In most Geography books Australia and New Zealand are now called Oceana. How interesting that Perry would move it to Asia, given the years and years that Australia kept its gates firmly closed to all non-white races and took great pains to distance itself from Asia. Not that the US has much to crow about in that department, and not intending to start a jingoistic war, it does seem so stange to equate Australia with Asia. I guess it represents a very forward looking attitude to think of it that way. Also, geologically the two continents have nothing in common. According to most accepted tectonic plate theory, Australia didn't come from the Asian land mass.

That is correct. I know you may get ATM/Visa Card from Bank of the Philippine Islands, Equitable Bank and Unionbank. You can also purchase online with their cards. It is easier to get their debit cards than the credit cards. It's funny that you mentioned this now. Ron (another member here) and myself have been discussing this very topic, off the list. Anyway, I was adviced to use an ATM/Visa Debit card that could access CIRRUS machines. Apparently, this particular system (CIRRUS) is pretty common in the Philippines. He suggested that you may want to get an ATM card *in* addition to a a VISA Debit card. The ATM card won't have an expiration date on it, so it won't have to be renewed semi-annually (or whatever length of time is standard on your particular card).

Cletus - while living in Saudi Arabia and trying to gain a visa for my wife (from Cebu City), I had many similar experiences, and ultimately also went to our Congressman. The INS did not respond to registered / receipted letters, nor could I get a person on the phone (only a recording, while the phone bill accumulated). My Congressman's office had a response within 24 hours. When I took my wife to the INS office for an interview, I saw the problem first-hand. The office in Kansas City was literally jammed with people seeking visas, etc and there were only a few INS processors. My impression is that they are trying to do the best they can, but are simply over-whelmed. Bottom Line: make a good faith effort to deal through them, and then go to your Congressman (as the two of us have done) I filed an I-129F last June and the paperwork was forwarded on to Manila in August. But INS forgot to approve the petition. So I have been calling them weekly for the last 4 months trying to get them to tell me what the hell was going on. Always, the reply I got was ""call back in 30 days"". Yesterday, I went to my congressman's office (for the second time), and with 1 phone call, the petition was approved and notification sent to Manila. Finally, there's a light at the end of the tunnel! I think I'll vote Republican next time. Also, we will be in Malapascua next week. Anyone else on this board planning to be there? Some time back (a long time back in fact) I went along to LTO in Cebu City and tried to get a Philippine Licence as Foreign Licece exchange. The woman official behind the counter window took a look at my passport and said I ""could not apply for Philippine Driving Licence since I did not have 5 month validity remaining on my Visa?"". She indicated I could carry on using my British Driving Licence. I guess I have been driving illegally in Cebu, since I recently only found out one can only drive on a Foreign licence for 90 days! Is that 90 days from when one arrives or 90 days from when one wants to start driving? Whatever - I decided that I really ought to try again at getting a Philippine Driving Licence on the strength of having held a Full British licence for 30 years and now have my 13A Visa and ACR allowing me to be resident in the Philippines. This time I decided to try the LTO at Mandaue to see if any different than Central, and because I was passing near it at the time. Mandaue LTO is certainly less crowded than Cebu City LTO office and much easier to find somewhere to park. First job was the Medical Examination. This was easy here since there was approved clinic right opposite the LTO. No queues - no fuss, all very simple and quick. Blood pressure reading, question enquiring if I needed glasses to see at all and asking me if I was fit; hand over Php50 and I was given a Certificate and the OR. I then went to get the Application Form and was then going to have a go at the Drug Testing. It was too close to lunchtime so we continued our planned journey to visit Sha-Sha's Sister over in Pacific Grand Villas, Mactan. We returned later that afternoon sure they would be back from lunch. Here is a tip - dont visit the CR for a few hours prior to attending Drug Testing Centre! Having filled out the Form and paid the Php300 I was then told to fill a sample bottle at the urinal by the open door (it has to stay open - SOP, to spot if you are switching samples or filling with water I guess?). I was in the embarrassing position of having an empty bladder and all I could manage was about 10% of what they wanted. ""Water - Free, Drink All you Want"" proclaimed a sign by the Reverse Osmosis filled bottle water Drinking Chiller. 