A Pinoy in the Americas

[NeoDyn]

Nak yung byenan ko ay nakarating na rin sa Brasil,sabi nya meron daw dung German community na replica talaga ng Münich town then may Oktoberfest din.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Ma, maraming German (at European) communities sa South America (Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, et cetera). Marami nga akong nakilalang Aleman sa aking pagbibiyahe sa dakong ito ng mundo.

Sa Brazil ay marami ang mga Aleman-Brasilenyo o 'yung tinatawag na Deutschbrasilianer o teuto-brasileiro, lalo na sa mga estado ng Paraná, Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro at iba pang mga estado na kung saan matatagpuan ang mga puti.

Marami sa kanila ang nagsasalita ng Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, ito 'yung wika na naghalu-halo ang Hunsrückisch (isang diyalekto sa Alemanya), Indian languages, Portuguese, atbp.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Nice write-up! 'Proud Chicagoan here. I've been calling Chicago my 2nd home for 4 yrs already. I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip.

I agree. Art is huge in Chicago. We also take pride in the magnificent architecture surrounding our city. The American Gothic is one of my favorite paintings displayed in the Art Institute (which happens to be my favorite place in the City). The sculpture near the Tribune Tower has already been replaced. In its place now stands a sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, created by the same artist. I think it's going to be there until September of this year.

Thanks, gj2k7!

Please feel free to post whatever stories you have about the Americas.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Cuba


Bean Stew

Below post of mine is culled from a thread about Cuba, and I would like to share it here.

Some great places/areas to visit and things to do in Cuba off the top of my head:

Take a promenade about El Malecón to have amazing views of the Bay of Havana. Great colonial architecture (Plaza de Armas, Catedral de San Cristobal, Capitol Building, etc.) is found in La Habana Vieja (The Old Havana). Tourists also flock to La Plaza de la Revolución where statues of national hero José Martí and Che Guevarra stand proud. To take you around the city, relatively cheap taxis (Ladas and vintage Cadillacs) can be flagged down (I remember taking a 1958 Cadillac Coupe DeVille), but walking around should not be a hassle.

If you are into authentic Cuban cigars, you may want to visit the province of Pinar del Rio, which is the center of Cuban tobacco industry (about 2 hours from Havana). Interestingly, its original name was Nueva Filipinas because a huge number of Filipinos worked in plantations there during the Spanish colonization. This is the place in the entire Latin America where the affinity to the Philippines is strongly felt. Hiking in the valleys in Viñales, also in Pinar, is also recommendable.

Varadero is the place to go if you love pristine beaches. It is also very popular among travelers because of the Bellamar Caves and Parque Josone (if you want to see colorful and exotic birds).

[superparadise_X]

^^^ isa ito sa pangarap kong puntahan--CUBA very, very soon....(sana magkatotoo)

[superparadise_X]

These flowers are called as the Cannonball Tree Flowers. These pictures were taken from a protected garden in the St Vincent and the Grenadines.

These are actually famous among three Caribbean countries na napuntahan ko; namely: Dominica, St Lucia and St Vincent.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was the film location (majority of itthe film) of the third installment of the Pirates of Caribbean movie. Sadly, during my visit to the island, medyo di ako impressed with some of their "nice" beaches. Maybe because I've been to so many na magaganda talaga. Some were just okay as compared to really beautiful beaches in St Barths, Antigua, Turks and Caicos and some private beaches in St Lucia. Some beaches in Bequia are beautiful too.

But, St Vincent is also home to one particular island called Mustique. It is a privately-owned island that caters to the rich and famous people. Queen Elizabeth II was rumored to be frequently visiting the island, which is not a surprise at all. This island has the most beautiful white sandy beach and offers a vacation like no other. There were also rumors at that time that Prince William and his wife would spend some time in the island, after their wedding as part of their month-long honeymoon. And getting to Mustique is not easy at all. One must be extremely powerful and rich to spend a day in the island.

Going back to these Cannonball Flowers, not only they are attractive to look at, but deemed medicinal as well, possessing anti-fungal and antibiotic properties.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

superparadise_X, 'yang cannonbal flowers ay nakapalibot sa puno nitong malaki na 'yung stem ay parang ugat-ugat na nakalambitin, 'di ba? Common din kasi 'yan sa South America.

Sa SK&N pala ay may Pinoy community rin.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

^^^ isa ito sa pangarap kong puntahan--CUBA very, very soon....(sana magkatotoo)

Sigurado akong makakapunta ka rin ng Cuba.

Saan ka ba naka-base ngayon?

[nikkilove]

I wonder if US immigrants can travel to the Carribean and South America without visas. Has anyone here tried it, or would know?

[istarbaks]

Sigurado akong makakapunta ka rin ng Cuba.

Saan ka ba naka-base ngayon?

madali lang ba makapunta sa cuba? parang wala akong makitang embassy nila...

[ЅUX2BÜ]

I wonder if US immigrants can travel to the Carribean and South America without visas. Has anyone here tried it, or would know?

Hi, nikkilove!

Yes, there are a number of South American and Caribbean countries that will allow green card holders to enter without a visa or with just tourist cards, but please also verify with the respective embassy regarding entry requirements.

You may also want to check this out:

Visa requirements from SkyTeam

[ЅUX2BÜ]

madali lang ba makapunta sa cuba? parang wala akong makitang embassy nila...

Huy, istarbaks, welkam sa hiblang ito!

