Hurry back as were stockpiling our toxic plastics and will hold a nice big fire on your arrival. Naturally, we'll only light it at night when it's effective at closing visibility to about 10 feet on the highway... :-)
Life in the Philippines is very different from where expats come from. Some aren't able to adjust to the kind of life we have in P.I. They probably tried anyway but just couldn't continue trying to understand the many things that are only found in the Philippines. There are a lot of undesirable things around here. Take it or leave it.
I agree with Rarity54f. I am still taking it, and enjoying it too. I decided when I moved here that it would be easier to change my ways and accepts others than to try to change a whole nation of people to my way of thinking. However I have also found that some days are harder to do that than others. I have only really had one day here that I wished I could go home....something about getting money here, and given every road block I could imagine and a few I could not imagine. However half the problem was with the US culture company...hahahaha So I guess I would have only gone half way home.
stayed for 2 weeks, again for 5 weeks, I found Dumaguete fascinating, friendly, a bit noisy, ( I stayed outside the city in Bliss Talaay) @ my fiancé home) large wall around gated entrance on her property, liked for the most part, concerns are many, dislikes are few so far, I am considering life permanently here as an expat from USA, got any suggestions ?
Also get used to dogs barking all night long and for most of the day too. Many keep dogs in confined spaces, tied on a short rope, or imprisoned in a purpose built cage, with no protection from sun or rain, no exercise, nowhere to poo or pee, and the dog slowly goes mad. In a demented state, they then bark at anything that moves, especially shadows at night, and this sets of a chain reaction with all the other dogs howling and barking for hours at a time. I have asked on numerous occassions why people have them. The usual reply is "when they bark it tells me that someone is there" !!! When I point out that it has been barking for 3 hours and no-one has bothered to find out if anyone is there or why they havnt investigated to see why the dog is barking it just produces a Gallic shrug of the shoulders. When I suggest that if they really want to know who is there they should buy a door bell, it is met with a blank stare. So if you have any respect for animal life, and most people from the West have, then be prepared to be disillusioned, and couple that with the possibility of thoughtless, uncaring, inconsiderate neighbours who care not one iota for other peoples comfort when it comes to making excessive noise at any hour of the day. Three drunken dickheads in a karaoke bar at 3a.m. with everything at max volume and bass, will not give any thought to the 100 or so families that they are disturbing. Check out where you are going to live and choose carefully.
with 13 brothers and sisters in law, rooster, barking dogs and karaoke appears to me as some of the smaller problems...