Tuesday, May 29, 2007

UGLY FOREIGNER

I went to a local store to buy some playing cards. The clerk, seeing I was foreigner, picked up the “girlie” cards. I bought another style.

The street vendor who sells sunglasses and watches always brings out the pornography and Viagra whenever he sees a foreigner.

Four Filipinos were discussing a Cebu massage parlor that supposedly gave more than massages. Each admitted they had never tried the “extras”. They all turned and looked at me. They were disappointed the foreigner had never tried them either.

Let’s face the truth; foreigners do no have a great reputation here in the Philippines. Everyone talks about the drunken driving foreigner who kills Filipinos. You hear about the ugly foreigner who cavorts with prostitutes, or molests children, or rapes women. Sadly sometimes these stories are even true.

Let me tell you about the “ugly” foreigners I have met here in Dumaguete.

There is Jack. He and his Filipina wife run an orphanage. They provide a home, food, clothes and even an education for Filipino children who have nothing.

How about Joe, he fell in love with a Filipina. You might be shocked to find out; he never touched her until after they were married.

There is Tom, who along with his Filipino brothers spends his weekends providing free medical and dental services to those who can not afford it.

Now there is George who along with two other “ugly” foreigners supports twenty-three Filipino students. They will have an education thanks to those ugly foreigners.

Then there is Bill. He is currently working trying to help battered women. He has done so many things from trying to help Emergency Medical Team save lives to lecturing on the dangers of AIDs.

I could list many more people just like these. You may not like those “idiot” foreigners, but I am pretty proud of them.

So the next time you hear about some ugly foreigner, there are at least fifty more that are not so ugly. In fact many of those foreigners are very nice people.

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