No Q.
1 Like
Menkeke.Walang anuman
Dude, this guy is their president. Of course they do.
I’m sure he’s up to the task, but he’s too busy murdering drug dealers.
That’s his favorite, but he has no qualms about killing a whole range of “undesirables.”
Little bit outside of cebu. I forgot what it’s call. There’s an area where the sex tourists go for that kind of stuff. And it’s pretty available if you look for it
Look developing countries are truly a land of opportunity. All Taiwanese people in the old country have big houses, several cars, live the good life, with thriving businesses. Or at least did before I left.
Told you about the guy who landed in my Mom´s court at 16 or 17. FOB, started selling plastic watches in a market, got caught obviously, almost got himself shipped back to Tainan if my Mom had not taken pity on him and given him another chance. Lo and behold, she retires and goes back to colege for language courses. Guess who she met? Mr. Now Big Guy Businessman who was migrating to Canada and was taking language courses too.
I have a dear friend from the US and she is happy as a clam in teh old country. We used to work together but now she is teaching in a private school and is married to a local, has two lovely bright kids. Has a huge house, all exotic tropical wood made, up in teh mountains where the mist and clouds cover most of the time, huge property. Almost every weekend by the beach. Living the life. And yes, she did have to go through some hoops to get residency and teh whole enchilada, even though she was married to a local. And don´t get me strated on building permits. But she is happy as a clam.
In summary, people can live and thrive in those places. Soem find a good fit, some an uneasy fit. For some, they are just a springboard to greater things. I went to an international school, I´d say half of my classmates, both local and foreign, left the country for US or Europe.
But it is a different “strata”. A whole different enchilada from teh day to day grime of surviving without power, when teh country belongs to otehrs. Sometimes I do shiver when I see the news over there and one of my classmates, whose father´s secretary did his homework, is now a legislator. Pedigree and money and not too much upstairs. There are worlds within worlds, which reminds me more of those carved ivory rotating balls you see at the National Palace Museum. That is our society. And falling between the cracks is deadly.
The worst part I think, over the political and economic realities and constraints, is the mental barriers. There is this iron clad belief in destiny, in the way things are. Anything that tries to innovate, enact change, try something else, escape the pod… is anathema. You pay with your life for any rebellion. It can be loss of face, it can be subversive sexual or gender or class role. Things are like this, have been like that for eons, fall in line… or die. That is the true burden and lock of underdevelopment.
For exmaple, teh matter of security issues, why is life so cheap there. I always warn people, those 20 US$ hotels are cheap for a reason. Even in teh expensive hotels, you are putting your lives at risk because someone is not being paid enough to live. And hence, the cost cutting eventualy will roll to you, the unadverted visitor. Cheap wiring, unsafe conditions, illegal chemicals, expired food. It will get you. Because teh ones at teh top want it all.
I think it is part of teh trauma that someone once just landed from abroad and said, thsi is mine. The locals trie dtod efend themselves and were killed. They identified then with teh powerful ones and copied their behavior
On this the glorious day of “discovery” and “cultural unity”, I think of ths chupatz to come and say “I came to save you. Give me your life, your land, your gold, your women, and I will save your soul”. And that is why religion is so important in our countries. And the saviors insist they gave us “civilization”. yet they killed 90% of the population. And we have trailed behind teh rest of teh world and keep on geting the short end of the stick. Even more, we willingly keep hitting each other, keeping each otehr in line with the idea of falling behind…
3 Likes
That H is still well behind in the Ole Country. Sorry good post 
Wouldn´t be my post without typos. Especially teh.
1 Like
What is your old country? Nicaragua? Honduras? Costa Rica?
Icon doesn’t kiss and tell.
3 Likes
As a current resident of this dumpster fire country, I would highly, highly, highly recommend that you DON’T come here to live.
Edited out the rest of my rant. Would rather stay under the radar like @finley alluded to.
I keep my secrets too Icon. I won’t tell.
1 Like
Well, I’ve found my way of dealing with it, such that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I have a smallish circle of friends there who are normal human beings (about 50-50 foreigners and locals). The only major frustration at this point is that I’d like to hire employees, but since “work” is a does-not-compute concept for 95% of the population, I’m basically working by myself. Not a disaster, just means I can’t get stuff done as quickly as I’d like.
I reckon we should hand over ranting duties to @Icon. She seems much better at it than I am.
Are you out in the wilderness ?? Finley ?
Most of the time, yes. Totally off-the-grid, near a village so small and grotty it doesn’t even merit the word ‘hicksville’. The business is in the city.
Um. Not that I’m an expert, but just looking at a globe it seems like the T-Dubs is in the Northeastern parts. Or at the mininum Central East. Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc look really far south. Like, the difference/distance between Norway and Spain.
1 Like
Redwagon ( from many years ago) is down south.
T-Dubs?
If you mean Taiwan, I never implied it was in SE Asia.
Ever since China built a road into Tibet and marched their Army in there to conquer it, I always think that any road, train, or mass transportation system built by the Chinese will eventually be used to transport Chinese troops into battle some day and conquer the place it was built in.