TravellingNomad

congratulations to your fiancee for winning the santa cruzan! are you going to be her escort? if you are...be prepared to be on your feet for several hours. back in the 90's the first time i went back home for a visit, my cousins tricked me into escorting their santa cruzan's queen. i thought it would just be walking around for the afternoon parade. did not know that there was a whole activity when the sun came down. i ended up standing right beside the queen on stage for 6 hours. boy was my feet killing me at the end! and all i got offered was afterwards was coffee and pan de sal LOL. i gotta admit...the queen that year was pretty!

Wrong

Illegals in USA and especially in Texas the majority by far(and I mean by far) is from Mexico.....

but it does not make them the only people that come here illegally or become illegal. your posts specifically points out only one nationality instead of illegals in general.

and as far as your previous post regarding how to tell if a person is an illegal alien...i think that's an insult. in todays economy, anyone who is desperate to make a living to feed his/her family has stood at the corner holding up signs asking for work. i know because the evening news i've watched in the past covered some people in my city doing this. and just because a person cannot speak english, does not mean they are an illegal. what you said in your post is pure propaganda.

i ride in the car with my wife when she practices driving. the good days and bad days are about the same. what's hard is that she has in her mind how it was when she was driving in the philippines where there was no traffic laws at all. she's getting the hang of it already...although she still gets a little nervous.

yeah like everyone said...don't worry about it. i have a 5 year old that arrived here that only knew some basic english words. he's been here a little over 2 months and he's picked up so much! of course it helped that his uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. etc. speaks to him in english. and when he does not understand what they said, they will explain it to him in tagalog and then make him repeat what they said in english. so just make sure that the people he lives with now start teaching him some english and when he gets here, just speak to him and english and let him know the tagalog translation when he does not understand. he's at that age that his brain will easily absorb things.

you mentioned she has visa in hand. she told you things will change when she comes here. use the time before she comes here to find out how she reacts if you stop sending money for ALL unnecessary expenses.

i agree with this. take jrmejia's advise about it not being too late to undo things by incorporating it with this advise from sunandmoon. since the petition is pretty much done (with the expenditure of having to pay for her plane ticket to come here), tell her now you will be doing some belt tightening and see how she reacts when she will not be getting anymore money to buy things she does not need but want to have.

Hello? Can you hear me? You are just a poor guy in love. Hey!! nothing wrong with that. Read the Book "Romeo and Juliet". They gave something more valuable. "LIFE"!

hello! have you even read Romeo and Juliet? Romeo was no poor guy. Romeo came from a rich family. and unless both OP and his wife is willing to die for each other...i don't see how this classic love story compares to his story. Juliet did not ask Romeo to spend all his money on her.

I know this message was addressed to the OP but I see nothing wrong with the above. In fact, I find it cute. In a way.! When some one finds a princess that is the price that person has to pay for her. Good thing she is showing him the FINE PRINT ahead of time. Many of us don't see that until late in the relationship.

My 2 cents (I almost forgot to give 2 more cents)

so you don't see anything wrong with him having to spend all the money he could be putting in a bank saving for their rainy days or future...for her to get the greatest and latest electronic devices because she just has to have them? having a serious relationship is hard work. it's not about buying your partner's affection. why even fall in love if you are buying the other person's affection? yeah i agree...nothing wrong with spending money on your spouse/partner. but to be forced to spend the money...otherwise you are insulted for not giving in to that person's whim?...that is just plain wrong. stop being naive...would you let your wife go on asking you for thousands of dollars just so she can be happy at having the latest blackberry?...the latest digital camera? $1200 so that she can celebrate her birthday? for god's sake, my wife celebrated her bday and all it cost me was $50! and she told me she even had some left over so she asked me if it was ok for her to use it to buy me a card! wake up...you are giving OP bad advise by telling him to keep enabling his fiancee to treat him like a cash cow.

my 2 cents.

Hello,

I am taking a lunch break. I need to clarify few things. I feel I created the situation. Let me give you a bit of a background. I met her on Yahoo last year. One of my friend has friends in the Phil. and he goes there just for fun. He is married here in USA. I asked him for advice and one of the advice he gave me was to give her the money as soon as I go there. He said Phil. is a dangerous country and they always think Americans always carrying money with them. Before I went to visit her, I repeated to her many times that I am not a rich guy. I work to pay my bills. She said she has no problem with that.

