Rants about China

[slang]

Hi Morie,

What a great read your rant is.

I married a Filipino woman and am currently living in Makati, Philippines.

Here are some comments that I have that may relate to China/Chinese:

1. Trash. It's everywhere but the very newest and richest parts of the city. I once thought that there should be more trash recepticals here and that people would use them, you know, common sense. WRONG. Even when there are all sorts of places to neatly dispose of trash it gets dropped right where a person decides that they don't need it anymore. It's sad, and not just a Chinese trait.

2. Spitting. Sure, it's very common here too. I've seen more than a few attractive women here spit on the street. I've not seen anyone spit in a restaurant or a bus though. Those photos of the inside of the bus were a good indicator. Wow.

3. Corruption. Yes, it's here too. I was skeptical that it was as widespread as described by my in-laws but they were right. It's a part of life here from the cops to the city council.

4. Toilets. They are not nearly as bad here from your description. Most of the public toilets are staffed by someone that collects a fee for cleaning them. I've not seen any of the squat type units here either. That's not to say that it's heaven on earth dumping here but it's not as bad as there. This is the premiere Philippine city though.

5. Relatives. This is where our experiences separate. My in-laws have never asked anything, muchless demanded or schemed to get money or goods out of me. When I can I help them out. They are very polite and humble people and they seem to respect me even when I don't have the cash for their special project. This is not to say that I walk on water here but that they genuinely appreciate what I do for them and they don't complain or cry when I cannot do something for them. Many times I can't It's not used as a weapon against me.

My FIL often gives me the remote when he's not following a particular TV show too.

6. Personal neatness/cleanliness. Things are just the opposite here for me. Washing dishes and keeping clothes clean is what my mother in law's job in life is here. It's the measure of her effectiveness as a woman of the house. She cooks, cleans, washes and scrubs to make everything in the kitchen and in the house clean. She does a fabulous job and I appreciate that very much.

7. Lying, cheating, stealing. I've not run into a lot of that here. What you say about everyone automatically assuming that if you are a westerner that you shit money is exactly on target.

I'm "common folk" here. We don't have a car here and I don't have a lot of status type items that I rub into everyone's face. For the most part, I've made some friends outside of the family and people are polite and respectful...at least when I'm there in front of them.


After reading all the details of your horrible experience, my desire to go there is less than what it was before. There is another ex-pat living there working as a software engineer with stories that are not as detailed as yours but putting the society there in a bad light.

Keep us posted when it's published. It is a book right? This is the condensed version?