Different cultures are exciting – but what if the excitement fates? Thomas knows the Filipino culture well – but still there are moments when the difference in cultures and in the mindset of the Filipinos is shocking and surprising. But even Rosemarie – after staying outside her home country for more than 20 years – experiences some difficulties in adjusting to her own culture. Listen to our thoughts about culture and culture shock – especially for intercultural couples visiting the home country of the spouse. Please also let us know about your experience and your
Tag Archives: holiday
We had a great holiday at the beach. After three weeks in the Philippines it was our first time to be at a beach. The last weeks we met lots of friends and attended three birthday parties and one wedding. We also had to arrange things for our guesthouse and do look for other practical matters – such as opening an local bank account. It was also our first time since at least 20 years to be at Paradise Island without our kids and family. So especially Thomas was very excited to swim and spend time at the beach. Watch our video and learn what we learned about holiday … and see some impressions from our favorite beach resort in Davao – the Paradise Island Beach resort at Samal Island.
Within our first 24 hours in the Philippines, we went already to two birthday parties. We arrived around 2 pm in the afternoon in our house in Davao and learned that we were invited for the 60th birthday of our Ninang Bernadette Al-ag that evening. We enjoyed the party and it was also nice to meet the new vice mayor of Davao City, Bernie Al-Ag and his wife. The next day our nephew celebrated the first birthday of their son Chase Noah. Celebrating the first birthday is a big thing in the Philippines. The parents spent lots of time and money to prepare for a wonderful party. Rose also prepared materials in Germany for the birthday cake and we were so excited to meet our grand-nephew for the first time ever. Also this party was great. There were around 100 guests – most them we did not know and there were lots of activities for the children. It is great to meet friends and to have good food. But on
We are so excited – in five days we will fly to the Philippines. Today is our day of packing our things. Actually packing only our clothes would be easy – it is warm in the Philippines. But there is much more to bring. Everybody in our family and all our friends are waiting for a Pasalubong. You do not know that Pasalubong is? Here is what Wikipedia says: Pasalubong (Tagalog, “[something] for when you welcome me”) is the Filipino tradition of travellers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home. Pasalubong can be any gift or souvenir brought for family or friends after being away for a period of time. It can also be any gift given by someone arriving from a distant place. Pasalubong, in general, is a “gift for a relation or friend brought by a traveler returning from a trip,” and could also refer to “anything given as a gift to someone on the way home to a certain place. It could also mean “homecoming gift” or any present which signifies appreciation to the