5 glasses of water and 10-15 minute wait and I managed another 80%! They accepted this however (probably fed up of waiting or thought I might drink all the water if they insisted on the last 10%?). Having got the Medical and Drug Testing done and the Application Form completed it was time to submit the application - or not. We decided it would be better to try this first thing the next day since we had no idea what was involved orr how long it would take. The next day we found out. Having finally managed to shove our application submission in through the Cashiers Window (#3) at Mandaue LTO office, the nice lady official asked is to go around the back and come inside the LTO office. I was given a seat to sit down on inside the aircon office whilst they processed my application. Yet another photocopy of my UK Driving licence was required for some reason and the page of my Passport showing my last date of entry into the Philippines! I found they prefered speaking to my asawa Sha-Sha and let her tell me what to do. Next stage was out the back to the 'outdoor classroom' type area. They wanted me to do the 'Compulsory Written Test'. I did not know quite why since I had a UK Driving Licence and felt sure the Test there was much more involved and difficult than any the Philippines is likely to be (I based this on the almost complete lack of observance of UK Highway Code standards). Anyway I thought this would be fun. The system is some 40 questions on road safety and driving techniques and road signs and conditions were presented with 3 multiple-choice questions and one had to select the 'best or most appropriate/correct' answer. In summary the questions were mostly very easy provided one does know road signs etc and plain common sense. There were a few RP related questions I had some trouble with or second thoughts about like (E&OE):- ""At what age can one apply for a Non-Professional Driving Licence?"". 17/18/21 years of age? Answer is 17 (it is 18 for the Professional Licence). ""What Documents are required by law to be carried at all times ?"". Vehicle Registration and Receipt*/Motor Insurance/Insurance and Driving Licence? ""Which lane should a slow moving vehicle utilise on multiple lane road?"" Inner/Middle/Outer? Correct answer is Outer according to Examinar - I put 'Inner' (In the UK the fast cars use the overtaking lane or 'outer' lane which is actually the one closest to the central reservation, hence Inner. Also I found it confusing in Cebu when my asawa was learning to drive (slowly), the Instructor told her to use the lane closest the centre of the road - which I was always told was the 'fast lane'. Mind you knowing the frustrations of driving behind Jeepneys that stop and pull out without warning, I can understand the advice to use the other lane. I just explained to the Examinar my reasons for putting inside or inner lane and he seemed to accept that. In fact the Examinar seemed to be quite excited that I was doing so well. He was reading out the Question and then saying the correct answer. This would be very useful to the Filipinos still conducting the Written Driving Test whilst he did this provided they had 'latched on' to what was going on with me and the Examiner! The Examinar obviously had a sense of humour since we came to the question "" How does one indicate via hand signals how to turn left?"". I was acting out possible answers as observed whilst driving ""Wave left arm furiously up and down in flapping type motion"" or "" Hold left arm limply out of window whilst opening and closing fist (to simulate flashing indicator bulb!), or ""hold left arm straight out palms facing foreward"". I cant remember what was the wording of the actual alternatives? The correct hand signal is rarely seen practiced! The Question I had the most trouble with ""What is the safe distance to tavel behind a car per 16KPH"" (or something like that) and the answers was to be in the number of Car Lengths 1/2/3? For me the correct answer was ""The 3 second Rule"". (""Only a Fool Breaks the 3 Second Rule"" was the slogan of a graphic UK campaign Advert, I seem to recall fairly vividly). One should increase the gap the faster one drives but it is NOT proportional. If 1 car length is fine at 16KPH it is not necessarily double at 32KPH and 3 car lengths at 48KPH and 4 car lengths at 72KPH. At 72KPH the reaction time is 100' and braking distance is 90' making a total of 190'. The correct answer according to the Examiner (here in the Philippines) is 1 car length, I chose 2 car lengths to be safe, rather than sorry. (They must be very long cars used in the exam is all I can suggest?). Sorry Guys I cant remember all the questions and would not be ethical to list them even if I had a photographic memory. How long have they been running this Written Driving Test here in the RP?"". I am just amazed that many pass the minimum 35 correct answers out of the 40? Sorry this Anacdote is getting too long - perhaps i should have posted it the the Yahoo Group LinP Web Site instead!

all generalizations are false...there are still many of them pleasure to meet...although i agree some of them you'd really love to *hate* btw, if you're in Makati malls or Glorietta, you'll find taxi lines there plus security guards who'll hand you a piece of paper with the plate number of the taxi you'll be hiring. The driver won't refuse you and also use the meter. (i remember taxi dirvers in Bangkok were much worse in my experience, even the tuktuk, i always suggested to them to get rid of the sign ""taxi meter"" on their cabs)... if not from makati and you don't mind spending time in court to complain of erring taxi drivers, try to call 7890. You'll be invited to a hearing face to face with the driver somewhere in glorietta. works great much more if you have witnesses. and also one less taxi driver to avoid...and somehow send a message to others you really mean business.

