Quarantine in the Philippines
Hello, it's been a long time since my last post. Will fill you in a little about what we have been doing.
We have been living not far from Manila since arriving here in 2018.
After arriving in the Philippines we traveled around for a while looking for a place to live. We checked out Angeles City in Pampanga, north of Greater Manila. Found some houses there but
decided against that area because there are many pig and chicken farms all over Pampanga and the smell can be really bad.
So, to make a long story short, we found a rental house in a "secure" subdivision which I had toured when it was new back in 2007. It is located in the province of Cavite. We are about two and a half hours by bus from Manila.
The house is a two story of about 1,200 square feet of indoor living area. It has a two car carport (called a garage over here), four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The subdivision features swimming pools, basketball courts and tennis courts, a gym and it is not far from a large mall. Security is provided by armed guard services and a good CCTV system. Gates into the subdivision are manned by armed guards and guards roam the streets day and night. Our rent is only $500 per month.
Well for the past 10 weeks the children and I have been on lockdown at our house. My wife is of an age which is allowed to go shopping for essentials. Netflix and Youtube have been our favorite pastimes.
We keep up with news from the USA via Youtube.
Had done some gardening at our home in Florida, USA. Now I am studying and learning about gardening in the Philippines.
So far have planted some Sitaw (produce pole beans which measure up to three feet in length!), Chinese spinach, tomatoes, basil, sweet potatoes, Calamansi (like a small lime but with a great unique taste) and Kangkong (called swamp cabbage in the USA).
We have been watching NBC, ABC and NPR as they have been covering the protests which have spread across the USA. What a dramatic difference from the Philippines! Virtually no demonstrations here. Most islands here have been on lockdown since about March 16th. And, considering that there are MANY people here who are REALLY living in poverty and have been for years, I am amazed how peaceful Filipinos are. No rioting, no looting, no destruction of property.
Will add to this post. Check back soon for more info.
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The article on this page will be expanded. Come back to read more about COVID quarantine in the Philippines. Last updated June 3, 2022.
