Things you should know before before moving to Manila

For those of you out there who might be considering moving to Manila or anywhere in the Philippines for that matter, here are a few things that you might need to know.

First and most important in my mind- there are no York Peppermint Patties anywhere in this country. That's right, you heard it here 1st-no York Peppermint Patties. If nothing else, this experience has taught me not only how spoiled I was (still am actually) and how much I take for granted. I guess the taste of mint and chocolate doesn't appeal to people here, but then agin, nothing beats the taste of "purple yam and cheese" ice cream when you have a sweet tooth!

Secondly, blowing the car horn is the most important part of driving in Manila. You blow the horn if a car starts to come into your lane (what am I saying, there are no lanes here), you blow the horn if you wish to change lanes. You blow the horn if you are turning, going through an intersection, if someone near you starts backing-up, if someone near you looks like they might start backing up, if you think someone is thinking about backing-up...if you get the picture just blow the horn.

Pedestrians are a nuisance that need to be put in their place. Cross walks mean nothing, and if you are forced to stop for one, make sure you get the car as close to them as possible, and just sit their staring at them until they get out of your way!

If you want to be left alone to browse a shop in peace and quiet, go to another country! In a country where you must have a college degree to apply for a job in a fast food resturant, and the minimum wage converts to about $1 an hour, there are always more workers than you. I have learned that if you say I would like to look "for a while" they are more apt to let you look, the bad thing is you have to say it over and over because there are so many workers!

The term "for a while" is used in many different contexts, and for many different situations. If you are speaking to a business on the phone and they say "for a while" they are probably asking you to hold. If you ask to speak to someone and they say they are not available "for a while" it means they either are tied up and can't come to the phone, or they are not there and the speaker doesn 't know when they will be back. If you go into a store and ask someone where the milk is, you can assume they don't know, and will ask you to wait "for a while". They will probably go ask someone else who does not know, and then look around till they actually find it, and return to lead you there. Sometimes they tell you there is no milk "for a while", which means, they are out of stock and don't know when they will get more. If you call the cable repair man and he says he cannot come out "for a while", that means you will probably not have cable for at least a week, maybe more!

Yes, does not always mean yes. If for example, you asked an electrician if they could put a new electrical outlet on the wall to hang a tv tomorrow, and he says "yes", it could have several different meanings. He may be saying yes, I can put a new electrical outlet on the wall, or he may be saying that he is able to hang a tv on the wall, or he may be saying yes, I could come out tomorrow, or he may even be saying yes, I will come out and look tomorrow to see if I can put a new outlet on the wall and then I will give you an approximate day that I will come out to do it. You must always ask each question separately, and clarify each part of your request, and then if he still says yes, you can assume that he will come out tomorrow and put in a new outlet and hang the tv. That is your indication that he plans to come out, but then you must call him again the next morning to see if his plans have changed. If he still says yes, you then ask "what time", to which he will usually respond- "either before lunch, or after lunch. Plan to be there the whole day and hopefully you will have an outlet on the wall and a tv hung before the day is through!