Another way, which I used before I married my wife who is from Cebu City, was to get a one year visa from your local Philippines Embassy. I was living in Saudi Arabia at the time, and used a courier service (did not even have to go to the PI Embassy in person), and the cost of the visa as I recall was the equivalent of $US 75. 3: This is the most important. I understand that you can only stay 59 days at a time on a visa extension. How can I get around that? I do not want to be a Philippine citizen. Is it possible to leave the country for a day or so every 59 days and then return and repeat the process? Based on my income and profile, do you think I could qualify for a longer extension? You don't need to leave the country after 59 days, just get an extension by going to immigration for two more months for about $40.. After a year you need to leave the country for a day. Most take a trip to Hong Kong or Thailand, a fun thing to do and cheap, maybe $300 per person and fun, hotel and a terrible breakfast included. Of course all of this is in the archives. People stay here for many years, retire here on a tourist visa.

Next week, Asawa and I are heading to Malapascua for the first time. Yours is the first negative report I read about the island. Hopefully, we won't encounter the same problems. I always dread the thought of swimming with little brown boats. Anyway, my wife and I have been all over the Phillipines and Subic area is certainly one of my favorites. If you checkout our website www.geocities.com/cletusmavel and click on the ""Luzon"" button, you'll find quite a bit of information about Baloy Beach and other resorts further north (eg. Iba). But if you really want to get away from it all, you may want to try Guimaras Island, just outside of Iloilo City. Close to the city of Nueva Valencia there is a group of resorts on a beautiful beach without any discos or karaoke bars. I'd recommend Raymen Beach Cottages ... very nice accomodations and cheap prices. Have you been to Moalboal? This is my favorite resort area on Cebu Island. This place has got just about everything you need for a resort area. There's not much of a beach here, but there's a place called ""white beach"" just a few kilometers away. I recommend Quo Vadis for hotel accomodations. You can also read about this place on our website. Just click the ""Cebu"" button.

Today for example, I got another of those humbling lessons in Filipino culture, or the Anonymous Bear did, of course. He was asked by the asawa to bring back from Cebu some pasulabong, two boxes of Dunkin' Donuts to be exact. So he bought them just as he was heading for home. That was an experience in itself as the girl in the Dunkin Donuts uniform was obviously filling in for her sister. Anyway, AB puts them in the car and drives off, stops for ten minutes to collect the cash for the salaries due tomorrow and returns to the car. The donut boxes are now covered in ants! He recalled how he had told asawa and daughter not to eat in the car as they spill and leave food and it attracts ants. But do they listen? No, as Filipina's it is their birthright to eat 19 meals a day plus snacks whenever and wherever they need to. So AB drives off, swatting ants and dodging jeepneys. He pulls into a Shell Super Servo, one with a shop and everything. He storms in, oblivious of the sweet young things greeting him warmly. He is almost rude in his acknowledgement of their cheery ""Good Morning Sir!"" He mumbles to himself (as bears do) as he loads up with aluminium foil, flyspray and a drink. He explains his predicament to the girl serving him who smiles and points out they have their own donut counter! Great, a back up in case the plan doesn't work! So AB is upsold on the donuts. He goes out to the Red Terror and removes said donut boxes to bonnet (hood) of car. Sprays the flyspray inside, annihilating ant colony and closes door to allow chemical weapon to take affect. Blows off remaining ants from donuts and wraps carefully in ant proof alfoil. At this stage pretty young thing he had previously been abrupt with runs out and gives him a plastic bag for the alfoiled donuts. He mumbles his thanks as the other pretty young thing runs out with his car keys! The end result is the donuts made it back to Bogo, the Anonymous Bear learnt that taking out his frustration on innocent people only makes you feel worse and that despite his abrupt, borderline rude behaviour, these sweet young Filipina's could not do enough to help. Jeeeez! At least it was AB and not me, right?