Hindi kailangan ang visa papuntang Cuba kung Pinoy ka. Magbabayad ka lang ng tourist card mismo sa PoE (nasa $20 nung huling punta ko run, good for 30 days).

Saan ka manggagaling?

[superparadise_X]

superparadise_X, 'yang cannonbal flowers ay nakapalibot sa puno nitong malaki na 'yung stem ay parang ugat-ugat na nakalambitin, 'di ba? Common din kasi 'yan sa South America.

Sa SK&N pala ay may Pinoy community rin.

nakalimutan kong sabihin na hindi lang sa Caribbean but also in South America madalas makita itong halaman/puno na ito. Its just that, medyo importante siya sa Caribbean, for its medicinal reasons.

And you are correct! Nagkalat ang mga Filipino community all over the world. Sometimes, I would like to think, na aside from China and India, Philippines could be the third in occupying the world's map.... We are just everywhere! And I am very proud of this

On a personal note, gusto kong magpasalamat sa Filipino community sa Trinidad and Tobago (mostly in the hotel and hospital industry) for being the most gracious hosts ever..

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Nung may proyekto akong ginawa sa St. Kitts ay nagulantang ako kasi may Pinoy community pala run. Kung tutuusin ay sulok-sulok ng Caribbean ang SK&N! Pero hataw pa rin talaga ang mga Pinoy dun. Hehe. Sa Central America naman ay kakapiranggot lang ang mga Pinoy. Sa Brazil din ay kakaunti lang ang Pinoy population.

Para sa mga windang kung saan ba ang St. Kitts & Nevis ay eto siya sa mapa:

[Makatiboy]

Sa mga taga new york diyan, may nakapanood ba sa inyo nito?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5naZB8-zMI

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Ayusin natin, Makatiboy:

http://www.youtube.com/v/x5naZB8-zMI

[superparadise_X]

Nung may proyekto akong ginawa sa St. Kitts ay nagulantang ako kasi may Pinoy community pala run. Kung tutuusin ay sulok-sulok ng Caribbean ang SK&N! Pero hataw pa rin talaga ang mga Pinoy dun. Hehe. Sa Central America naman ay kakapiranggot lang ang mga Pinoy. Sa Brazil din ay kakaunti lang ang Pinoy population.

Para sa mga windang kung saan ba ang St. Kitts & Nevis ay eto siya sa mapa:

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/c...bb/kncarib.gif

Hehehehe, yun pala ibig mong sabihin with SK&N (St Kitts & Nevis). Super lasing na siguro ako and di ko na-gets Kahapon ko pa iniisip kung ano ang SK&N, lol!

Marami-rami ngang Pinoy dun, especially sa Nevis Sa St Kitts naman, nagwo-work sila sa mga jewelry stores like Colombian Emeralds, Little Switzerland etc...It's so funny sometimes how Pinoys greet each other. It always starts with...."kabayan!!!" And everytime I heard this, I always stop and smile and If I really have time, super nakikipag-kwentuhan ako, like for hours!

I like the way you've said it...."Hataw pa rin ang Pinoy dun!" hataw kung hataw!

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Talagang nagulumihanan sa SK&N eh, 'no?



This was published last year by a St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SV&G) online newspaper:

St. Vincent, 10 other Caribbean nations on Filipino workers blacklist

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – This country is among 11 across the region to which the “deployment” of overseas Filipino workers has been halted.

Manila has blacklisted the Caribbean nations and 30 others because they do not meet the demands of laws governing the employment of Filipino migrant workers.

The Department of Labour in the Philippines, in an Oct. 28 resolution, cited that nation’s law in outlining three conditions, any one of which a nation must meet to receive Filipino workers.

Large remittances from five million overseas Filipino workers contribute significantly to the country’s economy.

The resolution said that a host country must have existing labour laws and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers.

In the absence of this, it must have signed or ratified multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers.

Filipino could also work in countries that have a bilateral agreement or arrangement on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers.

In addition to SVG, Philippine embassies or missions have certified that Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands “are not compliant with the guarantees provided under the … law”.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has therefore stopped the deployment of the nation’s citizens to these countries “for non-compliance with the guarantees required under [Pilipino] law,” according to the resolution.

[ЅUX2BÜ]

Poás, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Saw this beautiful mound of strawberries being sold in the picturesque town of Poás, home to the active stratovolcano with the same name (a photo of a crater within the Poás Volcano National Park is shown below). Despite being a tropical country, Costa Rica is also known for its luscious strawberries grown in the mountainous areas, usually around volcanoes. A national strawberry fair is held every year not only to promote the beauty of this fruit, but as well as spotlight its producers numbering to more than a hundred. Also featured during the fair is a strawberry war where people hurl unhulled berries to each other:



Lake Botos, the inactive crater at the Poás Volcano National Park:



Where is Poás, Costa Rica located? Check interactive map here.

[NeoDyn]

Alam mo anak kaya nawalan na akong interest magbakasyon sa America,gawa ng airport dito sa Europe like sa FRA,Scipholl (Amsterdam) and France(Charles De Gaulle.Dyan sa mga airport na yan kapag yan ang origin namin,katakot-takot na interview at securities ang ginagawa sa mga passengers patungong USA and South America.Kulang na lang paghubarin ang passengers.Kapag isang bagay lang na pagkakamali ipapasok ka sa cabin at duon lahat uusisain.

Nangyari ang ganitong situation sa airport after ng World Trade bombardement.After nyan,naka 2 times pa kami ng ex kong mag USA.Pero talagang napakahirap na.