HI HO THE DAIRY 'O . . . THE FARMER IN THE DELL

OUR “FARM”

We finally found a property that we like, about a mile to the beach, and far from the traffic noise that we despised. We bought it on the 10^th of this month and we are still working on transferring the title to my name. It would only be in my name since Michael is an American citizen. Foreigners are not allowed to acquire real estate properties here in the Philippines. They can acquire a house but not the lot where the house sits. Since I have dual citizenship I can enjoy the rights of being a Filipino, such as being able to buy real estate properties, engage in commerce, etc..

It is almost 3,000 square meters land with coconuts and fruit bearing trees on the west side and an un-irrigated rice field on the east. Because it is un-irrigated, it can only be tilled for rice planting once a year and the rest of the year you can plant it with veggies, corn, etc.. The coconuts are harvested every 3 months.

We hired a couple of guys to clear the brushes one day and Michael and I have been going there everyday after JJ leaves for school. I am doing a lot of burning in order to get rid of the dead brushes. It's a good work-out under the morning sun and it feels good to be out there. Michael bought a can of blue spray paint one day and marked some of the coconut trees with KU. It's funny how people who stop by to chat asks me what KU stands for.

Here's some pictures that I took of the property:

And this is where we will build our 2 storey house once the paperwork goes through. Michael had been working on the house plan for a while now.

He already had layouts for where the hogs will be raised, where the chicken coops is going to be and a pen for the goats. We also have a huge space for pineapples and curry root plants. I need to set aside time to research on curry and whether there is a good market for it like ginger root does around here. From March to December, the rice field will be dry so there's that huge place for Michael to plant what he wants. The north side of the property facing the road is where my cake shop will be built and I already have cleared an area beside it to raise exotic orchids because it has shady spots. I already have starters for the orchids and I am slowly collecting stumps for these.

Slowly and patiently we will accomplish our dream and someday, the Lord willing, we will invite you over for a visit.

I feel the need to share with you our life verse when we got married in October 1987: The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” And then when we celebrated our 25^th anniversary we claimed this promise from the Lord for another 25 years and this is what that verse says: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15

I am just reminded of these promises as we celebrated our 28^th last October 10, the day we signed the papers to buy this property. God is faithful, indeed.

Thank you for following us in this journey. Until our next blog, may the Lord pour out His blessings on you and yours. We love y'all!

THE NITTY, GRITTY STUFF OF LIFE HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES

I am going to write about the everyday stuff where we are right now. I might not cover everything but hopefully this should give you an insight of what it's like to live here. I grew up in this little town, my beloved Hinunangan, went to school here until I moved to Manila in 1977 to pursue my college education. I've been gone since then, seldom coming home for a visit, I moved to the US after Michael and I got married in 1987. I came home for my parents' 50^th Wedding Anniversary in 1999 with our two sons in tow, and in 2005 when my dad passed on. During those brief visits my longing to stay home keeps gnawing at me. And who wouldn't want to? I keep asking myself, “What would I give up to enjoy all these breathtaking scenery and beauty that God has blessed the Philippines with?” 

I decided I'd give up anything...I'd give up covenience, a big house, lots of “stuff”, I'd leave behind the rat race and the constant stress and worries that haunts day in and day out. And yes, I'd give up the washer and dryer, . Here we are doing our laundry at the back of the beach house one day. The constant breeze from the Pacific is our dryer.

“I WANT MY MAYTAG”

This is our clothes washing “station” at the back of the house we are staying. Our dryer is the line you see in the background. Michael and I do the laundry together everyday so it isn't too overwhelming. We spend about P7.50 in detergent every week. We figured we will be busy once we settled in our new place so Michael thinks we will buy a washer then. I believe he just want his Maytag back :)

There is a nipa and bamboo hut behind the property we are staying complete with a kitchen and a loft. There's a wood stove in the kitchen that Michael decided we will use to cook our food. Two weeks of doing that he decided he is tired of trying to start a fire. His scouting and camping expertise didn't pan out here :) so we end up cooking our food in the big house with the gas stove. “It was worth the try,” I told him.

My cousin's house has a big yard. In the front are two mango trees, several lanzones tress, chico trees and to the back are santol trees, more lanzones and a sunkist tree. Every morning I sweep the leaves into piles and burn them. While I'm at it I also burn our trash. There are no trash collectors here in the smaller villages or barangays, you take care of your trash. And, no street sweepers either, you take care of the street in front of your house or property.

Most of the people here buy and cook just enough for each meal everyday as most do not have refrigerators. We still go to the market and groceries once a week for a week's worth of groceries. The reason why I stated “groceries” and not “grocery” is because you have to go to at least three different ones to get everything on your list which is so frustrating. But I keep telling myself I'm not in America anymore.

