Category Archives: Local Culture

Memories of Manila (1)

Posted on 19 May 2013 by sheg4184

Jennifer Gordon-Russell, a.k.a. Jenny Wallum, first arrived in the Philippines in the early 80s with her economist husband Peter Wallum and younger daughter. These were the years of martial law and the Marcos’s sovereignty; the days when traffic was light … Continue reading →

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Home Help: a challenge and a joy

Posted on 30 April 2013 by sheg4184

As an Australian, the concept of household staff is a foreign one, and I constantly find myself bewildered by the presence in my life of a full-time driver and a part-time maid or ‘helper’ and all the unwritten rules and … Continue reading →

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Driving: More Fun in the Philippines!

Posted on 10 March 2013 by sheg4184

Recently we have started teaching our older son to drive. In Manila. I haven’t actively dissuaded him from learning to drive, but nor have I actively encouraged him. There are so few safe places to get him used to driving a … Continue reading →

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To Taal with TourFlair

Posted on 2 March 2013 by sheg4184

Taal: not just a volcano and a lake, but also a UNESCO heritage town in Calabarzon, overlooking Balayan Bay, about two hours south of Manila. Recently, I went on a fascinating expedition to Taal with food safari TourFlair. The drive … Continue reading →

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‘Just because we can’

Posted on 26 February 2013 by sheg4184

Hong Kong: tower blocks rising in stately splendour around the harbour as if reaching for the clouds, bedecked in brightly coloured light displays that have us craning backwards to gawp through the rear window of the taxi, mouths wide open … Continue reading →

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Shoes: the Fetish of a First Lady, or a National Passion?

Posted on 17 February 2013 by sheg4184

Imelda Marcos, wife of Filipino President Marcos, became internationally renowned in 1986, not for her charismatic personality, her movie star looks or her contribution to Filipino culture, but for her butterfly sleeves and her infamous collection of shoes. When Imelda … Continue reading →

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A Park of Remembrance

Posted on 28 January 2013 by sheg4184

A calm, peaceful escape from the endless traffic; an oasis sitting at the highest point in Fort Bonifacio, you will rarely find more than a handful of visitors at Manila’s American Cemetery and War Memorial. On a rainy day, it … Continue reading →

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A McDonald’s Christmas

Posted on 20 December 2012 by sheg4184

McDonald’s may not be everyone’s idea of a Christmas feast, but for twenty small street kids at  Tulay Ng Kabataan it is. Aged between three and fifteen, these twenty plus kids  moved earlier this year to a purpose built house with … Continue reading →

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Felice Navidad

Posted on 4 December 2012 by sheg4184

…And then, that hidden tendency in all of us to behave like peevish expat princesses over  small molehills that are part of expat life anywhere is swept away by the joy and childlike enthusiasm of the Christmas season. News of … Continue reading →

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How hard can it be?

Posted on 30 November 2012 by sheg4184

A posting to the Philippines was going to be a breeze. We had lived in SE Asia before, and loved it, so we were really excited to be moving back to the region. As an added bonus, we wouldn’t have … Continue reading →

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