American Expat Brother Tom’s Farm in Guimaras

4 comments

Posted by Dave on May 6, 2011 | 4 comments

Visited American expat Brother Tom's farm in Guimaras the other afternoon. After a free lunch (who says there's no free lunch?) at the Trappist Monastery where Tom serves as an Oblate in addition to his other duties as chief engineer, graphic arts designer, marketing consultant for all the delicious products made at the monastery factory, to name just a few of the titles this talented kano holds.  At the age of 52, the former Floridan is enjoying the good life in the Philippines and is certainly working harder than I have ever worked my entire life. But he's enjoying his time in beautiful Guimaras and took us on a tour of his farm.

American expat Brother Tom has completely gutted and remodeled his new home in Guimaras province. When he's not busy working on some new phase of construction, such as remodeling his basement, he's making functional and beautiful bamboo or mango tree wood furniture (see next photo), designing new marketing logos for the various products made and sold at The Trappist factory and  sold at the Monastery and other other outlet.

The afternoon Tom (you can call him just "Tom" when's not performing his duties at Mass) my asawa, niece JalAmiel and I visited him, he was getting ready to put finishing touches on some designs he had to get ready for a group flying in from Guam the next day.  Such a talented and hardworking guy. He puts my work ethic to shame. I made a big deal about carrying a big container of tubig (water) in from our well this morning into the kitchen. You would have thought I had just personally single- handedly won Desert Storm or something. Tom does more work in one hour than what I do in one month combined!

We enjoyed a few Gold Eagle brews as this gregarious American expat took us on a tour of his farmhouse.  He's really done a tremendous amount of work on his new home, and we particularly were impressed by the terrace where we had a great view as we sat on some of Tom's bamboo chairs. A welcome breeze was coming through as the day was particularly hot and humid, high's around 93 degrees, we're in the grip of summer in the Philippines. Had an enjoyable time talking to one of the few American expats I have met on Guimaras, and we bade farewell to Brother Tom and thanked him for his hospitality. But that wouldn't be the last time we visit "The Farm" or our lanky friend from Florida.

4 Responses to “American Expat Brother Tom’s Farm in Guimaras”

  1. Papa Duck says:
    6 May, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Dave

    I’m very imnpressed with Brother Tom. He has quite the craftsman. Woodwork looks really nice nice. thats something i would like. Terrace looks like a good place to drink Gold Eagle Beer. Very relaxing. Would to visit the Monastery if i get that way. Enjoyable article.

  2. Dave says:
    7 May, 2011 at 7:27 am

    The Monastery is a great place to visit, Papa Duck, as was Brother Tom’s farm. The Monastery is peaceful, a nice place to find solitude. My asawa just told me that she loves the place, so quiet. Hopefully she’s not thinking about becoming an oblate like Brother Tom, but with all the kids running around “The Compound” it does tend to get a bit noisy. Also, my Jango radio on the Internet cranked up to heavy metal music doesn’t help, either.

  3. Roselyn says:
    8 May, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    Hi Dave: I love the view of the balcony in Tom’s house. It looks so peaceful and lush. I see no neighbors! Geesh; I could only wish for his view. Thanks for the great photos

  4. Dave says:
    9 May, 2011 at 7:54 am

    No neighbors close by at all, Roselyn. It is very peaceful. You’re welcome, hope to have more photos when we visit Tom again.