I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you’re going to live in the Philippines, you need to bring a massive amount of patience. Today was supposed to be a relaxing family day in Moalboal—a little playground time for Liam, maybe some lounging at White Beach, and some good food. Instead, it turned into a 48-hour marathon of stress, paperwork, and very little sleep.
The plan started with Jessa taking the bus to Moalboal early to fix some papers for her land, while Liam and I were going to follow later in the car after he finished school. But in the Philippines, plans are more like "suggestions." Things changed in a heartbeat, and suddenly we were rerouted. Jessa finished her business in Moalboal, but it turned out we had to drive all the way to Argao to settle even more land transfer requirements.
I have to admit, I was already running on fumes. I’d been up until 4:00 AM working on my IT business and web stores, and I’d only managed a few hours of sleep before we had to hit the road. Between the three-hour drive to Argao and the three hours back, plus all the stops, we were looking at a 9-hour trip. So much for a "relaxing" day!
On our way, we made a stop for lunch in Oslob. We had some chicken and soup, which was actually quite good. Liam was being a trooper, even though he was mostly just interested in eating the chicken and skipping the rice.
Once we finally reached the office in Argao, Jessa spent ages filling out stack after stack of requirements for the lot status and land transfer. The real kicker? After driving all that way and filling out all those forms, we didn't even leave with the paper we needed. We were told it would take two to four weeks—maybe a month—and that they’d send a message when it was ready. In Norway, this would have been a 10-minute online form and a digital signature.
By the time we started the drive home, it was already dark, and Liam was snoring in the back seat. I was exhausted, facing another long night of work. But seeing Jessa in her summer dress, handling the bureaucracy with a smile, reminded me why we do this.
My advice to anyone moving here: don't make solid, "hard" arrangements. Keep your plans fluid. If you don't embrace "Philippine Time" and the spontaneous changes that come with it, you’re going to go crazy. We just breathe in, breathe out, and go with the flow.
Despite the stress, it’s still more fun in the Philippines. We’re one step closer to getting our land settled, and that’s what matters. Thanks for following The Dahl Family through the chaos—I’m off to get some work done!