My mail box brimmith over. But I know someone is looking for a Cebuano Lessons. But I know some one was looking for Cebuano lessons. There is a school here that Robert Warren recently posted in the archives. It is one block off of Colon, Gullas, I think, by Giasano Main, and about P75 per lesson. Tutors run P200, much to much. Better to hire a smart helper and have him or her teach you. Also, Larry was kind enough to lend me a CD that I have loaded into my computer on my hard drive, but don't really use it. As he explained, it is not very exciting, just a click on a word and it says it. It is okay. If someone wants to borrow it, and Larry approves, I will be happy to send it.

Every year in the States,before and on Christmas day, I volunteer for a soup kitchen to feed the homeless. It would be nice to know if the soup kitchen is also a practice for the poorest sectors of the Philippines. How do poorer locals celebrate the occasion? Are the churches more actively involved at this time of the year, to provide services and (free) meals to the general populace who cannot afford a feast?

Hello again everyone. Thank you to all who helped with my last question. I have another unusual question, that I can't seem to find much info on. As I've said before, I'm 27 and my fiance is 22. She is american and so am I. We would like to purchase land in the Philippines, and we realize that if your not married to a Filippino, then you can not legally own property, except a condo. Here's my specific question: If we have a child while in the Philippines, would that child be eligible for dual citizenship, just by being born in the Philippines? If so would we be able to get resident status by being the parents? Would that allow us to buy property? Please help if you can.

I have been married to a wonderful filipina lady for the past 20 years and we are considering retiring to the Philippines in the near future. This past Feb and March I visited the Philippines for the first time and while I was most impressed with the friendliness and warmth of the people I met I was also disturbed by some of the poverty that I witnessed. The area that we stayed in was a village about halfway between IloIlo and Roxas on the Island of Panay. This is the type of place I would like to retire to as I'm not much of a city person and much prefer the village life. I would really like to hear from expats who live in a more rural community. Especially if they are currently living in the Visayas. Some of the areas that I have targeted are: Oton, Tigbauan, Kalibo & almost any village in Guimaras. Why don't you write and tell me why you find living in your particular area satisfies you? My experience in RP has been somewhat limited so I'd appreciate hearing from others.

At 02:59 AM 12/16/2002 +0000, you wrote: Many TVs and DVD's VCR's sold in the staes are dual voltage as well.. you have to look at the specification label on the back near where the power cord attaches. Might not need a transformer. my advice use auto-volt selection: no hassle and accidents. and works even on brown outs where a simple transformer won't. (note here in RP they call it brownout when it should be called a blackout. Brownout is an abnormal low voltage condition while a blackout is total loss of power. They only use blackout if it covers a huge area, in case you need to know) However what I haven't seen mentioned, though is DVD regions. US DVD players and DVD's are normally 'region 1' only and DVD's you buy in the RP may be for another region.. but all your DVD's you already have certainly will work just fine but new DVD players now are so called multi-region: accepts any format. and so no distinction. also note TV standards here in RP also follow the US NTSC format not like the UK PAL and French SECAM and there are also TVs supporting all of them...Japan also uses NTSC but different frequencies on the tuner (but a converter is also available) Just in case you need to bring a TV...but better buy them here!

thanks for the info, I need to get my license also. I was stopped by a Tedman and he asked how long I had been driving in the RP. I told him 60 days as I don't count the three weeks or more my car was off the road due to shoddy mechanics and the previous owners lack of maintenance of the vehicle. He seemed to accept that. How many photo's did you need to give? I would fail the drug test as I don't take any

Thats very odd as I went to LTO here in Iloilo City and they told me I had 6 to 8 months and not to worry about it. So who knows, maybe its according to the Island. I bought a taxi in June and it took 7 months to get the stickers for tag etc, Jim Thanks Paul. After my last brush with officialdom where I had to produce 14 2x2 photo's of myself I felt like Narcissus! I had originally obtained passport size only to be told they needed 2x2. They pointed to the examples on a board and I reminded them that the only difference was there was more space on the 2x2, the head was the same size! Apparently they needed more nothing! I thought I would check first as carrying that many photo's of yourself could prove embarrassing if in an accident! If you ask me you do not need any picture, at least not in Manila as all the equipment is digital. They make the picture there and only had some problems adjusting the height of the camera ;-) Officially you can use your foreign or international license up to 90 days after *last* arrival in the Philippines but they never bothered to check my passport. I was given the drivers license while still holding only a Balikbayan stamp in my passport. The license was Dutch and only for normal cars as I can not drive a truck, bus or something big like that. A Fords Expedition is considered to be a small car The only test I took was the drugs test and I passed without any problems.

