the moths fly out. She spent $150 on a shopping trip one time and it almost killed her. I heard about it for months.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-25 22:23:00
Philippines	da boat	the house is in the magsaysay province. It was back from the river, but recently flooded just after Gretchen came here last fall. the family is doing better now. Gretchen is quite happy. She loves being in America. Gretchen is studying for her driver's license. She also can't wait to give birth. She is in the final trimester of her pregnancy. We should also be starting AOS filing next week. It has been some very rough months regarding finances, but things are improving. I love the house we have, but it seems such a burden sometimes. Musta, You bought the boat Darren? Good for you, I hope someone can make some money with it. We've bought a couple pedicabs, given out loans and made some home improvements for mama and papa over the years. Now we're focused on OUR family a little more as I'm sure you two will be. My wife just gave birth to our first son on 4/2/12. It is the first child for both of us and we're both learning a lot and having a blast! Are you having a boy or girl or is it a surprise? I liked what I saw of your place in the video and wedding pics. I can also understand feeling burdened by it. I chose a different route. I spent my money on acreage rather than an expensive building. It holds it's value better, doesn't fluctuate as much during downturns in real estate and the taxes are almost zero. Our house is a very modest manufactured type. Health insurance is my burden now, not real estate.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-12 08:43:00
Philippines	What race your baby is .. ?	I for one will be glad when the government stops asking.... Unless it's for medical reasons, none of anybody's business. On the last census, my wife and I didn't check a box for race for either of us. As a matter of fact, on the last census I only answered what was legally required, number of occupants. When they came back to get more information I told them to go away and they did. If forced to answer to some bureaucrat in the future I will say OTHER if that's an option. Can you tell I'm not a fan of government?	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-02 07:55:00
Philippines	Does your wife know how to swim?	The other night Wade's family was talking about going camping on memorial weekend. They told me all the activities we will do and mentioned swimming. I told them that I don't know how to swim and Wade's dad was really shocked. He was like "Are you sure you're a Filipino?!?!, Filipinoes are good swimmers". He said that it's a Filipino stereotype, well a positive stereotype. I am curious if it's true. I don't know how to swim and I think only 5% of my friends know how. Even in the family, only my mother and my father know how to swim. How about your wife, does she know how to swim? No, Jena doesn't know how to swim. I was quite surprised when I found out. She had to take a boat to and from highschool and college everyday.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-07 16:45:00
Philippines	collectors	Darren, It's interesting that your wife doesn't know about collecting things. Every Filipino's house I've ever been to has a collection of some sort on display. Sometimes the collections are in a glass case and consist of relatively expensive items considering the owners income level. Other times the items are displayed in the open and are relatively less expensive. I'm speaking of every Filipino's house that I've been in wether it was in The Philippines or the USA. The collections ranged from cast metal to plastic toys and from stuffed animals to whisky bottles. Even the simplest bahay kubo had a collection of hand made items and sea shells. Maybe your wife just doesn't understand your particular collection and there is a slight communication problem.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-20 12:44:00
Philippines	When married/wife's name change on Philippine passport/CFO Stamp	I would like to know anyone who after married their wife in the US did a name change on their wife's Philippine passport. How did the CFO Stamp get handled. Did they just change the biographic page to her new name or issue a completely new passport. Is the CFO stamp required if she has her GC but still uses her Philippine passport for travel to the Philippines. Thanks. Jena didn't have her passport changed to her married name until right before we traveled back to the Philippines. We registered our marriage with the Philippine embassy first and then she got a new passport with her married name. She didn't need to do anything with the CFO. They will ask why you didn't register your marriage sooner if you wait but we just said we didn't know we needed to.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-08 05:49:00
Philippines	Been there for the Interview!!!	Embassy in Manila will allow the USC (petitioner) to attend the interview, no problem. They will more than likely ask you as many questions as they do you fiancee, they did when I was there. I answered almost every question during the interview. On the questions she HAD to answer, I explained the question to her. The CO was speaking rather quickly and Jena was pretty nervous.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-08 12:15:00
Philippines	Passport Renewal and Reporting of Marriage..	Thanks for the links guys. Does it really necessary to report your marriage at the same time for renewing passport ? Specially if you are going to change your last name to your married name ? Or I can just re-new my passport now and just report our marriage later ? It just so much going on with us right now. If the report of marriage can wait, I just want to re-new my passport first for right now. We reported the marriage because we wanted her passport to match her greencard when we returned to the USA after vacationing in The Philippines.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-08 12:11:00
Philippines	Passport Renewal and Reporting of Marriage..	We did our report of marriage by mail before we went to the embassy. I'm not exactly sure how long it took but I'm thinking it was less than 6 weeks. http://www.philippin...aq-dc/#marriage http://www.philippin...of Marriage.pdf	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-08 10:27:00
