jalie

Yes of course we can, but what if you have been doing it for years and most of the time you get rejected? My 12 year old (then)daughter told me several times, "why do you insist on greeting our co-Filipinos if they do not even smile at you". I am talking of Filipinos in Italy. This kind of attitude baffles me until now. Now that I'm in the US I see that the pattern is pretty much the same. I am new in Texas and eager to have Pinoy friends so I smile a lot to every co-national that I encounter but so far no fruit yet. Maybe I really have to go and approach them and say, "how are you". I have greeted mistakenly in the past lots of Japanese, Thais, Malaysians and the like so the problem with me lies not on that. It's more of the fact that I'm afraid to be snubbed like in the past. And so the Filipino who sees me evaluates me as a snob too.
I'm all praises to the Filipinos in Spain and Prague because they are way too friendly and hospitable, inviting you for a meal in their place without even knowing you.
I don't think its a culture thing. I guess it has got to do with the population. Say, if you live in a certain place for quite sometime and have not seen any co-national yet I bet the minute you see one you'd go running to meet/greet her. But if you live in a certain place full of Pinoys and they seem to be succesful in their careers driving BMWs and Mercedes comparing with my raggedy rickety Mazda, of course I'd feel ashamed to greet them.

When I arrived in my fiancè's house I immediately noticed or smelled that there are a million and one task to be done right away. Yes, I lived my life in a minute condo unit back in Italy but it was not that bad in terms of smell and sight. If you get what I mean, Carlo's house was built in the 1920's and never was restored nor modernized nor cleaned (in the true sense of the word).His backyard has long been forgotten and become an eerie patch of a bush, poison ivies and the like has overtaken his house walls and even penetrating the windows. THESE are the things that I kept myself busy with while waiting for the famous and much coveted EAD.
I did not or am not living with my spouse's money as I have my own savings. Just a few days ago it was his birthday and of course I have to buy him gifts and that was possible only because I did save for that occasion many months ago. I knew beforehand that he is not rich so I did not expect anything fancy. I tried my best to save while we were waiting for the result of our K-1 application and I'm proud to say that I do not entirely depend from him.
I wanted to work (geez I was spending more than a thousand for groceries and other stuff/month), there are lots of undocumented Mexicans who are employed, so why can't I? But as the law-abiding-citizen as my fiancé is, he does not permit me. I can not even go jogging as I usually do back in Italy because he sez our neighborhood is not safe. The food in the US is something I review as "garbage" and I just need to work out all those calories away and the solution we come to vote is for me to frequent his Martial Arts classes. So it went that way till now.
In conclusion, I can say that even If Carlo possessed a well-managed, well-run and spic and span house there will still be things that I would see that needed care/attention to filling my time while waiting for my much aspired Green Card.

[extract][/extract]If I were her I'd buy me the ticket myself, see the place myself... and examine my heart and conscience... Do I really love him? If yes then I'd stay... Does he really love me? I'd certainly know... and would stay or otherwise!!!
It's YOUR choice to notify the embassy that you have had cold feet... You're a law abiding US Citizen, aren't you? So, do whatever that suits the law!!