My GI roof, I washed it with tuba, then I washed it with Tide soap and water then I painted the bottom interior with enamel primer then I installed the sheeting. After one year of weather I cleaned the exterior with Tide soap and water and painted it with one coat of Roof Guard with no primer necessary. My roof is about 18 meters horizontally from high tide and about 20 meters above it so I am a little above alot of the sea mist. After 4 years I had one day's labor of painting and scrapeing tiny little hardly noticeable rust spots. No visible rust in the interior. Next year will be five years and I will take another look but don't think I will have to repaint exterior complete until the 6th year. I'm hopping to get 20 years out of my roof. Roof Guard is a rubber base paint and comes in a nice light color called Samar Beige. I'm very happy with it.

The tuba is to neuralize it, the soap is to clean loose galvanization and oil from it and the one year wait it to allow some more of the galvanization to come off. The galvanization and oil wont allow the paint to adhere properly and the paint will peel off. I have seen many roofs peeling from improper preparation. My paint didn't peel one bit. I know this sounds kinda counter productive to allow some of the galvanization to deterorate but it seems to have worked with my roof. I'm no expert only telling what my own research within the Phil. told me from both expat and local info. I'm sure my corrosion was from the sea mist so I would think Ani would have great results with this application for the exterior and no paint on interior-just MAKE SURE they wash exterior properly with both the tuba and tide for the exterior coat before applying the paint-if the cats away the mice will play. Roof Guard used to be and probably still is competitively priced as well.

Whilst I was on the Philippine Embassy Website in Riyadh I came across the tourist visas web page. A copy of which is below Tourist Visa Requirements 1)Photocopy of passport Passport valid for at least six (6) months beyond intended length of stay in the Philippines 2)Duly accomplished visa application form 3)Two colored photos 4)Request letter from sponsor/employer, including details of visa applicant and purpose of travel (for non-Saudis) 5)Copy of round-trip airplane ticket 6)Personal appearance (upon request) 7)Fees SR 114 (single entry/3months); SR 228 (multiple entry /6months); SR 342 (multiple entry/1 year) I do not know if this makes anything clearer For currency conversion 1USD = 3.75 SR I am sorry about the spelling of coloured but that is how it was spelt on the website. My spell checker did not like either LOL.

It's very hard for me to believe that a GI roof will last longer without paint. Like I said Don I would use a rubber base paint that is less likely to crack and with labor of P150 a day you wont have too many pains in the butt. Just get yourself a nice shady spot and a lawn chair that has plenty of padding for your rear end and watch that the prep is done properly. The GI roofs of long ago in the Philippines were of a much higher quality. When you see an unpainted GI roof that is 25 years old in Phil. just go look at it closely its very easy to see the difference in the quality.

Well I just joined your chat group today and no one was on. I am just trying to get a feel for what it will be like living in the Philippines. All the pics I look at are American men married to filipinas. Well for me its just the opposite. My husband is a philippine citizen and I am a american citizen. He is originally from Pangasinan, Rosales. He has not lived in country for 21 years but we plan to retire there. He still has alot of family land so I guess I know where I will be living at first. I really want to live on the ocean!!! How much money do you think we will need to get started over there and survive, and how long. What I really want to do is open a bar on the beach, is that possible??? What are some other ways to make money???? We are not at retirement age so we get no social security or anything like that. Please help me with some ideas.

Your goal of opening a beachfront bar somewhere near Pangasinan is admirable. I've driven by many such resorts in that area and they look very inviting. Frankly, though, I don't think you can make a living there unless you bring something really special to the area (mud baths?), as there are hundreds of such little enclaves up and down the eastern Luzon coast and none seem to be making big bucks. Rosales, btw, is nowhere near the beach, but my wife is from Pangasinan (Lingayen), a very sleepy province capital. The whole area, especially the coast front, is beautiful with lots of history and the locals are a pretty savvy and civilized bunch.

