This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
The kutyapi (Boat lute) is a traditional Filipino string instrument with distinct cultural and musical significance.
In various Philippine languages, the instrument is also called: kutyapi, kutiapi (Maguindanaon), kotyapi (Maranao), kotapi (Subanon), fegereng (Tiruray), faglong, fuglung (B'laan), kudyapi (Bukidnon and Tagbanwa), hegelong (T’boli), kuglong, kadlong, kudlong or kudlung (Manobo, Mansaka, Mandaya, Bagobo and Central Mindanao), and kusyapi (Palawan).
Here are some key facts about it:
1. Type of Instrument: The kudyapi (also called kutyapi) is a two-stringed lute, traditionally played in Mindanao and Palawan regions of the Philippines.
2. Materials Used: It is typically made from solid wood, with the body carved into a boat-like shape. The strings are usually made of natural fibers, nylon, or metal.
3. Number of Strings: It has two strings—one used for playing the melody and the other as a drone.
4. Cultural Significance: The kudyapi is commonly associated with the indigenous groups in Mindanao, such as the Maguindanao, Maranao, and Manobo peoples. It is an integral part of their rituals, courtship, and storytelling.
5. Tuning and Play Style: The strings are tuned to different pitches, often in pentatonic scales. It is played by plucking, sometimes with a plectrum or by fingerpicking.
6. Decoration: The kudyapi is often decorated with intricate carvings and designs, reflecting the culture and artistry of the community it belongs to.
7. Traditional Use: It is used to accompany chants, poetry, and traditional dances. The music often carries themes of love, heroism, or social commentary.
8. Contemporary Use: Today, the kudyapi is also used in modern Filipino music and performances as a way to preserve and promote Filipino cultural heritage.
After feeding me a full meal — salad, noodle soup, chicken, dessert — my children led me, meek as a lamb about to be sacrificed on the altar, to the deepest section of the drugstore where a nurse was waiting for patients.
The nurse was in a jumpsuit in two shades of blue, looking more like a pilot in training. She asked me only two questions. Any allergies? Are you on medication? Before I knew it, I had rolled up my left sleeve — she was administering the anti-flu shot on my upper arm.
Painless, not even a sting, and the whole procedure was over in seconds! It had cost my children ₱999 minus a 25 percent discount for senior citizens. Not only was the nurse superefficient, she wasted no time in advising me to take a paracetamol or use a cold compress in the event that I would develop a fever.
No, I did not. But the procedure reminded me of the Covid-19 pandemic when everyone in their right mind had to submit themselves to the vaccine that required two booster shots over a period of time. This time, with the flu as a merely seasonal inconvenience, one shot without a followup is all that’s required.
The question is, why so expensive? If millions will take the shot, would the demand raise or lower the cost of the drug? Thing is, better to spend ₱999 and flee the flu than be caught and having to pay the price: fever, sneezing, running nose, sleeplessness, infecting people at home, at work, in public places such as malls, etc.
In the meantime, would it be wise to go back to wearing a face mask in public, like we used to in 2020 until 2023? There are other safeguards. Don’t stop taking your vitamin C. Don’t get wet in the rain. Listen to the weather report and take your cue. It is the season of the “habagat” (monsoon rains) as meteorologists call it.
Me, I love the sight of people running under the shelter of their umbrellas. As Tony Bennett’s song goes, “Out of doorways black umbrellas came to pursue me... faceless people as they passed were looking through me, no one knew me...”
Eigentlich besteht kein Anspruch auf Witwenrente, wenn die Ehe kürzer als ein Jahr war. In bestimmten Fällen gibt es Ausnahmen, wie ein Gericht entschied.
Berlin – Der Tod einer Partnerin oder eines Partners kann für viel Unruhe im Leben sorgen. Um dennoch finanziell abgesichert zu sein, gibt es die Witwenrente. Grundsätzlich können Hinterbliebene Witwenrente beantragen, wenn die Ehe mindestens ein Jahr bestanden hat und man bis zum Tod des Partners verheiratet war. Doch bei einem Ehepaar winkte das Gericht die Witwenrente durch, obwohl die Partner kürzer als ein Jahr miteinander verheiratet waren.
