I have lived on one of the 7,100 islands of the Philippines all my life. Once I dreamed of leaving to seek the so called greener pastures in the land of milk and honey. But I married a lawyer whose comfort is deeply planted in the Philippine soil. So now in my early mid year crisis, I am stuck in the Philippine shores.
Well it’s not that bad really. It’s a tropical country that has rains and plenty of it. The good side is that it probably has more holidays than most countries in the world. It is part of our culture to have maids. Heck, we even get a person to assist us just by backing out of a mall’s parking lot. And I think having a padrino is also a big part of our culture. To the western world, the influence and power of a friend to bail you out of most troubles probably confuses you. You see in the Philippines the Godfather culture exists in just about any part of our life. You can ease your way out of a traffic ticket because the judge in the area is your uncle. Or in my case I name drop just about anybody. I actually invent names like Justice Cruz is my dad. Or I would blurt out excuses like “Colonel Santos is my boss and I am in a hurry to meet him”… Really. The traffic enforcers actually give back my license and give the snappiest salute fitting for a high ranking Military officer.
margaritabythebeach 