Trip To The Philippines

I recently made my first trip to the Philippines at the end of November 2009. It was the chance to visit my fiancée and really experience the Filipino culture. It was a long time in the making but was worth the wait and certainly worth the money I spent. When I finally decided to book my flight I actually booked it for a week later. I just couldn’t wait any longer and even though the price was high, it was worth it.

My main focus was to get to know my fiancée better as online never does justice to meeting in person. One of my other goals were to get to know her family to see where she came from. I wanted to do my best to live like a Filipino while there so I could better understand her culture. There was walking the streets, riding jeepneys and trikes, eating street vendor food, going to wet markets, and eating nothing but Filipino foods while there. If I expect her to come to the USA someday and become a part of my culture then I owe it to her to immerse myself in hers and that's exactly what I did.

PAL (Philippine Airlines) changed my departure time from Manila to Bacolod while I was in the air to South Korea so I didn't know about it until I got to South Korea and checked my email. Luckily it was only about a 2 hour late change from the original departure time but it required me to buy a cheap domestic phone card and call my fiancée from Manila to let her know about the change. After going through customs and baggage claim in the international terminal I went ahead and exchanged about $500 into pesos as that was recommended from a few people. Went out the doors and headed to the right to catch the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal. We loaded the shuttle bus with so many people and luggage and good lord was it hot outside. I honestly thought I was standing under a heater it was so hot.

First portion of the trip was going to meet her family all over the island of Negros for interviews with me and for my fiancée to also see family she hadn't seen in years. Some family members were local but some were way South in Himamaylan and Kabankalan. We took a bus with her mother, father, and brother to meet all of the families. Everyone was so polite and eager to meet me. We ate some really great food. I think I actually prefer Filipino spaghetti over American spaghetti now and sugar cane sure is good.

We did go to SM mall and Gaisano mall I believe is the name. The closet thing I ate to American food was the new BBQ chicken they have at Jolibee. Not bad but doesn't come close to the chicken inasal found on the street or the home made cooking by her mother. There wasn't one food I didn't like while there and I ate a lot of it. Even the balut was ok as it tasted like oysters and I like oysters.

Mambukal Resort will always be in my heart as that is where my fiancée said yes she will marry me. It shocks me that it took some tiny little woman on the other side of the world to finally get me to drop to one knee and propose marriage for the first time in my 35 years of life. I think that is the smartest thing I ever have done or will do. She does make me a better man and I know she will make me happy the rest of my life as long as I do the same for her.

I did my best to experience the culture of the Philippines and I think I did a good job at it. We didn't visit other islands or stay at fancy hotels the entire time but we spent good quality time together that created memories and pictures that will last a lifetime. I enjoyed living, eating, and socializing with the locals and not hiding away in hotels. Walking the streets with my fiancée and visiting the wet markets to buy food for dinner. Not always riding in taxis and instead choosing to ride jeepneys and trikes. My goal was to impress her by really accepting her culture and I think I did that. I don't think I did anything to embarrass her by being the "Ugly American". I received blessings from every family member about proposing marriage to her. I believe I was able to see how she lives there the best I could in such a short time. The Philippines is a great place and I enjoyed every minute there. Found the love of my life and I believe we will be going to K1 Fiancee Visa route as she decided that the goodbyes are to painful to go through again and I agree.

The Introduction

My name is LJ. I am 35 years old and I have basically lived in the Midwest for my entire life. I did live in New Mexico briefly when I was in my toddler years and then there was that one year when I was 17 that I lived in Southern California but the rest of my life has been in the Midwest. I am a college graduate, never been married, and I do not have any children.

I am currently engaged to a beautiful woman that is from the Philippines. She is 27 years old, also a college graduate, never been married, and like me doesn’t have any children. At this time she is still there in the Philippines until we begin the K1 Fiancé Visa process. We met online at a forum about Filipina/American relationships just over a year ago. I just recently got back home from going to visit her for a few weeks and during that visit we got engaged.

My first experience with the Filipino culture was when my Uncle married a Filipina many years ago when I was 12 years old. While he was stationed overseas in the Navy she lived with my family and me for about 2 years. Her kindness and loving attitude really impressed me and she was readily accepted into the family. They are still married to this day and I am still very much in contact with her. It seems as if she and I are getting just a little closer now since I am engaged to a Filipina. I want to believe she is excited about that.

As I mentioned before, I just recently returned from a visit to the Philippines. I went to the island of Negros and spent most of my time in Bacolod, otherwise known as the city of smiles. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and also changed my views about life, family, culture, and my future. All the expectations I had of the Philippines and of my fiancée’s family were exceeded. I have heard some of the stories on the news and online about how dangerous the Philippines is since it is a third world country. Maybe some of that is true in some small portions of the country but it wasn’t something I experienced. Hopefully this blog can help squash some of the incorrect notions some people have about the Philippines.

I thank you for reading this blog. I hope to keep it updated often with information and also with my thoughts about moving there sometime in the future. In my next update I will share my thoughts and views about my trip there and why my views on life have changed so much. Hope to hear from some of you in the comments.