Anspruch auf Witwenrente – Gericht fällt überraschendes Urteil
In bestimmten Fällen sind nämlich Ausnahmen möglich. Auf solch eine weist die Arbeitsgemeinschaft Familienrecht des Deutschen Anwaltvereins (DAV) mit Blick auf eine Entscheidung des Sozialgerichts Stuttgart (Az: S 24 R 4315/21) hin. Im konkreten Fall waren ein Mann und sein Lebensgefährte seit rund fünf Jahren ein Paar, bevor sie beschlossen zu heiraten. Das verkündeten sie auch im Freundes- und Bekanntenkreis.
Sieben Monate später wurde bei dem Mann nach einem Verkehrsunfall ein Hirntumor diagnostiziert, der nur palliativ behandelt werden konnte. Weitere neun Monate später wurde die Ehe geschlossen. Sie bestand dann nur knapp drei Monate, weil der Mann starb.
Witwenrente trotz kurzer Ehe – wann das möglich ist
Der Witwer beantragte eine Witwerrente, die Rentenversicherung lehnte den Antrag ab, da die Ehe weniger als ein Jahr dauerte. Das sah das Gericht anders. Es war überzeugt, dass gewichtige Umstände gegen eine Versorgungsehe sprachen. Der Wunsch, nach mehreren Jahren des Zusammenlebens zu heiraten, um die gemeinsame Liebe offiziell zu bestätigen und ihr auch rechtlich Ausdruck zu verleihen, kann grundsätzlich als ein besonderer Umstand gewertet werden, so das Gericht.
Das Paar hätte bereits konkrete Heiratspläne gehabt und Vorbereitungen getroffen, bevor es von der lebensbedrohlichen Erkrankung erfuhr, heißt es in der Begründung. Ausschlaggebend ist unter anderem der Zeitpunkt, wann die Erkrankung entdeckt wurde. Es habe sich nicht um eine bereits seit Jahren bekannte Erkrankung gehandelt, in deren Verlauf der Heiratsentschluss gefasst wurde, so das Gericht.
Vielmehr sei der Tumor zufällig entdeckt worden. Bei der Verlobung sei von der Erkrankung noch nichts bekannt gewesen. Das Gericht hielt es dafür für nachvollziehbar und glaubwürdig, dass der langgehegte Wunsch zu heiraten ein wichtiges Motiv für die Eheschließung war – mindestens ebenso bedeutend wie der Wunsch nach gegenseitiger Absicherung.
Anspruch auf Witwenrente – diese Unterschiede gibt es bei der Auszahlung
Grundsätzlich ist zwischen einer kleinen und großen Witwenrente zu unterscheiden. Die kleine Witwenrente erhalten Personen, die jünger als 47 Jahre sind und ein Kind erziehen. Die kleine Witwenrente wird für maximal zwei Jahre gezahlt und umfasst 25 Prozent von der Rente des Verstorbenen. Bei der großen Witwenrente gibt es 55 oder 60 Prozent. (Bohy mit Material der dpa)
Irecently served as lector for a weekday Mass at Our Lady of Pentecost. As on any non-Sunday Mass, I read the Prayers of the Faithful from a book distributed to different parishes.
One of the prayers was rather unsettling. I cannot quote it directly, but it asked for people in government not to take bribes, not to be greedy, and to be content with their salaries.
I appreciated the prayer’s insistence on integrity, but it also seemed to box greed into simply not being content with what one receives in compensation; and, more disturbingly, its converse: that one must be content with whatever one is paid, otherwise one would automatically be greedy.
But what happens when the salary that one receives is neither commensurate with one’s skills nor justly addresses one’s needs? When our nurses, lower-ranked police officers, teachers, and workers are asking to be paid more, are they necessarily being greedy, or are their protests asking us to scrutinize systems of injustice that are being perpetuated by institutions where the hardworking many receive little while the overseeing few wallow in cash?
What if our plea for people to be content with their meager pay is also encouraging a system that devalues human labor?
Such a prayer was surprising, especially for a church that has a long history of speaking up for the poor, the marginalized, the desperate, and the deprived.
In the late 1800s, Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical “Rerum Novarum” rallied against the perils of an unchecked Industrial Revolution. The pope called for the protection of workers, who had become isolated and helpless in the face of greedy employers. Employers, the pope said, had to ease unforgiving work hours, assign humane tasks, and tend to both the bodies and souls of their employees.
Over a century later, Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si” tied a critique of society with a holistic approach to ecology. The Pope decried the culture of consumerism that makes it easy for people to “get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending,” further feeding the belief that people “are free as long as they have the supposed freedom to consume.”
