two faces... two emotions...

[Florge]

I woke up today energised and well.. although there's no sun, I still consider this a good day. I'm thinking : Spring will be here soon. So better stop whining. Then I remeber my Dad's text: Anak, watch Manny Pacuiao's fight. Oh yeah, have to go online and look around for a video somewhere about his fight. Of course, there's this pride you feel when a kababayan bring prestige to your country. Wohoo! Manny won again. I can almost hear the jubillant cheers in the cinemas there; in the gymnasiums where the fight is seen for free. Ah! I am proud to be Pinoy.

Then came the news at six. ITV featured a story about the Philippines, and this British guy who planned to build a playground there. The video featured the smokey mountain in Tondo. This brought back memories of my outreach activities with my former company; and some outreach programs on my birthdays and during Christmases. It seemed like a different earth seeing it on TV. I cried for my kababayans and the poverty they have to go through just to stay alive.

In the background, I heard my neighbor's kids talking and yelling and swearing. And some were running from the corner shop, shouting f-ing words at each other, squandering their allowance with ciggies and beer. They look so miserable and unhappy. You can see it in their cold jaded eyes.

What a great contrast: Poverty but warm smiles and genuine laughter; richness, and comfort and warm clothes here but cold stares and sad looks. My pride for the Filipino spirit has grown exponentially overnight. As the news report has said, poverty was everywhere, and yet it is unthinkable why the Filipinos still manage to smile. Maybe it's resilience. I don't know. But it made me miss Pinas even more.

[maria_and_matt]

that is what makes us unique! in times of hardship we still manage to smile.. that is why i am proud and will always be proud to be a filipino...

[KeithD]

I woke up....

That's always a good start to the day for me

[joebloggs]

that is what makes us unique! in times of hardship we still manage to smile.. that is why i am proud and will always be proud to be a filipino...

us brits once had that, it was called the bulldog spirit

[adam&chryss]

us brits once had that, it was called the bulldog spirit

Some of us still have thanks!
I guess its what you`re use to regarding poverty. You cant miss what you never had.
If for example you`re poor and never had any real treats and then your more wealthy relation from England come and visits you and showers you with gifts and also sends you money from the UK it makes you happy right?
Then after awhile no more money is sent and next time they visit you theres no showering of gifts and such, so you feel like you`re missing out.
Even though you never asked for anything initially, after awhile you get use to it and almost expect it.
Its not just The Phillipines where poor people smile, you see it all the time on the news with kids in Africa and the like.

[aposhark]

Florge,

I have had these thoughts for many years as I worked in very poor countries around the world.
I once saw a man in Angola eating blue washing up powder because he was hungry, I heard a mother's sobs for her dead baby due to malnutrition. I had to try to shut myself off from a lot of sympathy as I would not have been able to work as efficiently. I helped where I could but my help was a drop in the ocean.

I often wonder why Filipinos, for example, crave to live in the westernized nations with their wealth, and constantly diminishing respect for each other.
Is it mostly to save money and to send some of it back home to help their families? I ask myself why don't the Filipino governments do more to stimulate industry and growth to keep the most talented people from leaving.

I, as a British man, feel we Brits have to put a stop to our constantly degrading morals. I want law and order to begin at home and this I feel is where our society is losing the plot.
I speak to many older people in the UK and they seem to indicate that the rot set in when women started to work more, to keep up with the Jones's.
There was less supervision of the children as a result and then Men were no longer the bread-winners and divorce went sky-rocketing.

What is the answer? I don't know.
We leave that to our elected politicians but nobody has the cojones to do anything about the things that really seem to matter.

I get older and the flush of youth is gone, but the fire still burns inside.

Hard work seems to be the answer to my life, for others? I am not sure.

[pennybarry]

I woke up today energised and well.. although there's no sun, I still consider this a good day. I'm thinking : Spring will be here soon. So better stop whining. Then I remeber my Dad's text: Anak, watch Manny Pacuiao's fight. Oh yeah, have to go online and look around for a video somewhere about his fight. Of course, there's this pride you feel when a kababayan bring prestige to your country. Wohoo! Manny won again. I can almost hear the jubillant cheers in the cinemas there; in the gymnasiums where the fight is seen for free. Ah! I am proud to be Pinoy.

