Welcome. My wife is from Manila, and mother in law is still a JW who was born in Iloilo. I went to Subic and swam with dolphins at Ocean Adventure in about 2010. I often contemplate retiring in the Philippines.
New here, never baptised (thank god)!
by olongapo joe 20 Replies latest jw friends
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olongapo joe
Heaven, my still in family all still talk/associate with me, the only family I would class as an Uber Dub would be my sister in law, even she talks to me, but I get the feeling she would rather be doing anything else (like getting her teeth pulled ) than chatting with me. My brother, last I heard was a MS, but I think he just does the JW thing for his wife and my parents, he hangs out with a worldly guy from work, under the guise of cutting firewood and doing odd jobs (construction).
Careful, my dad actually cried when I got on the bus for bootcamp, funny thing is, he did Army bootcamp in the early 60's and when I left, not one word of advice, I love my parents, but they did not prepare me for life on my own, guess they figured the end was near. I was an Aircraft Electrician retired an E-6, thanks mostly to being raised NOT to be competetive thanks again JW's! It's not as cheap as it used to be, I get by ok on $1500 a month, just had a son with my girlfriend, we would get married but I have to divorce my first wife who I believe is still married to her first Filipino husband (that's a story for another time). Jeepney's are still abundant and still belching out the black diesel exhaust. I was a virgin until I met a Westpac Widow at the E club, she used to be a bar girl at the Brown Fox in Olongapo (sadly the Brown Fox is closed and now a shopping mall). I have picked up some Tagalog but no where near conversational, vast majority of locals speak at least some English.
I read on another site that Anthony Morris was an Army Medic, I do not know if that is accurate or not.
JWfacts, I took my daughter to Ocean Adventure in 2006 and she got the picture with the dolphin. Any questions about retiring here, I would be happy to give you my experiences/advice.
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olongapo joe
Careful, sounds like you may have done a tour in the military, if so what branch? -
olongapo joe
I notice my answers to Careful kind of run together and don't make a lot of sense if you don't go back and read his questions, I will try to do better next time. -
Giordano
Welcome O-Joe looking forward to your stories. -
careful
An airdale—so were you shore stationed or aboard a ship? I was in naval comm. & intelligence, moved around a lot, and visited Subic-Cubi once and also got over to Clark once. My first night in Olongapo was my first exposure to real third world poverty. I was pretty shocked to see how desperate those poor folks were. A poor person in the USA could live like a king in PI. I remember groups of local Filipino road workers putting tar down on roads in the tropics within the naval base––for $1 a day, and they felt they were making great money. Then there were all those young teen girls working the bars. For a young guy it was both exhilarating and depressing at the same time. That was a long time ago and the world has changed so much. Even just relating these words is bringing back a lot mixed memories that I haven't spoken about in years. Anyway, I doubt there are many people at this forum who have been where you are!
Even with inflation I imagine $1500 a month can still go a long way in Olongapo. Does the navy give you any medical care? To your dependents? Did they ever fix that river between the base and Po City?
Don't worry about always making sense in your posts. Nobody's that fussy here.
As for your parents, I can picture, from his perspective, how your dad must have felt frustrated, feeling you were making the same mistakes he had, how he probably felt he had failed both God and you. That can drive a man to tears. The Witness world certainly does not prepare anyone for life on the outside. You would have had to have had exceptional JW parents for that!
Sorry, I meant E-7, not O-7. I'm rusty on all that old military jargon. First-class isn't that bad to retire at, though chief would have been better.
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millie210
Welcome Joe!
I personally get a kick out of sarcasm most of the time! Here is a little sign I thought you might get a laugh out of. Consider it a welcome to the forum gift for you!
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John Free
Hello!! Welcome! And thanks for your story!
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adjusted knowledge
Welcome to the forum
I've been to Cebu, Manila, and Bohol. My wife is from Cebu. I enjoyed my time in the Philippines, and was planning to visit again soon.
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steve2
Welcome! Nice to hear about your background and post-JW life. Way to go!
JWs thrive in the Philippines. Do they make themselves known to you? In the West, signs of slowing down in JW organization, but still going strong in parts of Asia.
