One year ago we made our first video for interculti. For some months you did not hear from us. Here is a short update what happend in the past couple of months. We are also excited to continue with interculti. In the future you will hear more often from us again. But before we plan our next activities we would like to get your feedback.
Tag Archives: intercultural
Watch this video from the Philippines. I (Thomas) can understand that guy. Some food in other countries is not always our favorite. But I feel also so sorry, for that man. And mostly I can imagine the feelings of this girl. She did not expect the reaction of her boyfriend and she was even more pressured by the expectations and reaction of her family. What do you think?
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
Some people asked how we spend our anniversary here in Davao. We planned to be out at the hotel we got married- but postponed that for a week. But of course Sunday evening we had a special dinner with our family and some friends.
25 years ago – exactly on January 21st 1993 at 7 am – we celebrated the start of our union with a garden wedding. Yes it was 7 am and not pm: we choose a nice location facing the beach at Insular Hotel Davao City. During the day it gets so hot and we had the choice of either morning or late afternoon. Since it was often raining at night during the rainy season we choose to have the ceremony in the morning. We started 7 am Filipino time (meaning to say it was around 8 am …) We were very thankful for around 200 friends and relatives to be there. But the very highlight was that the family of Thomas came from Germany to attend the wedding. Our pastor Ernie Abella really gave good insights on marriage. He knew both of us as we were attending his church – “The Jesus Fellowship” in Davao City. We were so blessed to have him at our wedding. But there was a number of
We went back to some places where we had our first dates. Both of our favorite places have now different owners – many things have changed in the last 25 years. But here are still sweet memories – not only to the Hallo-Hallo and to the places it was served. You do not know what Halo-Halo is? See at the movie and look for more details online. On our first dates we were seldom alone – normally we brought some chaperones to be with us. For us our chaperones were usually Rosemarie’s sister or her brother or other friends. Wikipedia explains the following about a chaperone: A chaperone in its original social usage was a person who for propriety’s sake accompanied an unmarried girl in public: usually she was an older married woman, and most commonly the girl’s own mother. In modern social usage, a chaperone is a responsible adult who accompanies and supervises young people. Maybe the younger ones feel strange about that – but even today in many countries chaperones are there
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
More than 26 hours of traveling from our home town to Rosemarie’s family in Davao. Watch some impressions from our trip and understand why it is not easy to be far from your loved ones.
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
Almost 27 years ago we met for the first time. Thomas went as a volunteer with the mission organisation YOUTH WITH A MISSION to the Philippines and met Rosemarie during that time. Since that time we are in love with each other and now we look back to 25 years of marriage and a family with three wonderful children. In 11 days we will fly back to Davao City where it all began. Our first date, getting to know each other, our wonderful wedding, our first baby – and also our first crisis … We are both so excited to be back in the Philippines and reflect many experiences and places of our relationship. You are all invited to join our story as we will document it with this blog and many videos. You can subscribe to our E-Mail newsletter, to our Youtube channel or follow us on Facebook or Instagram. It is also our desire to interact with you – so please send us your feedback and also share your own experiences with us.