Differences between here and there, #2
Australia: “Visible white” is an advert for washing powder.
Philippines: “Visible white” is an advert for skin cream.
Archive for the 'Etcetera' Category
Differences between here and there, #1
Philippines: Collecting coconuts involves a bad-ass machete and bare feet.
Australia: Collecting coconuts involves a hard hat, climbing harness, rappel gear and a lot of orange cones.
My last few weeks in the Phils have been wet and windy. Summer is over before it even began, and the Habagat has started early. Typhoons are swarming all over Asia, at a time of year which is usually calm and sunny for the Philippines.
Somewhere, Al Gore is laughing a great big ‘I told you so’ laugh.
(More names for the wind can be found here)
Just noticed a section of the JCU website that has info on all the cool animals you can find on campus!
Top tip: Always not the name of the big flashy hotel next to your hidden little pensionne. This way, you won’t end up wandering the streets of Manila at night wondering where you are and trying to find a taxi driver who knows where you’re going!
I can’t believe it’s December already. I still haven’t got used to Christmas in the tropics!In fact, time has flown past so quickly my visa expired last week. Oops. Luckily the Bureau of Immigration were very laid back about the whole thing, and just fined my 500 pesos and told me not to outstay my welcome again.
This made me laugh.
A US judge has been removed from the bench for jailing an entire courtroom audience after none of them admitted being responsible for a ringing phone.
The judge had been presiding over a domestic violence cases when he heard a mobile phone ring. It upset him so much that he threatened that every single person in the court was going to jail unless the offending mobile phone was handed in to him. When no-one came forward, the judge ordered that the 46 people in the audience be taken into custody.
From The Guardian.
I woke up this morning to the delightful sound of a lot of pigs being slaughtered. Fiesta in Dumaguete tomorrow.
Some surprising things I saw on BBC World today:
- The Chasers’ War on Everything harrassing John Howard and Kevin Rudd. Australian political satire is world news!
- My eccentric friend Pawel, ramming a Japanese whaling ship with Sea Shepherd last year
- That Chinese opera in Chengdu is going to be the next big thing. I remember making Andrew sit through three hours of nasal singing with a stinking cold in 2002 (accidentally, I didn’t realise it would be three hours till we got there). Our interpreter sat behind us and tried to explain what was going on….
He important King of big land. He more important King of bigger land. He kill her but not know she is daughter.
And so on…
Becks is a marine ecology PhD student, living in Queensland (Australia), Dumaguete (Philippines) and London (UK). Marinegirl is her online alter-ego. She dreamt her up as as super-gorgeous superhero saving the underwater world (if you've seen Captain Planet, you get the idea). She is not, and never will be, in the marines.