Living in The Philippines

March 23, 2026

The Universal Power of Awe

By David Haldane March 23, 2026 It caught me by surprise. We had just attended a wake for a relative. Not someone I knew […]

March 16, 2026

By David Haldane March 16, 2026 It began as a misunderstanding. “Sweet N’ Low?” the woman in the coffee shop wanted to know. All […]

February 16, 2026

By David Haldane February 16, 2026 I hate to tell you I told you so. But well, I told you so. Three years ago, […]

February 1, 2026

By David Haldane February 2, 2026 Sitting at my computer the other day, I had a sudden revelation. It was 3 pm, and I […]

January 26, 2026

By David Haldane January 26, 2026 For the first time in nearly a decade of living in the Philippines, I honestly considered moving back […]

December 29, 2025

By David Haldane Dec. 28, 2025 The furor started with a statement by America’s vice president. “Do I hope that eventually she is somehow moved […]

December 1, 2025

By David Haldane Dec. 1, 2025 The furor started with a statement by the US vice president. “Do I hope that eventually she is […]

September 8, 2025

By David Haldane September 8, 2025 The question stunned me into silence. “Have you ever been asked where you’re from?” my dinner mate […]

July 28, 2025

By David Haldane July 28, 2025 I don’t blame anyone. Honestly, I always knew it would eventually come to this. My wife’s Filipino family […]

April 14, 2025

By David Haldane April 14, 2025 Maybe I’m on a deportation kick. Last week I applauded the imminent departure from America of a […]

February 24, 2025

By David Haldane Feb. 24, 2025 It was the brides and grooms’ first dance that almost made me cry. Lined up at a series […]

February 9, 2025

By David Haldane Feb. 9, 2025 The trip begins with a quiet glide through the mangroves. Shoving off at Siargao’s Port Del Carmen, the small […]