Then came the news at six. ITV featured a story about the Philippines, and this British guy who planned to build a playground there. The video featured the smokey mountain in Tondo. This brought back memories of my outreach activities with my former company; and some outreach programs on my birthdays and during Christmases. It seemed like a different earth seeing it on TV. I cried for my kababayans and the poverty they have to go through just to stay alive.

In the background, I heard my neighbor's kids talking and yelling and swearing. And some were running from the corner shop, shouting f-ing words at each other, squandering their allowance with ciggies and beer. They look so miserable and unhappy. You can see it in their cold jaded eyes.

What a great contrast: Poverty but warm smiles and genuine laughter; richness, and comfort and warm clothes here but cold stares and sad looks. My pride for the Filipino spirit has grown exponentially overnight. As the news report has said, poverty was everywhere, and yet it is unthinkable why the Filipinos still manage to smile. Maybe it's resilience. I don't know. But it made me miss Pinas even more.

Smokey Mountain is well famous to other countries as that is journalists favourite venue.

that is what makes us unique! in times of hardship we still manage to smile.. that is why i am proud and will always be proud to be a filipino...

If we live simply good in the Philippines, there's always will and interest going back.
I'm proud of being simple Pinay.
In words and in deed. I cannot hide it wherever I am.
Kahit minsan, hindi ko dinaya ang aking sarili at hindi itinanggi na ako'y isang Filipino!
Pilipinas iangat mo! Kultura natin dala mo! ehehehhe
Cheers Maria

[maria_and_matt]

Smokey Mountain is well famous to other countries as that is journalists favourite venue.



If we live simply good in the Philippines, there's always will and interest going back.
I'm proud of being simple Pinay.
In words and in deed. I cannot hide it wherever I am.
Kahit minsan, hindi ko dinaya ang aking sarili at hindi itinanggi na ako'y isang Filipino!
Pilipinas iangat mo! Kultura natin dala mo! ehehehhe
Cheers Maria

well said penny

[GaryFifer]

I woke up today energised and well.. although there's no sun, I still consider this a good day. I'm thinking : Spring will be here soon. So better stop whining. Then I remeber my Dad's text: Anak, watch Manny Pacuiao's fight. Oh yeah, have to go online and look around for a video somewhere about his fight. Of course, there's this pride you feel when a kababayan bring prestige to your country. Wohoo! Manny won again. I can almost hear the jubillant cheers in the cinemas there; in the gymnasiums where the fight is seen for free. Ah! I am proud to be Pinoy.

Then came the news at six. ITV featured a story about the Philippines, and this British guy who planned to build a playground there. The video featured the smokey mountain in Tondo. This brought back memories of my outreach activities with my former company; and some outreach programs on my birthdays and during Christmases. It seemed like a different earth seeing it on TV. I cried for my kababayans and the poverty they have to go through just to stay alive.

In the background, I heard my neighbor's kids talking and yelling and swearing. And some were running from the corner shop, shouting f-ing words at each other, squandering their allowance with ciggies and beer. They look so miserable and unhappy. You can see it in their cold jaded eyes.

What a great contrast: Poverty but warm smiles and genuine laughter; richness, and comfort and warm clothes here but cold stares and sad looks. My pride for the Filipino spirit has grown exponentially overnight. As the news report has said, poverty was everywhere, and yet it is unthinkable why the Filipinos still manage to smile. Maybe it's resilience. I don't know. But it made me miss Pinas even more.

I don't see Filipinos smiling on the rubbish heap in manila do you?

[bornatbirth]

come on ladies your in the uk now and going to become uk citizens, isnt time to forget your roots and adopt your new country.

you can smile here instead

[maria_and_matt]

come on ladies your in the uk now and going to become uk citizens, isnt time to forget your roots and adopt your new country.

you can smile here instead

BAB there is no way i will forget where i came from, i just live here in the UK this is not home

[bornatbirth]

home is where the heart is!

i dont blame you, i feel the same about the uk

but why do you feel so strongly being a filipina?