When I came back, I think that is when I started the situation I am in now. I think I made her addicted to this. The first thing I told her was listen Mary I gave you a engagement ring but I don't like the way it matches with the rest of your jewelry. Can you please try to find matching jewelry so that it goes well with the engagement ring? she said sure. She quoted me $1,300(dollars) for a reckless and earrings. (white diamond). I did not argue with her because it was my fault for asking her in the first place to go and search for jewelry.

She is not the most beautiful person in the world but so hard to resist her charm. I feel like giving everything I can afford. But I think I went to far.

Now whenever she needs something and I don't give her the right amount, there she goes calling me "Cheap guy" and later moody.

I really don't have the gut to blame her for everything. I did not know how to handle her charm and maybe I lost my head. Now I am paying for it.

I believe it is a 50/50 situation. But regardless, I don't like when she calls me cheap. I don't know why. I feel she does not appreciate anything. Not only my heart but material things also.

stop making excuses!!!! ok fine...you may have told her at one time this did not go with that...so go find something that will match it. but that did not mean it was a green light for her to just think that you have money to spend. c'mon...$350 for 10 pairs of lingerie? where did she look...victoria's secret?!?!?! there are plenty of locally made lingerie that costs way way cheaper than that! let me ask you something. if you said you are working to pay bills and only having a small amount to save afterwards....how the hell are you coming up with all these money you are sending to her and her extended family? surely if you only have enough to pay bills and set aside a few dollars for savings...where is the thousands of dollars you said you have sent (and will continue to send, with the way you're going) coming from? even though you keep telling her you are not rich, but then turn around and keep sending the amount she tells you, she's thinking that you're just lying to her.

then if this whole attitude of your fiancee started because of your own doing...then undo it by stopping the sending of money for things she does not need. yeah she told you all the spending gets expensive because of the visa processing. but i did not see anywhere in the processing where the beneficiary must have the latest and greatest electronic devices for the petition to be processed or approved. you already know the majorly excessive spending is not right...but you keep making excuses for it...maybe you do deserve what you're getting after all. sorry to be so blunt and insensitive.

love makes a person give in to a point that it hurts. and having someone to love is the best thing in the world. but the person we give all that love to has no right to abuse it.

OP, you are not cheap for being responsible for your financial obligations. i know how you feel about working to pay bills with just enough to be able to set aside for savings (but it's not much really). your fiance is already playing you. having the latest electronics....these are not necessities. they are for her to show to whoever wants to listen to her that she has the latest and greatest devices. and the nerve of this woman to ask you to pay for her niece's college and then ask for more?!?! $100 to go to a fast food burger joint is too much. tell her you're putting your foot down and if she thinks you are a cash cow...then tell her you don't see the relationship going any further. if she still does not change after you tell her that...then cut your losses and go find yourself a much more deserving filipina. there are a lot out there that will not look at you like you are a tree that bears the money fruit year round.

as far as your budget is concerned...if you just plan to live a simple but comfortable life, your budget is more than enough. of course, you'll have to consider the exchange rate as well so your budget may fluctuate.

"And if the ladies reading this think the guys’ encounters with the brow tweazers are for your benefit, sorry — nine out of 10 Filipino men polled said they liked to look good for themselves, not anyone else."

that paragraph cracked me up! ok...i must admit though...every now and then i do become vain when looking at myself in the mirror before going out. of course, it helps when i match the right shirt with the right pair of pants...and when the wife fan the flames but i wouldn't go as far as carrying a kaboodle case/bag of make-up kit or what have you. but in all honesty...when the wife and i go out...i dress up and try to look nice and sexy for her and not anyone else. i could care less how i looked for other people...it's her attention that is important to me and what i am after

LOL reminds me of that movie petrang kabayo

has anyone used the Magic Jack to call NVC from Philippines?

i'm having trouble getting through that's why.

calling the NVC is like trying to get a hangnail without using a nail cutter or a nipper. you never get it on the first try. you just have to keep re-dialing. sometimes you could be re-dialing for 10 minutes straight before getting a ringing tone.

hello...i also want to call the nvc...but i dont know what number to contact can you give me?...id just like to follow up the case of my dad which is F4 visa...or do you have an idea on how to check the NVC case number?...thank you

contact number for NVC (603) 334-0700

You DO realize TCO is married to a Filipina, right?

