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Welcome!

Hi Jared, Im Mark, from the Philippines. I can introduce you to some friends and lets hang out a bit. There is many places and cultures that we can let each other know. Hope to know about you more. Thanks

Thank you, Cynthia, for the welcome.
I am grateful for this opportunity to converse with so many new people from a country I have just come to love and admire the more I read.

The internet truly presents us with some amazing opportunities.

Well Mark, I would be grateful to get to know more about you too.
I'm a fairly open person, I hide very little because I find very little reason. Keeping life simple, I find, is the best.

I come from the Pretoria myself. It's a fairly big city all things considered.
It's 50km from Johannesburg which is overrun with people.
We actually have alot of space in South Africa, but most people live in the cities because it gets pretty rural anywhere else.
I mean 30km from me is a small town where people still ride horses everywhere.
Granted, they really don't have to but there's 3 stables in the place and a working blacksmith so instead of paying for petrol they pay for horse feed and it costs them about the same.

Other than that what would anyone like to know? I'm open to questions.

What I would like to know is about the Culture there. What's your favorite foods?
Foods are different all over the world. I mean we have an amazing assortment of fruits like Mango, Pawpaw, Lichi, Loquat, Mulberry etc. But we are also big on animal farming here and hunting so meat is pretty cheap. I myself don't eat red meat though.

welcome..have fun learning and enjoy ..keep safe,,God bless!

Hi Jared! Thanks for taking interest in our country as a whole. I'm so happy to know that people from other countries are interested not only in learning but thoroughly understand our ways. Welcome to the forum. I hope you have fun!

hi jared! you come here in philippines. but do not give money any falpina

iftikhar_peeto,

Is that remark really necessary?

What money are you talking mybe i can  give you

ok come   here in philippines and see, ***

If it's government don't worry, I understand the greed of politicians. Never trust most of them. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" as the saying goes. There are exceptions but few and far between.
There's a saying here in SA, it's pasted up in a lot of the Mini-bus Taxis: "Love them all but trust no one."
Sad but it's the truth in South Africa.

In any case... I'm so happy for the warm responses to my post!
The Philippines as a whole is fascinating. Such a varied people living in such a unique environment with such a beautiful culture (at least as far as my limited studies have led me to believe. haha.)

I'm interested in Philippines cooking, in the local festivals, in the language and how it developed, in the local view of recent historical events (by recent I usually refer to the past 100 or so years.), but most of all I'm interested in life in the Philippines now and in the local Martial Arts (Martial arts are my obsession)
I want to learn Kali or Escrima or Pencak Silat or Arnis De Mano, but I also firmly believe that martial arts are a reflection of the people from which they come so I believe it would be an insult to you and the roots of Filipino Martial Arts not to learn all I can about the home of a martial tradition that I have fallen in love with.
Basically, before I learn the martial arts I want to learn all I can about where it comes from. To do it justice and to honor the people who are it's true masters.
I might be a little crazy for this way of thinking but I don't mind. Hahaha.
It's just the way I am.
;-)

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. :-D

I'm so glad that you see the Philippines in a very positive note. Although there is so much to discover about the country may it be a positive or negative thing. I hope your experience to be grand so that your perception of the country would stay as beautiful as it is.

Hello Jared.

I am also from South Africa and my family and I have been in Makati for the last 2 months now. Welcome, and stay in touch.

Hello.
At present I am In Cape Town and plan b to visit Leyte. Do you know any from SA living there?
Thanks