Philippines	Manny gets the shaft	Bob Arum's TOP RANK promotes both Pacquiao and Bradley. http://www.toprank.com/fighters Bob says, "the judges are incompetent but the judges are honest". Bob is not a very good actor or liar but he doesn't really need to be. Everyone in the industry knows what happened but there's nothing they can do about it. It's all a show. The fans are the losers here. As a long time boxing fan, I understand it and almost expect it. I'm sure I'll watch Manny fight again if he continues after this. I'm not going to stop watching boxing as many have said. One thing I wonder is, how many people at Top Rank knew what was going to happen if the fight went to a decision. Did both corners know?	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-10 08:38:00
Philippines	cooking	most of the meat is from the freezer. Things I need to use before the time is up on them. Also, when we got here she used to eat steaks, pork, etc. Since being pregnant she has refused many times. I don't understand why, but it is something she is choosing to do, probably based on superstitions. Might be the red meat and complexion thing. I just try to go along with it. Sometimes I find thing strange like eating french fries but not mashed potatoes. The doctor put her on a strict diet regarding fish. She is only allowed 16 ounces per week. (This is due to the mercury contamination in the fish which affects pregnant women with birth defects..) Cole slaw and potato salad she does not like. A lot of this is probably the pregnancy. the language is to help me the next time we visit... most likely there will be times when I am alone in the house or hotel or the family wants to talk with me and Gretchen will not be around because of visiting friends or because of the baby.... we watch a few hours of TFC a week. normally 1 or 2 hours per day. (Gretchen will watch a whole lot more and has some shows to record.) The family loves that I am making the effort to learn. It impresses them how much I have learned already. All I know is when they start the karaoke, it is never too hot or too cold outside on the porch for me.... It's very understandable that she refuses some food that she ate before. My wife's tastes changed during her pregnancy too. The thing I don't understand is you say "I don't understand why, but it is something she is choosing to do, probably based on superstitions" Don't you guys talk? You know what happens when you ASSume right? Assuming is a dangerous thing in a relationship. I prefer to have adult discussions, especially when it comes to taking care of our child.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-19 15:22:00
Philippines	cooking	Darren, I know many peoples lives revolve around food and meals. About 20 years ago I had to change my diet temporarily. I cut out all saturated fat and hydrogenated oils for over a year. It was very very difficult to get family members to spend time with me without centering that time around a meal. Any time I was invited over to someones house, they wanted to know what I wanted to eat. I would tell them, don't worry about me, lets just do something in between meals. It never seemed to work very well. Maybe if you could stop focusing on food and the meal so much and replace it with some other activity it would be helpful. I know that's easy to say but harder to do. After the baby is born you need to keep your wife well nourished if she's breast feeding. She probably won't feel like cooking the first few weeks.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-16 11:05:00
Philippines	cooking	I should stress the reasons I post on here are to help me with my wife. the cooking and throwing out of food bothers me (besides reading with the kids at night when we have them here).... cooking very, very much (just one of those childhood things) the cooking bothers me because of my ex, and how II had to make my own meals with my ex the last few years of marriage.... it sometimes had me "feeling" like I am still married to my ex. I am trying to get over this by reminding myself of other things with asawa ko. Plus trying to find a way to talk it over with her, realizing this may just be pregnancy related right now, or may be something I need to deal with.... but don't know how much relates to pregnancy since I do not know how much American food she likes. I am drifting back to watching more cooking shows again... I just don't know if it is for her benefit or for mine. I notice a LOT of visayan conversation at the family home to the point of exclusion of the Americans there. (there are just 2 Americans there, me plus the other guy.) I know he gets extremely frustrated because of it. Me, I am learning visayan so they cannot shut me out of the conversations.... Darren, Does it bother you because you think your wife should be the one doing the cooking rather than you? I wouldn't expect my wife to cook during her pregnancy if she didn't want to. When my wife was working I did 90% of the cooking. I grill out almost every day except in the dead of winter. During hot weather I don't like to run the oven inside. Now that Jena stays home with the baby everyday she does most of the cooking. She's been here almost five years and cooks almost 100% American style meals. Not because I ask for it, it's just what she prefers now. We only have rice about once per week, she prefers potatoes believe it or not. As far as throwing out food, you could compost it. Do you have room for a garden? If not, you can use the compost in container gardening. It's a great hobby, saves money, and is a great lesson for kids.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-16 06:51:00
