Photos et lettres des Philippines, de France et d'ailleurs

After asking Jay a new quotation we have a bad surprise because in four months the building materials prices have soared and to stay in our budget, we reduce slightly the size of the house and in addition, my wife has to withdraw from his employee savings.
Finally we find an agreement and we sign the contract with Jay, yet his estimate is succinct unlike the one of Felix who will build the house of our friend Raymond and where everything is mentioned in detail. However, we give him our confidence and we will see later how we were right.
Finally before Dhana's departure, we have a big decision to take and it is the layout of the house on our site. Then Jay, Alden his assistant, my wife and I all meet on our beach lot. There is also Dodong who looks and cleans our property and who is helping us for the layout and therefore will be hired by Jay for the duration of the construction. It is a stroke of luck for him and his family.
Fortunately, my wife was present because without her and her fear of big waves and typhoons, I would have probably set up the house closer to the beach which would have been a mistake. Finally we all agree to build it at 40 meters from the seaside.

(The layout)

Then it is time again for her to return to France and all I have to do now is to wait for the beginning of the construction.
The building of the house can only starts an 18 or 28 of the month of October because Jay is following the famous Chinese Feng Shui. Thus, the number of steps of the terrace will be imposed on me, the door of the kitchen will not face the entrance door and the entrance door will not face the gate so that good luck won't escape from home. It's funny because Jay would never speak to me of Feng Shui but I already know that the house will end as it has begun an 18 or 28 of the month.
So our construction starts on October 18, 2004 but I have yet to yield to the Philippines superstition which is to bury a coin in the foundations at the four corners of the house.
The workers are also settling on the site, they build huts to sleep and shelter, latrines and showers. They will thus alternately live here for one year only returning to their families on Saturday at 3pm. Their working hours will be from 8am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday and from 7am to 3pm on Saturday, with 2 breaks of 15 minutes a day.
Salaries will range from 150 to 200 pesos per day depending on their skill, about 2.50 € to 3.50 €. They are under the supervision of a foreman who also lives here and is himself controlled by a supervisor who comes regularly on the site. In addition Jay or Alden is visiting at least once a week to check the work.
There are still three things to be done before starting the construction. The first is to find water and Jay hires a well-digger who will spend several days drilling a well with very rudimentary means. The second is to bring a temporary electric line and the third and not the slightest is the cutting of all coconut trees hampering. But beforehand I have to get first the permit from the coconuts authority, the administration in charge of this natural wealth of the Philippines in order to preserve it at best.

(The cutting of the coconut trees)

(The digging of the well)

Now the building will start and I'll stay a year in Dumaguete returning in France only twice for one month.
I live at the hotel in town and I go on site 2 to 3 times per week. My presence is essential as the work is in progress. Some changes have to be made due to my mistakes or things asked and not taken into account by the contractor. Thus I don't like the square posts, or instead of the low wall of the terrace, I prefer marble balusters etc.

(The construction)

Later and in no particular order, I will have to choose the paintings, the ceiling's moldings, the lamps, the water points, the kitchen cabinets and appliances, the wall tiles, the bathrooms fixtures, the air cons and so on. To do this I will make many trips to Cebu to find ideas of all kinds, roaming the malls and exhibitions.

A big thanks to modern technologies like the Internet and digital photography that allow me to communicate with my wife by sending photos and documents helping her to  make choices, indeed although I am alone, this house is designed by the two of us for the two of us.

Fortunately the work is excellent, and I can rely on the workers, moreover Jay himself will not hesitate to break and change some things that do not suit him. We have time and labor is cheap.
Now that the site is underway, the materials are transported by truck and problems with some of my neighbors are beginning motivated by jealousy and / or greed.
First, 150 meters from my lot, the path runs at right angles, the neighbor will put poles at the limit of the three meters I am entitled, therefore preventing the trucks to turn without delicate maneuvers. Jay will have to negotiate the right of way for the duration of the construction. In fact he sent Alden for the negotiation because being a Chinese-Filipino; it would have been more difficult.

Then together with German and American neighbors we paid a contractor to repair and level the lane going from the national highway to ours properties. This path mostly used by the villagers was four meters wide while our right of way stated three meters only. So once the work finished, the Filipinos owners threaten the contractor of a trial for having repaired the four meters forcing him to destroy one meter and consequently narrowing to three meters penalizing especially the local people. In addition to protect their property, they will plant trees within three meters to better assert their rights as owners against these 'millionaires' invading aliens
Finally, it is better to forget these little meanness and see the bright side of things and the kindness of the majority of the population.
Work is progressing and therefore to create a good atmosphere on the site, I organize one lunch per month to which all workers are invited, a good change to their regular meals with often only rice and dried fish.

(The monthly meals)

It is Dodong's wife, Nora who is shopping and cooking and I discover she is an excellent cook and my wife and I will hire her later as a helper for the house.
My wife returned to the Philippines in early September 2005 for the last finishing off and this will be once again a hectic schedule for her between the choices of furniture, buying curtains, dishes and so on. Finally the icing on the cake will be the blessing of the house.

The party is scheduled for September 21 and we invite many friends of all nationalities.

(September 21, the house blessing)

Again it is time for Dhana to return to France and I am left alone to finish the acquisition of furniture and begin the planting of the lawn with its 3000 square meters and the leveling of the ground.
One last thing again, we realized during the house blessing that the voltage was dropping as low as 160-170 volts during the peak hours instead of 220-230 volts required thus I was obliged among other things to put on the air conditioning only after 10 pm in order not to damage it. For my return in March 2006, I will have to find a solution.