Expat Eye: My Philippine Journey

September 28, 2023

Fear of Nuns

By David Haldane Sept. 28, 2023 I have always been afraid of nuns. As a child, I used to see them in black habits with […]

September 21, 2023

Traversing China. Again.

By David Haldane Sept. 21, 2023 The first red flag got hoisted at Manila Airport. Eager to check in early for my Air China flight […]

September 14, 2023

A Fungus Among Us

By David Haldane September 14, 2023 The experience impacted my life profoundly. It was 1969, and I was a 20-year-old student at a hippie […]

September 7, 2023

Reverse Diaspora

By David Haldane Sept. 7, 2023 The videos made my stomach churn. They depicted water literally gushing down the streets, almost overturning cars. “Oh […]

August 31, 2023

Renewal

By David Haldane Aug. 31, 2023 We’d been stalled in traffic for more than three hours when we finally called it quits. “Hey,” I gingerly […]

August 24, 2023

The Perfect Girlfriend

By David Haldane August 24, 2023 It was a fantasy come true. “Oh David,” the sexy young woman texted me, “you’re so cute and handsome! […]

August 17, 2023

Barbie Brouhaha

By David Haldane Aug. 17, 2023 I went to see Barbie because it almost got banned in the Philippines. The problem, it turns out, […]

August 10, 2023

Kids in Space

By David Haldane August 10, 2023 The phone call startled me. “David,” my wife said from the medical lab 142 miles away where she works […]

August 3, 2023

Cruelly Tortured (American) Pigs

By David Haldane Aug. 3, 2023 I suppose it was just a matter of time. The day I first heard the anguished squeals of a […]

July 27, 2023

Should Parents Be Told?

By David Haldane July 27, 2023 It seems like a question with a simple answer. If a child exhibits symptoms of mental illness in school, […]

July 20, 2023

Flailing in the Dark

By David Haldane July 19, 2023 It happened again the other day. “Hey, Isaac,” I said to my 12-year-old son, “let’s go to…uh…you know…uh…I mean…damn…you […]

July 13, 2023

Scrapes in the Night

By David Haldane July 13, 2023 It was the scrape you never want to hear. A dull rub from the car’s right rear end as […]