The only ones who are free in this situation, however, are the few who wield power. It is the acceptance of such power that feeds into a culture that treats consumption and accumulation as a norm, even as such a culture exacerbates people’s selfishness and empty hearts.
Governments can only do so much when the culture is corrupt, the Pope warned. Politics must operate in the long term to first address and challenge the culture; if not, then the evils of society (human trafficking, organized crime, the drug trade, violence) will continue.
A careful reading of both encyclicals shows that the critique is not simply of individual mindsets and sins. The Church speaks, through the Holy Father, of sins that are spread by institutions that have long been allowed to fester with people who abuse both power and privilege, of institutions that have created a culture of self-centeredness.
Without addressing the corruption of social institutions and the role of culture, we reduce the issue of greed to a mindset, which puts us in danger of forgetting that we, too, must fix, question, and hold accountable the institutions that feed into a culture that prizes visible riches over that which is hidden, timeless, priceless, and righteous.
In reducing greed to a mere mindset, we also absolve ourselves of the citizen’s obligation to demand that the government exercise oversight of important institutions, such as those that govern health, agriculture, and education. We ignore the possibility that badly created bureaucracies and the classification of difficult tasks as “menial” all contribute to rewarding the greedy while depriving the desperate.
In praying for people to be content with what they are given, we might also be in danger of praying that they remain silent in the face of injustice. When so narrow in scope, the prayer can put us in danger of telling hungry and desperate nurses, workers, teachers, police officers, and families to change their mindset and accept being abused and exploited for their labor—to simply accept others’ sins as their norm.
In praying for people to simply be content, we are also contradicting the once potent voice of the Church, where its leaders spoke on behalf of the oppressed, led the voices in the streets that defended people’s rights, and demanded change in broken social institutions even as the church was judged, laughed at, ignored, or neglected.
Why has the Church become so silent these last few years? Why have so few priests spoken up, with so little support from their leaders?
Perhaps the prayer could simply have been: Let us pray for our government employees, that they act righteously, and for our government, that it acts justly.
And perhaps, too, for our Church: that it will have the courage to speak up, in a loud, united voice, from its leaders to its shepherds, when it sees injustice that must be set right.
CAN’T BE LATE Students from Latbang village in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya, use what’s left of a hanging bridge that was recently damaged just to get to Barangay Pinayag where their high school is located. Here they are crossing the river on Sunday in order to make it in time for class on Monday. —GLORY MADAWAT-SMITH/FACEBOOK
Germany has been experiencing record-high temperatures and has seen the outbreak of unusually extensive wildfires.
A forest fire in the Saalfelder Höhe municipality in Thuringia was described as the largest wildfire in the state in the last three decades. The Gohrischheide area on the border between Saxony and Brandenburg, a former military training area where the ground is full of discarded ammunition, has seen a record 2,100 hectares destroyed.
Farmers in Brandenburg are forced to carry out an emergency harvest, to prevent the fire from spreading to the dry rye or grain. The early harvest means financial losses because it can probably only be used as animal feed.
Climate change is making summers warmer and winters milder, creating ideal conditions for pests.
Seit der Corona-Krise steigen die Ticketpreise. Wer diesen Sommer von einem deutschen Flughafen abhebt, muss richtig tief in die Tasche greifen.
Selbst Billigflieger sind teurer
Das Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) hat die Preise für One-Way-Tickets ohne Gepäck analysiert. Ergebnis: Auch bei den Billigfliegern wie Ryanair, Easyjet oder Wizz Air sind die Tickets teils deutlich teurer als noch vor einem Jahr. Gründe sind laut DLR ein knappes Flugangebot sowie hohe Steuern und Gebühren.
Die Preise für einfache Flüge ohne Gepäck lagen im Schnitt zwischen 67 Euro (Wizz Air) und 130 Euro (Eurowings). Zum Vergleich: Im Vorjahr reichte die Spanne von 66 bis 110 Euro.
Ryanair verliert Preis-Krone
Früher war Ryanair der billigste Anbieter. Jetzt zahlen Kunden dort im Schnitt 80 Euro – 14 Euro mehr als im Vorjahr. Auch Eurowings dreht an der Preisschraube: Statt 110 kostet der Flug nun im Schnitt 130 Euro. Easyjet bleibt mit 86 Euro im Mittelfeld. Nur Wizz Air wird günstiger – von 94 runter auf 67 Euro.
