Our New Home in Angeles

After four months of living in the Philippines, we finally moved into a more permanent house on Friday (the 16th). Compared to Manila, our new home is in a smaller city—called Angeles—that surrounds the old Clark Air Force Base. The Texas Instrument’s project is now at the construction stage, which is why Dad needed to be closer Clark to continue his work.

Angeles is only two hours north of our home back in Makati, Manila, but it is culturally and economically different. We are still in the process of adjusting, finding our way around town, and unpacking from our move.

After four months of not owning a car, our family is very excited to now be independent:-) again and explore the city in our new van.:-) But…driving in the Philippines is not as easy as it looks! I think we told some of you about the driving over here in the Philippines, where the drivers are almost completely oblivious to street lanes and merge together in a crazy, unorganized—but in a way—an organized fashion!

The local drivers weave in and out the crazy traffic with ease and control, but for us foreigners it takes a few times to become accustomed to the “culture” of the Filipino drivers.:-)

The traffic here in Angeles is not as notorious as the traffic in Manila…or so we thought before our first night here.:-) We had an interesting driving experience on Friday after we barely moved in to our home.

So on Friday (the 16th)….

Our relocation company had delivered all of our boxes and we began sorting through them. Come suppertime, we all started to get very hungry. Since our food and kitchen supplies were so disorganized and half of them still stuffed in boxes, we decided eat out. If you remember, at the Ascott we lived right above the Glorrietta mall. Whenever we needed to grab a bite to eat, we simply walked downstairs and chose a restaurant. Here in Angeles, we do not have that convenience anymore!:-)

Because Dad had a business meeting scheduled later that evening, we quickly left our mound of unpacked boxes so that we could eat dinner, go grocery shopping, and be back in time for his meeting. Leaving the house, we turned on (and off) just about every light in the house, since we could not find the correct light switch for the front door light. (There are about twelve light switches by our front door!). When we finally found the correct switch, someone said, “Oh! Don’t forget to lock the door.” So, we searched for our key and locked the door.

As we exited our subdivision out onto a two-lane street, we realized that there were no traffic lines, stop signs, or policemen to help us get out—safely. We knew that waiting for a small hole in the traffic would take too long, especially on a busy Friday night. So Mom—who was driving—eased out into the traffic, and then anxiously asked before she drove forward, “Is it clear? Are you sure? I don’t want to hit any bikers or run over any pedestrians’ toes.”

You should have seen the streets of Angeles. Even though it is smaller than Manila, the traffic was still heavy. It was as if every road was merging together in one big, unorganized but flowing mass of cars. Mom exclaimed, “I can’t believe that my first time to drive in the Philippines is on a crazy Friday night, of all times!” Being in a new city made it even harder!

This was not a time to consider the rules of yielding and taking turns; instead, we had to merge right into the mob of cars, bicycles, and pedestrians. Let’s just say that with everyone in our family giving poor Mom directions and yelling out “Clear over here” or “Don’t go yet here comes a crazy driver!” “Mom, go right after this tricycle,” our nerves had quite the workout!

As we neared the mall and restaurant complex, Dad said (from the passenger seat), “Cynthia, turn right here!” Mom thought he meant turn at the immediate right, which was a Jeepney station. When Dad said that he meant for her to turn at the next street over, she replied anxiously (after making the immediate right turn), “Edwin, I need you to be more expensive…. I mean explicit! See I’m getting too stressed out here.” We all (including Mom) laughed hard at Mom’s statement, which relieved our stress!

After circling through the Jeepney station—with all of the Jeepney drivers probably wondering what we were doing—we finally made it to the mall. By this time we were very hungry and ate at the first appealing restaurant that we approached in the mall.

As we sat at the table, we noticed that Dad had a piece of cardboard lying next to him with scribbles all over it. One of us girls asked, “Dad, what’s that for?” He replied, “Mom’s grocery list.” In the midst of our rushed exit from our house, Mom could not find any paper for our grocery list. She grabbed the most convenient thing, which was a piece of cardboard from one of our boxes!:-)

Living out here is a drastic change from Makati (the ex-patriot community). Angeles is a not as economically developed as Makati City. Unfortunately, Angeles has been known for its bars and nightclubs, which emerged during the war era. Although many have closed now, a few still exist.

Driving down the main roads, we see other aspects of Angeles. Small children, ages 5-7 years old, beg or sell small items at common fast-food joints hoping to receive a peso or two. Local men who independently direct traffic at restaurants or stores also hope to receive a tip for their service.






Local farmers sit on the side of the dusty road selling their produce, rice, or meat in little cubbyholes next to the street. Small vendors push carts along the street selling food, trinkets, or other items for a living.






So as we live out here and observe the living conditions of multitudes around us, we realize that we take too much for granted, especially when so many are less fortunate than we are. God has blessed our family with so much. As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded once again of the abundant (and truly abundant) blessings that the Lord has given us and that we should be ready to willingly share our blessings with others.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.