There are chicken to be fed every morning and evening and that became JJ's responsibility. We need to get used to eating home-grown, free range native chicken. Michael thinks they are a little tough (because they are so lean) but they are excellent for chicken soup. We tried cooking oven fried chicken in the dutch oven that we brought with us and it tasted good. Here's JJ feeding the chicken.

The three 5-gal. jugs you see in the back of the house are filled with water every morning and Michael sets them out in the sun all day.  At the end of the day we have our warm baths.  We found out 5 gallons of water per person is all we need for our baths.

We now have established a “suki” for our morning pan de sal which is a roll that most Filipinos have for breakfast with their coffee. A vendor riding a bicycle with a box full of pan de sal at the back sells them early morning, as early as 4am (which at that time, the rolls are still hot, just off the oven). They are P10 for a dozen. They are small rolls, though. We love them paired with sliced processed cheese.

I promise I will be updating this article as there are lots to write about the nitty gritty and everyday stuff. Until then, thanks for following and God bless.

PORK CHOP and LECHON -------- HMMM

We never thought we'll do this, but we are raising two piglets. My cousin Elizabeth and her husband Joven, who so graciously let us live in their empty house for free, has a pigpen next to the nipa hut behind their house. Our next door neighbor just happened to have piglets for sale so we bought two which proved to be a wise decision. The piglets keep us busy from morning to night. Michael enjoys getting up in the morning and checking on them. These creatures CAN be playful and interacts with him with their antics. He talks to them and they recognize his voice. They even act like our former dog, Abby, who had a constant need to be petted. I never thought pigs can be like that.....and they are so cute.

JJ was so excited when we first got them but soon lost interest in them. So much for having pigs for pets. He insisted they are going to be his pets and that he will be taking care of them. That didn't last. We will be adding two more in a month as there is an extra pen for two or three more.

Here they are.

One of them is named Porkchop and the other one is Lechon. We bought them for P2000.00 each and hopefully at the end of November we shall be able to sell them around P9000 – P9500 per. We will be adding two more in the middle of this month. We already have a name for them too: Bacon and Shortrib.

We will be raising organic pigs at the property we are getting and possibly have a sow.  That should keep us busy along with organic gardening.

FINAL SEPTEMBER UPDATE

This is the 12^th of September and we are still checking out parcels of land for sale. We have a constant calls from people who want to show us their properties for sale. It's amazing how word spread out so quickly around here. In spite of the many tours, as of today, we still haven't found one.

The first week of September we made a trip to Sogod where we opened an account with one of the big and stable banks in the Philippines. Everybody was helpful and the transaction was a breeze. Because Michael's I-card was not available yet, we opened the account in my name. We will add Michael's name to the account once immigration sends the card.

Since it was late in the afternoon and there was no van going to Hinunangan around that time, we took a 3-hour bus ride. It was already full so we have to stand halfway to our destination. After an hour of standing, we finally got a seat in the town of St. Bernard. Michael told me the bus was a 26 person seater (apparently he counted the seats) yet there were 60 of us (more or less) jammed in this bus, young and old, it didn't matter as long as they can squeeze you in. It was an exhausting ride to say the least. We definitely need to look for a vehicle so we don't have to make that kind of trip again.

The second week of September we decided to get our driver's licenses. LTO (Land Transportation Office) that issues driver's license is four towns away (about an hour bus ride). As long as you present your current, unexpired driver's license from the US, they only require you to submit a completed medical form signed by a physician. Each town has a Rural Health Unit where this medical form can be obtained. It only cost P50.00 per person. We opted for Foreign Driver's License Conversion because our licenses haven't expired yet. It didn't require any tests or exams, we only need to have our pictures taken and signatures and it cost us a little over 600 pesos each. Another requirement was a copy of the arrival date stamp page from our passports. I noticed that every government offices (whether Manila or the provinces) doesn't have copier and it is your responsibility to bring copies of the required documents when transacting business. We learned we will get our actual driver's license in three months so we will be carrying with us a temporary one in the meantime. Again, everyone was very polite and helpful, customer service with a friendly smile.

On September 18, we purchased a parcel of coco land up in the hills of Calag-itan, Southern Leyte. This is an income property that should give us cash flow every 3 months. We hiked up to the property one morning and we were treated with a breathtaking view of the ocean and the beautiful Hinunangan Bay. I regretted not taking my camera with us but we plan to go back next month so I should be able to share with you via pictures on my next blog what we saw. We retained the caretaker as he is very familiar with the land.

We planned to travel to Ormoc City September 23-24 to look for a vehicle, then head to Cebu City for a couple of days should we not find one in Ormoc. We might as well make this a sightseeing trip while we are at it.

We received word that there is a vehicle for sale in my mother's neighborhood. September 22 we test drove a 4-door Toyota Revo. This was not what we planned to get but after looking into it, and weighing our options, we decided to purchase it. It sat in the garage most of the time, hardly driven except for a couple of weeks once a year when the owner, who lives in California, comes home for a visit. Apparently since the parents passed on, they do not plan to visit yearly as they did before so they wanted to sell it. This is our new ride:

Our plan to go to Ormoc and Cebu is tabled for now. We will still go and visit these cities some other time.

