Recent content by PhilAmerican

Dear Ed, I seem to have given the impression this early retirement was planned. It's not the case. It all started with the house fire X'mas 2007 (the house belonged to my boyfriend) ... re-built a new house July 2008 ... financial melt-down September 2008 ... lost my job December 2008 ...

Dear W2R, I'm glad you found the list useful. I believe people are fundamentally the same all over. It is only when accidental differences cannot be forgiven, that trouble starts. My decision to return to the Philippines was triggered by my boyfriend's decision to move to Vieques, Puerto...

Dear Jesaco, I'm sorry I offended you despite my best efforts. But this is a thread and I was being mindful that I was addressing my words to a larger audience than just yourself. That my (late) father (not me) belonged to a "landed" family is entirely an accident of history. Do, however...

Dear Jesaco, I fear I will be disabusing you of some of your fantasies, so I want to apologize beforehand that no offense is intended here. Yes, English is a secondary language spoken badly by most Filipinos. The primary language may be one of 60+ languages (documented so far) of which there...

Dear Ed, Thank you for your suggestions. I will keep these in mind. In response to your question, I take every opportunity to visit the Philippines because I have family there. My sense of the 'old country' is probably better than those who live there because I study its history and its many...

Dear Queenie, My story is the reverse of yours. My father sent me to upstate NY for my undergraduate and graduate degrees in 1974 and I ended up staying here. Now, after the financial melt-down of 2007, losing my job in 2008 and being unable to find another job in the last three years, I am...