[maria_and_matt]

home is where the heart is!

i dont blame you, i feel the same about the uk

but why do you feel so strongly being a filipina?

good question.... let me think about that one while i am cooking tea for my lovely son and hubby... while i am cooking you can tell me why you feel so strongly about being a brit

[bornatbirth]

good question.... let me think about that one while i am cooking tea for my lovely son and hubby... while i am cooking you can tell me why you feel so strongly about being a brit

i will think about while my wife cooks my tea

i guess when your born and raised in a country it becomes apart of you and also i like being a brit because my wife married me

[aposhark]

BAB there is no way i will forget where i came from, i just live here in the UK this is not home

Maria,

I think that a person will always feel away from home if they are single in another country. I also believe that living with a husband in his country would make that country your new home, and if you have children then that would make it your home without hesitation

[pennybarry]

come on ladies your in the uk now and going to become uk citizens, isnt time to forget your roots and adopt your new country.

you can smile here instead

I'm not sure if a Filipina change and forget where they came from and if they can forget their roots. It is in our culture. I live in our country for 4 decades and will live here with hubby for few decades but I am sure most filipinas will love going back in the future.

home is where the heart is!

i dont blame you, i feel the same about the uk

but why do you feel so strongly being a filipina?

Maybe because we were born in the Philippines. If I was born here, I'm sure I can feel I am a British and you can call me british not filipino-british please!

Maria,

I think that a person will always feel away from home if they are single in another country. I also believe that living with a husband in his country would make that country your new home, and if you have children then that would make it your home without hesitation

There are loads of friends of mine who spending their retirement in the Philippines regardless of status, with or without children. Some of them early retired. Laguna Bel-Air, Brittany and other elite village are the place where I usuallly see foreigners with Pinay wife. Even foreigners considered Philippines as their home not their own country.

I worked 5 years in Taiwan when I was still single and rarely feel homesick. IMHO, it is regardless of place and status.

[fred]

I don't see Filipinos smiling on the rubbish heap in manila do you?

Your kidding right?

[aposhark]

I'm not sure if a Filipina change and forget where they came from and if they can forget their roots. It is in our culture. I live in our country for 4 decades and will live here with hubby for few decades but I am sure most filipinas will love going back in the future.



Maybe because we were born in the Philippines. If I was born here, I'm sure I can feel I am a British and you can call me british not filipino-british please!



There are loads of friends of mine who spending their retirement in the Philippines regardless of status, with or without children. Some of them early retired. Laguna Bel-Air, Brittany and other elite village are the place where I usuallly see foreigners with Pinay wife. Even foreigners considered Philippines as their home not their own country.

I worked 5 years in Taiwan when I was still single and rarely feel homesick. IMHO, it is regardless of place and status.

OK Penny, I see your point
I suppose we all see life in different ways.
My wife still sees the Phils as her home, I am hoping that she will see England as her home when she has children here

[pennybarry]

Your kidding right?

Wow that's cool Fred! I know it's true you can still smile. Why not? It adds beauty.

OK Penny, I see your point
I suppose we all see life in different ways.
My wife still sees the Phils as her home, I am hoping that she will see England as her home when she has children here

You're right! But if I was born in smokey mountain, edge of Pasig river, worked in a pub cabaret doing dirty jobs. I am sure I'll have my second choice.

I consider UK as my home too but not in my retirement. NAH!

[sars_notd_virus]

Philippines is one of the few countries who don't feel the recession why? becoz we are already used to it but inspite of all these poverty,hardships,we still manage to stand up and work hard for our family for a better future ...Mabuhay!!

[pennybarry]

Philippines is one of the few countries who don't feel the recession why? becoz we are already used to it but inspite of all these poverty,hardships,we still manage to stand up and work hard for our family for a better future ...Mabuhay!!

Mabuhayh!!!
When I was still at Uni, I used to pass at the overpass in Lawton and I always read some graffitis made by activists there. I still remember " Pilipinas, paraiso ng mga dayuhan" sounds true as you'll see foreigners are enjoying so do we?

