I wrote previously that people always assume that I’m writing about this shithole. Their words, not mine! And for a long time I haven’t, because I don’t want to write as an outsider looking in.
Basically, I don’t want to write about Angeles City as though it were a shithole. Because this is a third world country, not a shithole.
I think I’ve been here long enough now, and people know and respect me, so I can start to tell their stories from more of an insider perspective. Of course I’m not an insider and I never will be. But I’m also not one of these foreigners who lives in a gated community, sends their kids to the international school (well, I don’t have kids), only hangs out in expat bars, and exchanges stories of how awful the locals are with other expats.
Okay, I do spend a bit of time hanging out in expat bars… But other than that!
Anyway, rather than write about my experiences here in Balibago, I’ve actually been making little videos. This is a very new format for me and the production values are Not Good. But if you can bear with me as I learn, I think you’ll also learn some interesting tidbits about what life is like here in my corner of the Philippines.
This is a video of the fresh market here – basically where you can get meat, vegetables, tofu, rice, noodles… ANYTHING… straight from the wholesalers and importers.
If you want to subscribe to the channel – please do! it’s very interesting, if a little wobbly – you can do that by hitting the subscribe button.
Enjoy!