Wer spät bucht, zahlt drauf
Das DLR untersuchte Verbindungen mit vier verschiedenen Buchungsfristen – vom spontanen Last-Minute-Trip bis zur Planung drei Monate im Voraus. Klarer Trend: Kurzfristige Buchungen sind am teuersten. Tickets kosteten dann zwischen 119 (Wizz Air) und 169 Euro (Eurowings).
Wer früh bucht, spart: Mit drei Monaten Vorlauf sinken die Preise auf 46 Euro bei Ryanair und 90 Euro bei Eurowings.
Fast 500 Euro für einen Flug
Den absoluten Preis-Hammer fanden die DLR-Forscher bei Eurowings: Ein Ticket von Düsseldorf nach Stockholm, gebucht eine Woche vor Abflug, kostete satte 499,99 Euro.
A breaking point is a moment when there's so much stress or pressure that mental or physical strength just can't hold up.
A breaking point is a moment of greatest strain. Interestingly enough, the breaking points are the moments in which we need to stay calmer. Research shows that trying to control every event increases our stress.
A breaking point is a moment of stress in which we break down — it feels like you are never going to get back up again. We are more than under pressure — the situation becomes critical for our survival. Everyone faces a breaking point — we all get there in distinct ways.
A breakeven point is when total costs and total revenue are equal. It's the sales level you need to reach to cover all of your costs. Your business cannot be profitable until it has reached this point.
"Breaking point" refers to the stage where an individual's ability to cope with stress, pressure, or a difficult situation is overwhelmed, leading to a loss of control or a critical situation. It can manifest as a mental or emotional breakdown, or as a point where a situation becomes untenable and requires immediate change.
Situational stress: A relationship, a job, or a challenging project could reach a breaking point where it becomes unsustainable. Cumulative stress: A breaking point can also be the result of prolonged, low-grade stress that gradually builds up over time, eventually reaching a threshold.
In essence, a breaking point is a point of no return where the individual or situation can no longer withstand the existing pressure or stress. It can be a catalyst for positive change, forcing a reevaluation of priorities and leading to necessary adjustments.
When I hear the word breaking point I usually think that it's like a bomb that anytime might explode. For me, to be in my breaking point is the state of being exhausted in everything. Thinking that it's time to end something… Most people think that when we say we are in our breaking point it's easy to come up with a negative idea yet sometimes breaking point is not only to end something because you are exhausted, we can revise it in a positive thinking like breaking point can be a new beginning for us to be able to begin a new life with a weapon and that is our learning from our breaking point.
In human psychology, the breaking point is a moment of stress at which a person breaks down and is unable to cope with it. This obviously varies from individual to individual.
I got my first breaking point as a German expatriate in the Philippines as a result of culture shocks. This was a long time ago and very much different from today's situation. Meanwhile I have been living here smooth and sound for several years.
Nowadays, many people are experiencing mood changes. Indeed, the emotional effects of stress can have a serious impact on your day-to-day mood and mental health. Firstly, you may find that you’re feeling more irritated or pessimistic than usual. This mood change can then begin to affect your motivation to work, socialise with your loved ones or complete the things on your to-do list. If left unchecked, these feelings can threaten to completely overwhelm you, leaving you feeling apathetic, depressed, frustrated, panicky or trapped.
If you've been asking yourself, “How do I fix my relationship?,” you may already be at a breaking point. A breaking point is when an argument or disagreement starts to become invasive in your life. Is it impacting your other relationships? Is it impacting your work? Is it impacting your health?
A lot of people around me can’t seem to focus or concentrate properly. If you’re battling to concentrate, keep focused or remember certain things, this is a good indication that you’re feeling the effects of anxiety. These changes in thinking and memory (also known as “brain fog”) can occur when you’re trying to manage several stressful situations at once, which can make you confused and forgetful. These situations may include demanding jobs or emotionally-taxing tasks. Unregulated emotional exhaustion can really impact your attention, executive functioning (organising and planning), and memory.
A lot of people are expressing difficulty with personal relationships. You’ll often notice emotional exhaustion from prolonged stress manifesting in your relationship and your capacity to connect with your family on a meaningful emotional level. You may find yourself picking fights over small things, feeling angry at or unsatisfied with your partner or being overly judgemental. Tension in your close relationships can cause you to feel anxious, detached, and withdrawn which can make it difficult to ask for emotional support when you need it or be there for those you love.