Philippines	Helping her to adjust to life here	Speaking of our experience and that of others in our same situation, I can say there's really no way to tell how much home sickness a person will feel. It depends on the individual. Jena had been living with her aunt and uncle and working on a different island than her parents when we met online. I think that helped her in her move here to the US. I also got her an apartment for the last 3 or 4 months before she got her visa. I think that helped a lot. It was mainly so she could have wifi and chat more often with me. I made it a point to meet some local Filipinos before Jena got here and introduced her to them when she arrived. An older couple we know took her parents place at our wedding. We also incorporated some Filipino traditions during the wedding ceremony. (coins, cord, veil) If you have family near you, hopefully then can be involved in your lives. My folks love her as their own daughter. Actually they might love her more than me I'm sure if we had a difference of opinion they'd take her side! It took me awhile to figure out when my wife was getting homesick. She had a hard time expressing herself to me when we were first married. As she would put it, "she was a little shy to show her feelings to me". She wasn't so much homesick, rather she missed her little sister mostly, they are very close. She would become withdrawn and very quiet. I would ask her what was the matter but she wouldn't speak to me about it. I would think it was something I did wrong and try to pry it out of her which usually made things worse. After many episodes, she started telling me, "I just miss my family". The only thing I could do at that point was to try to comfort her and get her on the phone to her folks. Thankfully she adjusted and she doesn't experience those feelings now. If she can't open up to you at first, don't be surprised. Just show her love and explain that a husband and wife need to be open and honest with each other. Congrats!	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-10-08 23:01:00
Philippines	Internet Love or not to Love?	I don't know if "the majority of America is heading into the lower income range", but my observation is that women put a range the same as their own or slightly higher. One reason for doing so is because men can be sensitive about earning less than their significant other. There's really nothing inherently wrong with earning under 50k, but given that many who are seriousy looking for a mate online are older, it's not unreasonable to think/hope that there will be men with that earning potential. Or maybe I'm just seeing those ranges because that's what I'm looking for as well. Even my "Honey Pinas" has to have the potential to earn because I want to enhance my life, not make it harder. I've never been to filipinaheart or dateinasia because I'm not necessarily looking for a "Filipina" in the context of how many men here see them. But to answer your question, women know that men who go on those sites fall into a certain category, therefore put "ANY" in order to increase their chances of "hooking" them. All putting "ANY" for income requirements tells me is that the "lucky" man is nothing more than a conduit to America; a means to an end. That doesn't mean that the woman won't be able to love you; it just means she will have to "learn" to love you. Loosely translated, that means she will eventually "love" you if her life becomes settled to her satisfaction. Not such a bad thing, but it's not the "true love" so many tout. Why don't you try meeting a Filipina on one of those sites and tell her up front that you have no money, will never be able to send any, and that you plan to give up your job and any money or assets you have to go live with her in the province in the same house she grew up in. Let's see what happens. My wife has related thoughts she had as a child many times. She remembers looking at jets in the sky and thinking she would marry a foreigner and be flying on a jet someday. She tells of how she and her girlfriends would talk about who they would marry. This is when they were in elementary and high school. One of her friends wanted to marry a Japanese man while another wanted to marry a Chinese man. She says it was funny because they thought that all white men were Kano and that's what she wanted to marry. A Kano with blue eyes. She tells me to this day, and her story has never changed, she fell in love with me the first time she saw my picture in 2005. I can honestly say, I fell in love with her the first time we chatted on cam. Before we saw each other on cam, I tried my best to dissuade her knowing how young she was. I know it's hard to believe and I don't blame you if you don't believe our story. Obviously this isn't always the case for internet relationships, but it does happen, even if there is a significant age difference.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-23 20:48:00
Philippines	Internet Love or not to Love?	"I would like to know the percentage of K1 or K3 Visa's started with Internet Dating" Check the poll, there's also a poll I made about how long you knew each other before meeting in person. "and how everyone's relationship is going? Pros, Cons etc." We met online in 2005 and married in 2007. Our relationship is going very well. We both love each other and our first child was born about three months ago. Pros for me: 1) Hot young wife 2) More traditional relationship and home life than I found in women I met in the US 3) No baggage from previous relationships (this is huge for me) Pros for her: 1) financial stability 2) Tall blue eyed handsome 3) Extremely faithful Cons for me: 1) Only one I can think of: I must pay for her education before she will have much earning potential. I don't really care and am happy to do it. Cons for her: 1) Older husband with less chance of being around in 20 or 30 years. (anybody can get hit by a bus though ) 2) Being away from her family	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-06-21 13:54:00
Philippines	I joked that she'd need a wheelbarrow to take her stuff to the interview	One of the most popular things my wife and I brought to the interview was a picture of my family holding up a "Welcome To The USA Jena!" sign. Both the Filipino screener and the CO commented how nice it was to see my family was waiting for her arrival. We also had a picture of them holding up a Filipino flag, but they were holding it upside down "meaning they are at war!" We didn't include that photo! Remembering that interview day still brings a tear to my eye.	kev_n_jena	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-05-30 12:54:00