Two exciting things happened this last week: 1) we found a farm that meets our needs and we plan to purchase it; 2) JJ was allowed to sit in at a nearby school everyday starting today, the 26^th. He is not officially enrolled but it didn't matter much to me since all I really wanted for him is language immersion. I will teach him at home with the basics just so he would not be left behind once he is enrolled next year. Here he is in his school uniform. Isn't he cute?

That is all for now. I pray you will continue to follow my blogs and journey with us for however long the Lord will let us in this adventure. Please pray for us as we are for you. Until then - MIZPAH!

GONE FISHING....

Months before we left for the Philippines we invested in a fish trap with the help of my cousin Elizabeth and her husband, Joven. With the money we sent, they bought the materials necessary to build the pen, hired workers from start to finish and then retained some of the hired hands to help them in the day-to-day operation. At first we just watched them harvest fish from the shore, but soon we were brave enough to get on a little dug-out and paddle to the center of the pen to watch.

I am sharing some of the pictures here:

We watched the guys haul the fish in with the nets into the boats.  There were people milling about ashore wanting to buy the day's catch including fish vendors.  We wanted to help but thought we were just in the way so we stood and watch them wheeling and dealing from a corner.  It's kind of being at an auction.

Yes, we have fish almost everyday. JJ one day opened the refrigerator and said (with a tone of dismay) “The only thing we have here is fish.” I don't mind that at all – a diet of fish, veggies and rice and ocassional red meat.

We are enjoying the weather here especially at the end of the day when we take a swim. Mike had been making progress reaching his goal of swimming to the edge of the fish pen and back. JJ has learned to swim and to float on his back.  Most of all I am enjoying our lifestyle here: no bills to pay except for electricity (P700-P800), cable (P360) and water (P10.00)

Thank you for following and I hope you will come back again for more updates.  Blessings.

September Update

So here we are exactly one month after we left the US.  We are enjoying the slow paced life here in Hinunangan.  We are still looking at different properties offered to us.  It's amazing how word flies around here.  We are constantly on the move....looking at properties here and there, big and small and in between.  Although we are not in a hurry, I am kind of feeling anxious also.  We have so much to consider as to where we should put our stakes down.  We have also decided, after much prayer and thoughts that closer to my mother is the ideal place so Cebu is crossed out of our list to check out.

As of today, we have 2 choices that we hope we could get.  But we will still keep looking for other properties. 

Yesterday we got our temporary driver's license (we'll get the real ones in about 3 months).   We have not found a vehicle to buy around here so next week we plan to go to Ormoc City to look for one there.  We also haven't received the ICR cards from the Immigration either although we were informed the cards should be ready in two weeks.  Things are really slow here, but it's okay, we are in no hurry.

We are still figuring out our internet issues.  We will upload pictures once we get that figured out.

JJ, by the way, is being homeschooled.  When we arrived here the schools had already done the first grading period so he cannot be accepted by the time we enrolled him.  I inquired about him just hanging out with the first graders so he could be immersed in the Pilipino language, but because of insurance issues the school would not allow that either.  It's funny how stumped I am sometimes as to how or what to teach him knowing that I have to teach him both in English and Visayan and Tagalog as well.  It was easier when I did the homeschooling with Josh and Zach because I didn't have to worry about other languages.  But I figured we will make it work.

We will head to San Pedro island tomorrow for a more relaxing day of swimming, eating, sleeping and just enjoying the beautiful views.

Please continue following us as we journey.  Thank you and God be with you and us until our next blog.

WE MADE IT TO LEYTE, YAY!

And we made it to Leyte. After being stuck in Manila traffic everyday, we are glad to be in the sleepy town of Hinunangan. We have been to the beach a lot just enjoying the clear waters of Leyte. Internet is really slow, spotty, iffy and I don't know what else to say but we thank the Lord that He brought us safely. We watched the guys work on the fish pen yesterday. I do have pictures but internet is not cooperating (sigh, sigh). I really love to post them here so those will surely follow. We've looked at two properties for sale and are still trying to find a vehicle after a failed attempt to drive one down to Leyte. Keep us in your prayers as we seek the Lord's guidance as to where we need to be. My sister (who is looking after my mother) is going back to Bulacan so that we need to be at my mother's place everyday until her hired help comes back from Cebu in 20 days. Michael will be doing yard work (the yard is in bad shape) and of course swimming at a nearby beach while I will be tending my mom's store. JJ will be enrolled at a Christian school so that should keep him busy other than going to the beach. Mike looks young with his new tan (smile). We will upload pictures as soon as we find a spot for our wifi. It is hard to find a spot when we are close to a mountain range. We are staying at a cute little house that my cousin readily let us use while we are looking for our new place. Until next blog, God bless.