THE Christmas season formally started Monday with the beginning of the nine-day ""Simbang Gabi"" or dawn Masses. Actually Christmas in the Philippines starts as early as Nov. 3, after the flowers and the candles of All Saints Day and All Souls Day have been put away. But this year the start of the unofficial celebration seems to have been dampened by the hard times. Fewer ""parol"" (native Christmas lanterns) are being bought. The Christmas decor in homes and offices is kept simple and inexpensive. People still go on Christmas shopping sprees but they are buying the budget and sale items. The crowds are in the low-price public markets and bazaars in Metro Manila's Divisoria, Baclaran and Bambang sections. But despite the hard times and the tight money situation, there is still much to be thankful for during this Christmas season. We can be thankful that the Philippines has not suffered the fate of some countries in South America like Argentina where inflation at one time reached 200 percent. We can be thankful that we have not suffered a catastrophe like the bombing of Bali where some 200 foreign tourists died. We have had our own share of bad news like the Abu Sayyaf, but -- thank God -- nothing of the scale of the Bali bombing. Some people, though, would say that the precipitate closing of the embassies of Australia, Canada and the European Union had almost the same effect. We can be thankful that there has been no major, frightfully devastating disaster -- a super typhoon or a high-magnitude earthquake. Earlier, there were predictions of an El Nino, but if there has been one, it has been very mild. No drought, no water shortage, although in Metro Manila, consumers have had to bear with the increase in water rates. There were sea, air and land disasters all right, but in the Philippines, where human life is cheap and where safety laws are honored more in the breach than the observance, they were (we hate to say this but it is true) almost par for the course. We can be thankful that despite all the noise and heat generated in the constant and endless political debate and wrangling, no upheaval or street rebellion of the scale of the so-called ""EDSA People Power III"" has taken place. The hard times may be hard to take for some people who are used to a display of extravagance and wasteful and conspicuous consumption, but maybe now they will begin to realize the virtues of thrift and moderation. We are being forced by circumstances to live a life of involuntary simplicity and austerity. And we hope the austerity will make us focus on the central figure of Christmas, which is Christ. And that it will also make us meditate on the message of Christmas, which is peace, sacrifice and love.

It isn't so much the cost of the labor - carpenters and painters labor is very cheap here. But rather the cost of the materials such as the acid preparations to remove the galvanization, and various bases and paints which drive up the cost. I have had numerous carpentry projects done here in the Philippines where the cost of the materials far exceeds the labor cost. I do like your idea of using Rubber based paints - frankly I didn't even know such a thing existed. But while I mention my lack of knowledge if you should also know that your carpenter/painter may not know how to properly prepare the GI roof for painting. I think the painters used a diluted lemon juice solution to try to strip the galvanization on my sister-in-laws roof. There appear to be many possibilities of messing up the paint job - as evidenced by my sister-in-laws unsatisfactory paint job on their GI roof. I find myself wondering occasionally as I glance at their eye sore of a roof - what was it that really messed the painting up, and realize I don't know. As I glance out the front door at the neighbors unpainted GI roof, which has been there a long time - I have to say, unpainted looks pretty good to me. I wonder if the painting really does more harm than good. While it may be a little late in your case Don - a nice slop on the roof lets the water roll right off, and not stay on the roof. But any cracks or bubbles in the paint will have the opposite effect.

You and your husband are very welcome here. It is true there are a lot of US, Australian, British etc, men with Filipina wives, but we have other members who are of other various combinations, as well as a small but very valuable contingent of Filipinos who have lived in the RP all their lives. You'll find it's a good community and one of the best 'lists' I have ever seen for signal to noise ratio. I won't even begin to answer most of your specific questions, because so many of them 'depend' and I am also not yet living in the RP. My wife is from Central Luzon and we plan to return to the RP for good, perhaps, but not necessarily to Luzon. The question as to 'how much money do we need' is the most common one raised and the one most difficult to answer. You can spend from very little by US standards to very much. The bottom line is ... However much you think would be enough to live on in the US would be ample, quite ample, to live on in the RP in similar circumstances. Be sure you visit and absorb the information in the files section here and look closely at the wealth of information that is on the list owner's, Don Herrington, web site: http://www.livinginthe philippines.com There is a wealth of information there. Chats in the attached chat room are sporadic, there is no set time, however I've been having some success in advertising one every Saturday Night US time and Sunday AM Philippine time. Last Saturday we had as many as 6 or 8 ppeople at a time and I think we covered about 18 of the world's time zones. You can also feel free to post a chat invitation here any time you chose .. in general..if you propose a time, people tend to show up.