Low self-esteem is being reported a lot these days. If lately you’ve found your mind overwhelmed with negative thoughts, you’ve probably also noticed their impact on how you view yourself. Perhaps you’re feeling more cynical and hopeless than usual? Or maybe you’ve lacked confidence in situations where you would normally speak up. At times, you may even have found yourself wondering if what you’re doing even matters anymore. It is important to recognise these changes. If left unchecked, these feelings may progress into symptoms of depression.
To stay in balance you need to turn these behaviors around. The smallest changes make a difference, but pay attention to changes that aren't so small, like getting enough sleep (without drugs), dealing with your anger and anxiety before they erupt, moving around during the day, making time to play, eating sensibly and simply being with yourself.
I learned that prevention is the best medicine. Reaching your breaking point means that you've crossed into the red zone, from which it's hard to return. You won't get to your red zone if you apply the habits of self-care I've just listed. The choice is really yours. Medical research has abundantly validated that being in balance is the healthiest way to live. Spend the next two weeks getting back into balance. You'll be amazed and pleased with the results. I adopted a certain "Bahala-na"-emotion especially when it comes to "bad news". I enjoy playing my piano and listening to wonderful relaxing music. I enjoy staying together with my family. I talked to God... .
An assertion is a declaration that's made emphatically, especially as part of an argument or as if it's to be understood as a statement of fact. To assert is to state with force. So if someone makes an assertion, they're not.
Assertion is one of the central kinds of speech act, typically carried out by the utterance of a declarative sentence, such as the very sentences you are reading now. It might be defined as a speech act in which a proposition is presented as true or claimed to be true. Two of the central philosophical questions involving assertion concern its nature and its norms. From about the mid-20th century onward, philosophical work on assertion tended to focus on its nature: what it is to make an assertion and what distinguishes assertion from other kinds of speech act. Later work (especially beginning in the 1990s) concentrated more on the question of the norms of assertion: what factors, especially epistemic factors, govern when it is permissible to assert something. This bibliography focuses on those two questions, but it should be noted that many areas of philosophy of language will bear on assertion; discussions of implicature often concern implicatures of assertions, discussions of the content of assertions, and discussions of presupposition and (somewhat less often) the difference between assertion and presupposition.
We love to complain! Many times we don't have reasons at all to do so - but, we love to complain. Especially nowadays. Our world is full of mess - isn't it? Of course, somehow it is indeed if you look around.
We bring many more assertions to bear: first, in the past we have been thriftier and economical, more religious and devout, more patriotic, industrious, more hard-working, keen and obedient. And, second, above everything and all: in the past we had more idealists. Third, nowadays we have (mostly?) material things in mind - what a disgrace.
Materialists or idealists? Materialism or Idealism? Whom or what do you love? Love most?
I just quoted Vox Populi... .
A "materialist" has indeed become a swear word. I don't mean with "material" the accumulated data out of which a writer creates a work of literary, historical, or scientific value. A materialist is being easily described as someone with an attitude, who ignores spiritual values, compared with an idealist, who has the tendency to seek the highest spiritual perfection.
Idealism means the doctrine that appearance is purely the perception, the idea of subjects, and that the world is to be regarded as consisting of mind. The coquetry of higher philosophy makes it difficult to bear the ups and downs in our daily life.
Sure, we all know that "our last earthly dress has no pockets any more". Striving for earthly and terrestrial possession, property and estate might be the hit-man of idealism. That's how we have been taught. "Wine, women and song", having the unpleasant feeling of fullness, egoism and bragging as well as showing-off - are these the materialist's real attitudes?
Is the idealist, many times not being able to stand on earth with both feet, the only one who occupies himself with religion and virtuousness - so to speak, with celestial and heavenly things? Is that really so? Can we make such a distinction? Sure, it's easy to do so: it's manageable and comfortable. But well, why is the enjoyment of having a tasty meal BAD, and listening to a recital composed by Johann Sebastian Bach BETTER? Why should art be better than roasted pork and a bottle of wine? Value judgements and moral concepts... .
Owning a house and lot and a car - or even more then one - are earthly properties, as well as bank saving accounts, profitable insurances, and invest advantageously in stocks. Is a terrible underpaid nurse or a book author an idealist, because he or she doesn't work for the filthy lure but for higher values?
Has Jesus been an idealist, because He accepted renunciation and died without terrestrial possession? Has Jesus been a materialist, because He fed thousands of people on the breadline? Are we idealists, if we bequeath nothing to our families and might die without a single centavo, because earthly things are bad?
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