About Me
This website is about me from about December 2007 to when it or I cease to be.
My name is Rusty Ferguson. It is about my interest and my travels. My travels in The Philippines and where ever else I might go. I already have plans for a trip to Indonesia, though they are far from firm. I’d also like to go to Singapore and Hong Kong. I’d like to visit other places in China and Thailand too. I have a friend that lives in Bangkok.
It is about my business on the web or the attempted business on the web. I’m sharing a few things I’ve learned and that I will learn as I go.
Nothing I say here should be considered to be fact. Instead everything here should be considered my opinion.
I’m currently an expatriate, living in the Philippines. I came for the girls and the lower cost of living. Not being in the best of shape financially or physically, my choices in the states was very limited. Here they are almost unlimited. While I’m not rich, even in the Philippines, i can have a good life here. I love it here!
An Expatriate is not always someone that does embrace their country. I do. I guess I love my country even though saying that seems a little odd. It is an imaginary border when you think about it. And even though our country has made some horrible mistakes in recent times, it is still a wonderful place and a place where the goals, freedom for all is good. Some current leaders are more concerned with power than freedom for all but that will change.
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Hello, This is a strange request. :) I’ll start there. I am an ESL teacher in Madison, MS and have assigned an end of the year project to my students to research a country. They are to do citable research as well as interview someone who has visited or lived in their country. 95% of my students chose where they are from and are interviewing their parents, but one of my students happens to be an adopted child from the Philippines. I happened to hit on your website when I was trying to find a Filipino community in Jackson. Would you mind answering her 10 interview questions to complete her project? Regardless, thank you for your time.
Lynn
Lynn, I’ll do my best to answer her questions. Click on “The Breeze” and you can email me there. :)
Re yr comments about
CHINA / HK ( cuz HK is China as my empoyees keep reminding me )
its very hard work there 2 enjoy, i have few girls work 4 me from guangzhou university speak english but life not easy
for work ok but not holiday and the humidity is killing, like korea and japan
SINGAPORE / SG expensive, boring, best go 2 world trade center and get boat to batan in indonesia if u stuck in SG
THAILAND well i was there few years…. PI 10x better mainly becuz English sploken in all areas, few expats live in batan and its cheap like pi..
In Thailand outside tourist ares its hard like China i was in hat yai and bang bau thong, every thing was hard work
interesting NEWS from BUTUAN EXPATS newsletter
05-26-09
Greetings All!
The daily 20-minute afternoon cloudbursts continue here in our little corner of the world. The bursts are accompanied by very strong wind, very heavy rains, and 2 or 3 rainbows shortly thereafter. We are at the point where our pups congregate in our kubo around 1pm, sunshine or not, because they want to avoid the mad dash for cover!
Yard sale on Saturday at 8am, motorbike ride Sunday at 8am. A couple more newbies are threatening to participate so we will probably keep to the flatlands.
The Agusan River is the jewel of Butuan, and from what I have been told by older Butuanons, as well as my research, the ebb and flow of Butuan marries the ebb and flow of the river. These days, the river is vibrant, devoid of debris, and teeming with life. Each day seems to bring a new delight, as we have seen a bunch of new dugouts being paddled to market, a return of logs heading to market, new banca boats plying her waters, and a huge pyramid of bamboo floating along. Try to envision a pyramid laying on its side with the downriver side a good 20’ above the water. The 3 gents atop this creation were beaming with smiles as their unique adventure was successful, since pay day was close at hand. In addition, and most interesting to us, is the elderly couple who have started selling fish along the shore of the river. The ‘fish boat’ is doing a fine biz, and now people in the villages are looking forward to a taste of the sea being delivered!
As to the ebb and flow, the City of Butuan is teeming with actions of progress. I took a short ride with Goosen Richard the other day, and he pointed out the many construction projects in town-both public and private. I was struck with his observations, since he lives in said fishing village an hour’s drive away, and seldom makes it to town. The Crown bldg has a nice facelift, for example, as well as others. It makes a big difference in the perception and appearance in town. The bypass road stretching from the Capitol to the sports complex is being completed in fine fashion. Upon completion, autos, trikes, pedicabs and trucks will be able to ply the roadway more safely. Modern cable installation machines are worming their way along the national highway, allowing not only for utility needs of today, but installed in sufficient diameters to accommodate tomorrow. Forward consistent momentum? Forward growth means less hunger and misery. Let us support and participate!