I have been here for just over a month and met a girl that I now want to marry. The problem is that I have no birth certificate or legal capacity papers. Is there a way that we can have a wedding here to keep everyone including my fiancee happy and then go back to the states and petition her on a K1 visa.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES WITH PAINTING GALVANIZED METAL? One problem concerns the surface treatment manufacturers use to seal off the surface from the atmosphere to prevent ""white rusting. during storage. This treatment is often a simple vegetable oil that must be removed before painting or adhesion will be impaired. Solvent cleaning with clean rags (periodically rotated and replaced), washing with a detergent or degreaser such as Devoe DEV- CLEANT 88 Water Based Cleaner, or weathering for several months is usually effective. Weathered galvanized metal will also require cleaning to remove zinc corrosion products. Another concern is the reactivity and alkalinity of the zinc coating. The zinc will react with an oil or alkyd based paint. A saponification reaction will occur causing peeling or softening at the paint/surface interface.

Since we're on the subject, I once almost ran into a Tijuana, Mexico truck in the middle of the highway outside of Bakersfield, California, with a broken axle. The truck was full of pears and the truck wasn't going anywhere. I helped unload the pears at the side of road, under the supervision (and with some physical help) of California Highway Patrol officers. I asked them how they were going to cite the truck and driver and they told me there was no point, they had no control over it. Apparently a limited number of trucks were allowed to make runs like that from Baja, California to Northern California before the current opening of borders to Mexican trucks. This was about 1985. On the other hand, I've seen very professionally-maintained trucks of the largest size on Mexican highways. One of them kept me from passing on a mountain road, deliberately because of oncoming traffic that I could not see. I slowed down after that. To drive in Mexico as a professional truck driver requires real skill, so tough are the road conditions. But so long as regulation is lax and businesses there and in the Philippines look for ways to cut expenses, there'll be broken axles.

There are casinos in some parts of the RP, but the lines for employment are pretty long and the pay is not what you would expect. Rather than me making suggestions which may not pan out, you need to get over there on a dry run and see how the wind blows. Lingayen is a good destination, but not much is going on there. The beaches are about to be developed by RP and Chinese interests and the sin employees from out of the area will probably be booted out. Dagupan is the business hub of the province, but it is further from the ocean. You can go further north on the coast and see lots of good locations to settle in, but you aren't going to generate a decent income from local folks. If I was planning to retire over there in the near future, I would choose the part of the RP we are talking about, right on the China Sea, maybe up towards Hundred Islands. The best local products around Lingayen is hand-crafted furniture.

I have been over here too long to follow that logic. The way I see it is the most important thing is to make you happy. If the woman can't wait, then she may not care for you very much. Getting married after only a month is not the best thing to do. You can't know very much about her or the other women who are available who may make better wives. What about your happiness? She should be overjoyed you are considering her, I feel. Being apart and writing for a while may give you some more insight. A trip away from this rush of love, may help, but I doubt it. Do you think maybe you have just possibly gone into something to fast and too hard? This is a permanent life changing decision, that often does not work out, especially when you take the girl out of the Philippines. I know. I have been a victim and have known many too, who suffered serious circumstanced in their on rush to get the most fantastic girl in the world, only to find out we were mistaken. I agree with the other posters. If you do it, do it legally. But why not think about a marriage a little longer than a month from meeting? I may be misreading this. You may have know her for months or years before you came here. Or maybe you have visited her before. But I didn't get that from your post.

Don as a slight variation from the Quack Doctor suggestion, in a predominately Catholic country - it might also be advisable after the house is built to have a Priest come over, and bless the house, sprinkling Holy Water as part of the blessing ritual. This blessing with Holy Water is advisable for all major purchases or important items including cars, and new born children (baptism), and during weddings. My wife believes the Priest was good enough to sprinkle some Holy Water on our Marriage Contract (wedding certificate). The family members also need to pray and ask for God's blessing and protection.

I know things are always changing, but in 1999 when I got my 'legal capacity' document in Cebu at the consulate, it included an interview of my wife by the consul, who grilled her with questions about me- birthplace, names of brothers and sisters etc, and also the consul reviewed all of our letters, asking questions from them. We were last to be interviewed that day, we passed and got the document, but 50% of those couples who were before us, 'failed'... This interview was in addition to a bunch of documents we had to present, all certified, original, NSO, etc... I remember being somewhat upset about one of the couples who 'failed'- the woman was a Fil-Am who lived in Cebu, as did her Filipino fiance. Living in the same city, they had no letters to present, and were rejected on that basis. (couldnt help but eaves- drop since the interviews were through a window at the front of the room of couples waiting.