And as for buying a house, it's not just any house, there are size limits. And you CAN "own" land thru a corporation, provided it's 60% Filipino-owned corporation. All of that is spoda be changing, but I have been hearing "it's going to change soon" for a while now.

uh yeah....hence the last sentence on my post implying that knowledge. just wanted him to make sure he got his bases covered. but since his last post said a legal mind is handling all the details for him...looks like he does.

did you just buy the house or the land as well? hope you checked the laws regarding foreigners acquiring property in the Philippines first before you handed over money. because foreigners cannot own land in the Philippines. you can buy and own a house, but you cannot buy or own the land it stands on. unless you put the ownership under your wife's name.

that's why filipinos going to another country need to realize that when they get caught doing something illegal, they are at the mercy of that country's laws. but one question that has been nagging me...with how strict they are once you enter the airport(s) in Manila, how did that much illegal controlled substance pass through? you literally have to pass through 2 xray stations and then a visual inspection at the boarding area. so how is it that these were missed at the airport? seems to me that it's about high time government do an internal (undercover) investigation at the airports to determine who is on the take by the drug syndicates.

i remember two years ago when i flew out of the Philippines, i had a few bags of watermelon seeds in my check in luggage. when it passed through the xray, a PNP officer nonchalantly walked by the luggage with his k-9. and when the dog did not react, i was pulled aside and asked if another PNP officer can see the contents of the luggage. when i gave the permission and opened it, they went straight for the bags of the seeds. when they saw they were really watermelon seeds, they apologized for the inconvenience and i went on my merry way.

with

most (if not all) electronic devices now have auto volt feature where it will be able to handle being plugged to 110 and 220 volts. if not, there's a switch that the user can toggle to switch. if it's not an auto volt device, you can send money so they can buy a transformer with a high enough wattage to be able to run those electronic devices at the same time.

Truth About Me:

Good Looking

Sexy

Attractive

Envy of most male

Heartbreaker to most females

Great Bass Fisherman

Savy BusinessMan

Worshiped like a Greek God in Philippines

Tall

Handsome

totoy...hindi naman ba masyadong mabigat yang sinusubukan mong buhatin na bangko mo?!?!...tapos ang hangin na bumubuga eh mas malakas pa kesa sa hangin ng pinaka-matinding buhawi na dumaan dyan sa texas. baka mapilayan ka.

agree with the reviews above. i've flown Korean Air a few times in the past going to and from the Philippines. i've never had any problems with them. although the language barrier may be a little hard when you're asking one of their flight attendants for water or what have you.

GSM is a type of radio a cell phone uses. like at&t phones uses GSM radios on their phones. dual/tri/quad-bands are the networks in which the cell phone can operate in. as long as you have a sim unlocked cell phone, your globe sim will work (again depending if you get signal. you have to look at the cell phone carriers in your area and see how good their coverage are in their area. since the sim is activated for roaming, it will use the cell towers in your area and hop onto that provider for the roaming service.

woohoo!!!

that's good to know that you finally got them booked JW! just let the parental units know what to expect when they get here. im pretty sure they'll be fine. maybe look into any filipino association(s) in your area, if any, that your parents can be a member of so they can make friends and start partying with them!!

yes it would be at the prevailing exchange rate. better to just send the $ amount to the wife if she has a dollar account over there...or via western union. you can send docs via LBC and they will deliver it to her. LBC uses DHL as the courier service for packages sent to the US.

CONGRATS J.W.!! happy days ahead!

ok i called the USCIS and the person I spoke with asked me a few questions. and based on the information i gave her, she said that both my minor children derived citizen because i have citizenship by naturalization. she said i could either apply for their US passport or file for the N-600. but she recommended to applying the passport because it serves as proof of citizenship and as travel documents. i do agree with her for the sole reason that applying for a passport is 500% cheaper than filing the N-600.

Hi VJErs, I will send a box for the very first time to PI.. and I know that Forex picks up the box.. I am wondering if they want a list of the items inside the box...

Please let me know if I have to make a list coz I already packed it and ready to go..

packing list not necessary.

(couldn't edit my other post anymore)

as an addition to my post above, some local travel agencies in the Philippines (like Reli and St. Raphael's) have the special promo price called 1st Time Immigrant fares. depending on the time of the year, these promo fares are way cheaper than going directly to the airlines.

also, if you are immigrating with children, another money saver is getting a Reduced Travel Tax certificate from the Dept. of Tourism. this takes 50% off the travel tax for children. it's not really much...but i figured all of us already spent a lot for the whole process so saving a little is a breath of fresh air.