Growth in itself can be a misnomer, and those in decision making positions are encouraged to utilize great care, as well as great efficiency. On one hand, an international standard of human existence is the requisite goal. On the other hand, is the Butuanon culture at risk? What is Butuanon culture? Is it unique? Is the language unique? What happens if it is lost forever? What has been lost?
These are the questions to be addressed each time ‘progress’, or foreigners like me, integrate into a society/culture. With each new advancement in technology, the world gets a little smaller. Small societies are absorbed by larger, more homogenous populations. There is great value in societal preservation, and it is incumbent upon those within said society to manage growth and change.
Nowhere was this concept more apparent than my visit to the Agusan Marsh, when witnessing the joy of life, family and love, among those with so little, materialistically. How do the parents of a child wearing a ‘Kobe Bryant’ jersey, keep that child within the society? Interesting dynamics-this.
The world has come, and is coming to Butuan, and internationally acceptable standards of life come with it. It is Butuan and its people’s job to manage the influx. Perhaps the final thought to consider is what does Butuan ‘not’ want to become-or conversely what City of the world does Butuan want to be similar to-and proceed in said manner?
Of related note, foreign visitors arriving at Bancasi remain at about 600 per month. Next month, the kiosk staff will be handing out small packets of brochures so visitors will have a better idea of the breadth of services our city offers. All a business has to do is supply a flyer/brochure.
On the waterfront, Freedom is awaiting parts for her fluid problems, and her little sister has been zipping around identifying the fishing holes in the river via sonar. The sonar says that there are oodles of fish in this river, local fisherfolk say, not so much!
My personal congrats and appreciations to Lillit at the City Tourism office. Lillit was kind of the ‘front man’ for all the arrangements this festival month. City Hall was in a bit of disarray with health issues within the Mayor’s family and all the activities. The entire staff bucked up under difficult circumstances and did a great job-and Lillit made it happen.
See you at the yard sale on Saturday!
Til next time!
me i think i prefer BOGO / BANTAYAN than BUTUAN
Just bk on site seeing if RUSTY added any more pictures yet.
How Tours Bantayan going
hope to visit BOGO & BANTAYAN in FALL 09
John, I didn’t answer right off because I was having issues with pictures. One of my PC’s was down and didn’t have access to them. I’ll be getting caught up wiht that soon. Hopefully will have something new in a cople of days.
John pictures for April 2009 are Finally online. :)
Hi,
I have been thinking about visiting the Philippines. I think I would like to stay for a month or so. Any recommendations on that? Better to stay in a hotel, rent a home or apartment or ?? What is a good travel agency you can recommend? I am not like you a world traveler, I don’t even have a clue as to where to start for something like that. Besides looking it up online on expedia or some travel site like that. I would of course like the best deal I can get. Any advice much appreciated. If I were to rent a home or apartment or something like that, how much would that be for a month?
Thanks,
Brian
Rusty, my Filipina wife and I have been legally married for 20 years..married in Texas on Feb. 16, 1991. We are both American citizens and she was born and raised in Cebu City. We plan on visiting Texas soon and have reserved tickets on Cathay Pacific to leave Cebu on March 28th. Ticket agent at Cathay Pacific Airlines in Cebu City, (we went there in person today), keeps telling us we also need to purchase RETURN tickets or EXIT tickets to show we are leaving the Philippines..after we get back here. (?) This makes no sense to me. She says that we can get a full refund if the tickets to some place like Hong Kong are not used..and they would not be, trust me. What the heck is THIS all about? We flew to Texas and back in 2010 and did not purchase any extra tickets, just 2-round trip tickets to Dallas and back. Your thoughts? Thanks. -Steve Macon, Talisay-
Oh…I neglected to tell you we are here on balikbayan status. Our U.S. Passports are so stamped. I checked.
Hi John, I’m still recuperating so I checked out that link. It’s good! Very informative. I have never been to Butuan, but I vaguely remember grandma talking about a family member who had married someone from But-wan (tha’ts how she used to pronounced it. Your site could probably do some brightening up. It sort of looked drab from a female’s perspectives.
I stumbled into this site actually feeling really homesick after my visit last year, I was looking for something fresh that would remind me of home (I’ve been in Oz 27 years), and one of the things that attracted me to this site are the photography. I haven’t seen the latest ones yet. But yeah, your site is good.