There are plenty of people around in the PI that can ""chip"" your DVD player so it will become a multi region DVD player. I have a little Sony DAVS800 which I had ""Chipped"" here and it now plays all regions (NTSC & PAL) as well as CDR and CDRWs. It was a shame I did not hang on a little longer as the new model will also play MP3 disc as well!

Hi I'm now a USA citizen 46 years old, my Filipina wife is 31 years old, and we have two children ages 5 and 7. We moved from the USA to Cebu roughly 3 years 9 months ago. Financially I'm guessing we are roughly in the same boat, with you perhaps having a little more money. I don't work in the Philippines, but rather live off our investments. But frankly the money could run out, and I could potentially be forced back to work. We are living with my wife's family in Minglanilla, Cebu - a little ways South of Cebu City. My wife had been living with me in El Paso, Texas for almost 5 years before we made the decision to move to Cebu. While I suppose I could go into some big list of my personal view of the pros and cons of living here, frankly that hasn't yet been established as the key question and the heart of the matter. Have you been to the Philippines? I'm going to assume you have been to Cebu (where you indicate you are like to live). But if you haven't you really need to come for a visit first, and find out first hand a little of what living in the Philippines is like. What I really expect someone to be saying who wants to Immigrate and make their new home in the Philippines to be saying is - I really, really want to do this. I am prepared to put up with most of the cons I already know about in order to get these very significant anticipated benefits. This is important to me, if I can do it - I am going to do it. More over your wife needs to be in agreement with you. If she deep down in her heart doesn't want to return and *live* in Cebu - you need to know. You have to be asking yourself were will my family and I be better off and happier. I understand this is not an easy decision. You may want to think long and hard before coming to Cebu. How do you feel about her family. Are they out just to take advantage of you and your wife, because they really need lots and lots of help? Some additional information about yourself, wife, and family would be helpful. I would suggest you keep reading the messages. Read some of the old messages if you can. Keep studying this situation up. I'm sure some of the members can give you some really good advice, and information - but the most significant issues of living in the Philippines can only be resolved by you and your family. Only you and your family can answer: ""Is moving to the Philippines a good move fro me?"" I am very happy with our decision to move and live in the Philippines. I feel it has been good for me and my family, especially the children. Maybe a little tougher on my wife.

My parents are in their late 70's. I wanted them and my daughter to spend time together while my folks are still on this earth. Green card...I want my filipina wife to get her green card so that we'll have more flexibility in traveling back and forth. Security...since becoming a father in 2001, I have become much more sensitive to the security issues in the PI ...namely my daughter as a potential victim. The security didn't bother me when I was single...fatherhood really kicked in those instincts. Also note..most of my Philippine experience is in Manila....which isn't as safe as Cebu. Values... I prefer to raise my daughter in the American enviornment. There are good and bad qualities in every society. Our hope is to give our daughter the best of both American and Philippine values. My key value issue in raising our daughter in the states is entitlement vs equality. In the Philippines, my daughter's place in society is very much determined by birth. My daughter being rich and American would be entitled to undue respect from the lower and middle classes. We lived in a high end neighborhood in the PI and saw far too many adults kowtowing to rich spoiled children and teens. I'd rather she grow up in America where she'll be middle class. Here we start out on a more equal footing and one's place in society is earned not granted by birthright. Granted the Philippine culture does much better in other values like childrens respect for their family. I'm hoping we can instill more of that at home but realize we'll be fighting and uphill battle against what she'll pick up in US society. Education was not a major concern. I saw many kids thriving in the international schools around manila.

item 7) describes (I think) the multi-entry/exit one year visa I had in 1997. In my passport it is stamped as a 9(a) visa, and I was told by the PI Embassy in Riyadh that it allowed me to live in PI for one year, coming and going as I liked, without need for any renewal. at the end of the one year, I would have to renew it - I was able to get this visa via a courier service and did not even go to Riyadh in person - when I submitted my resignation, my employer in KSA changed my working arrangements, so that I never did actually use the visa for a full year, and so one could say that I did not fully test it to verify the one year validity. however, this is worth investigating for those who are interested in longer duration stays Whilst I was on the Philippine Embassy Website in Riyadh I came across the tourist visas web page. A copy of which is below

Please note that the cheapest DVD players here will cost you less than p5000. You can ask for any brand as the labels are sold separately I bought a Pioneer set for far below the European price. I remember the discussion about expensive audio equipment here but so far the prices seem low to me. Not to sure why it is that cheap but it must be the current Exchange rate.