[sars_notd_virus]

I absolutely agree ms penny
''the grass is greener on the other side...but before it wither we still have to go back to our roots ''

[joebloggs]

Your kidding right?

fred you sounded like imedla marcos then , they've got nothing, but can smile... thats probably becuase their too young to understand the they are in

[fred]

fred you sounded like imedla marcos then , they've got nothing, but can smile... thats probably becuase their too young to understand the they are in

Good theory Joe but it dont explain why the parents smile in much the same way??
I told the story here before about my bro in laws wife dying in child birth..The kid is 3 months old now and perfectly healthy..Problem is they are all worried that she is not smiling yet!!
Should have started at least a week ago!!

[joebloggs]

Should have started at least a week ago!!

i'm sure she will be smiling soon and making everyone else smile

life will not be easy without her ma there thou

poor gal didn't even get to dance with her mother



little joe was and still is the only star in my night sky

[Florge]

I agree.. one thing I noticed though too is that there's a whole lot of spoonfeeding here (e.g. when it comes to social service)... I was wondering that maybe the Uk government has, through the years, made the youth of today lazier... even the laws are a bit weak to a point that it is frustrating to see a drug addict getting just a fine.. and all the police force had wasted their time running after him/her... frustrating...

even (proper) parenting is being blamed on the government or the school, or facebook... lol... comedy of sorts!

i just so wish that your fire is also shared by the youths of today... it is a bit scary realizing that my future children will grow up in this society...

Florge,

I have had these thoughts for many years as I worked in very poor countries around the world.
I once saw a man in Angola eating blue washing up powder because he was hungry, I heard a mother's sobs for her dead baby due to malnutrition. I had to try to shut myself off from a lot of sympathy as I would not have been able to work as efficiently. I helped where I could but my help was a drop in the ocean.

I often wonder why Filipinos, for example, crave to live in the westernized nations with their wealth, and constantly diminishing respect for each other.
Is it mostly to save money and to send some of it back home to help their families? I ask myself why don't the Filipino governments do more to stimulate industry and growth to keep the most talented people from leaving.

I, as a British man, feel we Brits have to put a stop to our constantly degrading morals. I want law and order to begin at home and this I feel is where our society is losing the plot.
I speak to many older people in the UK and they seem to indicate that the rot set in when women started to work more, to keep up with the Jones's.
There was less supervision of the children as a result and then Men were no longer the bread-winners and divorce went sky-rocketing.

What is the answer? I don't know.
We leave that to our elected politicians but nobody has the cojones to do anything about the things that really seem to matter.

I get older and the flush of youth is gone, but the fire still burns inside.

Hard work seems to be the answer to my life, for others? I am not sure.

[Florge]

I don't see Filipinos smiling on the rubbish heap in manila do you?

you'll be surprised, but i do.. we (school and when i was already working) scout for people and places to help (when i was still in Pinas) and you'll be surprised to hear laughter even amidst the dump and rubbish heap... have you tried sleeping with a family in smokey mountain or any impoverish area? I did... and beneath the poverty, they would still say that they are happy...

weird.. but true.

[pennybarry]

I agree.. one thing I noticed though too is that there's a whole lot of spoonfeeding here (e.g. when it comes to social service)... I was wondering that maybe the Uk government has, through the years, made the youth of today lazier... even the laws are a bit weak to a point that it is frustrating to see a drug addict getting just a fine.. and all the police force had wasted their time running after him/her... frustrating...

even (proper) parenting is being blamed on the government or the school, or facebook... lol... comedy of sorts!

i just so wish that your fire is also shared by the youths of today... it is a bit scary realizing that my future children will grow up in this society...

you'll be surprised, but i do.. we (school and when i was already working) scout for people and places to help (when i was still in Pinas) and you'll be surprised to hear laughter even amidst the dump and rubbish heap... have you tried sleeping with a family in smokey mountain or any impoverish area? I did... and beneath the poverty, they would still say that they are happy...

weird.. but true.

You're right Florge! Sometimes I feel they are spoiled brat by the government and still they can't able to smile.

Smile is free and makes you feel good. You can smile whether you're the poorest. It is not only for rich

[bornatbirth]

do they smile because they have nothing else to do?

or they havent realised they will still be on that dump intil they die.

[pennybarry]

do they smile because they have nothing else to do?

or they havent realised they will still be on that dump intil they die.

They make money from the dump site born@. For them, there's money in the bin. And no one knows if they will stay there until they die.
We have a famous singers came from that landfill.