ALL AROUND THE WORLD
I was at Ayala mall again today, this time primarily
to get a load card on my phone and to just generally
people watch. It's pretty amazing to be the stranger
in a strange land and see how people look at and
treat you. Of course, they say there are far more
women here than men, some say 9 to 1, or something
like that, and while I don't know if this is true, it
is easy to believe considering the reaction I get
from women when I walk around the mall. Yes, there is
a lot of interest.
Koreans are everywhere. I remember the first night I went to a disco, it seemed to be half Koreans there. I later found out that the particular disco I went to was Korean owned, but still they are just about everywhere else I go too. They are usually very young, mostly students who go to the Philippines to study English, because of the low cost and it is widely spoken here. The thing I notice about the Koreans is that they are BIG. Most Asians are rather small compared to westerners, but all these Koreans, even the girls are taller than me! They are not exactly thin either. They all have some meat on 'em! I think the home diet must have changed much in the last twenty years. I used to hang with a lot of Koreans in college and they were small and thin like most other Asians back then.
Outside the mall, I met two African guys, one from Sudan and the other from Somalia. Apparently they work part of the year in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the middle east, and then spend the rest of their time living it up in the Philippines. I have heard of this strategy before, from a guy from the Ukraine. He worked for 6 months, or so, in Saudi Arabia and made a truck load of money and then enjoyed the other half of the year traveling.
These Sudanese guy told me that you work when you do this strategy though, so it is not for the lazy. He said you may work almost 24/7 but they are short contracts, in the middle east, and the pay is astronomical. I mean you can make more than most hope to make in a year. The Sudanese guy had been doing this for six years now. The Somalian guy said that when you get a work permit in The United Arab Emirates, it is just like being in the EU. You can travel and work freely anywhere in the UAE and many other parts of the middle east, and they all pay well. The Sudanese guy said, though, don't go to Saudi Arabia. It is very strict and no night life to speak of. The Somalian said if you are muslim you can do well in Saudi, but otherwise he agreed.
When I asked them if it was hot there, they winced. They said in the summer it can get up to 53゜C there. That's 127.4゜F for those in the U.S.. The typical 90゜days here must be nothing to them. They seemed to know a lot about the clubs and the local music scene, and also about Manilla, and the scene there. They said that Manilla really isn't much more expensive than here and that it is worth checking out. Each day I realize that I have barely even begun to scratch the surface here.
Koreans are everywhere. I remember the first night I went to a disco, it seemed to be half Koreans there. I later found out that the particular disco I went to was Korean owned, but still they are just about everywhere else I go too. They are usually very young, mostly students who go to the Philippines to study English, because of the low cost and it is widely spoken here. The thing I notice about the Koreans is that they are BIG. Most Asians are rather small compared to westerners, but all these Koreans, even the girls are taller than me! They are not exactly thin either. They all have some meat on 'em! I think the home diet must have changed much in the last twenty years. I used to hang with a lot of Koreans in college and they were small and thin like most other Asians back then.
Outside the mall, I met two African guys, one from Sudan and the other from Somalia. Apparently they work part of the year in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the middle east, and then spend the rest of their time living it up in the Philippines. I have heard of this strategy before, from a guy from the Ukraine. He worked for 6 months, or so, in Saudi Arabia and made a truck load of money and then enjoyed the other half of the year traveling.
These Sudanese guy told me that you work when you do this strategy though, so it is not for the lazy. He said you may work almost 24/7 but they are short contracts, in the middle east, and the pay is astronomical. I mean you can make more than most hope to make in a year. The Sudanese guy had been doing this for six years now. The Somalian guy said that when you get a work permit in The United Arab Emirates, it is just like being in the EU. You can travel and work freely anywhere in the UAE and many other parts of the middle east, and they all pay well. The Sudanese guy said, though, don't go to Saudi Arabia. It is very strict and no night life to speak of. The Somalian said if you are muslim you can do well in Saudi, but otherwise he agreed.
When I asked them if it was hot there, they winced. They said in the summer it can get up to 53゜C there. That's 127.4゜F for those in the U.S.. The typical 90゜days here must be nothing to them. They seemed to know a lot about the clubs and the local music scene, and also about Manilla, and the scene there. They said that Manilla really isn't much more expensive than here and that it is worth checking out. Each day I realize that I have barely even begun to scratch the surface here.
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