I’m from the *Philippines*.

Here’s my list in addition to those already posted by some

of my countrymen here:

*You use umbrellas on sunny days*

I guess the correct term would be parasol, but these aren’t in fashion in the west
anymore and I rarely see people doing it in the US.

You use umbrellas for both rainy and sunny days because the tropical sun is seriously
no joke and temperatures can reach 32°C to 38°C. It’s dangerous to stay under the sun
without shade. Not only because of the risk of sunburn, but also skin damage, heat
stroke, and cancer. If no umbrellas are around, anything wide and flat will do, ranging
from banana leaves to books.

Similarly, your fishermen and boat personnel also don’t lounge around in bikinis or
board shorts like clueless tourists do. They wear ninja outfits that protect as much skin
as possible, or they do night fishing.

*Your coconut trees have steps*

Tourists might be puzzled at why coconuts on beaches have half-moon shaped notches
cut into them at regular intervals. Those are used as footholds for harvesting coconuts.
You can make them with a machete easily. They stay there forever and don’t really
seem to be damaging to the tree itself. Pretty much every coconut tree has them. Even
backyard ones. Other countries use special equipment, slings and harnesses, or ropes
around the trunks.
*You have _armed_ security guards everywhere*

And it has nothing to do with crime rates. Though some (especially in malls and ports)
do secure vulnerable public places after past bombings by ISIS and Al Qaeda-affiliated
groups, in practice most of them do nothing but greet and open the door for customers.

It’s a traditional part of the standard employee roster, and is even required in some
companies for insurance purposes. We Filipinos treat them more like doormen and
information booths.
*Your boats have wings*

Outriggers (_katig_ in most Filipino languages). They are parallel structures that are
connected to the boat, usually made from carved wood or bamboo. They contribute to
the boat’s stability and buoyancy, allowing them to load more cargo and making them
less likely to capsize. They also increase the speed of the vessel and they are smoother
overall, as there is less contact with the water surface in comparison to similarly-sized
single hull ships. The connecting spars can also be built with platforms in larger ships,
which became fighting decks in the past when these vessels were used regularly for
piracy and seasonal raids on enemies (Viking-style).

In the Philippines, even very large warships (~25 to 30 meters in length) had outriggers
in the past. They remain in extremely common use today. Not only as fishing boats, but
also as island ferries, tourist boats, and even coast guard and military vessels. I once
heard a tourist describe them as “spider boats”.

Below is a reconstructed Visayan _paraw_ with the characteristic outriggers of native

Philippine boats. It is used as a tour boat by Tao Expedition in Palawan.

People often make the mistake of thinking it’s an exclusively Polynesian thing, because
most Americans only know it from Hawaiian or Maori designs (like in Disney’s
_Moana_). It’s not, it’s part of the heritage of all Austronesian cultures. Although the
style and number of outriggers can vary (even within the Philippines), they are what
clearly identifies a culture as being descended from Austronesians or had regular
contact with Austronesians in the past.

It allowed Austronesians to settle almost _all_ the islands of the Indo-Pacific in the first
place, as outrigger boats, even small ones, are perfectly capable of sailing oceanic
waters. Other important sailing inventions of Austronesians include the triangular crab
claw sails (Oceanic lateen) and the tilted square sail (tanja sails).
Modern catamarans and trimarans (which are used as fast ferries in most island nations)
are based on the same principles.

*It is common to see people riding on _top_ of passenger vehicles*

The jeepney is your version of a bus. A flamboyantly colorful, named, and heavily
customized bus. It originated from converted WW2 American jeeps. In rural roads
where it can take a long time for a passenger vehicle to arrive, people would rather
climb on to the roof the jeepney or cling to the sides than wait for another one to come
along. We call it “toploading”.

There are no seating or real handholds, just the regular roof racks that you hold on to for
dear life and pray you don’t run into too many potholes and break your tailbone. This
practice is disappearing as more and more modern buses ply the roads.

However, tourists do it for fun while traveling by jeepney along the winding mountain
roads in the northern Philippines, often mere meters from the edge of sheer cliffs. It’s
also catching on for backpacker tourists in Palawan Island. It’s totally illegal and
dangerous but there are no traffic cops in the hinterlands, and admittedly it’s
exhilarating.

*You prefer water to toilet paper, or both. Never toilet paper alone.*

Similar to almost all countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we clean our butts
with water, not toilet paper. Hence why our bathrooms are always the wet kind. It’s a
sort of half-shower, soap and all. Bidets are used more and more these days in private
homes but traditionally, we use a long-handled water scooper called a _tabò_. Most
Filipinos just won’t feel _clean_ with toilet paper alone, unless it’s an emergency and
you have no choice but to use a public toilet.
*You have a regular kitchen and a “dirty kitchen”*

It’s not dirty, rather it’s a kitchen where you _can_ be dirty. It is a traditional part of
every house. It is usually a semi-open extension to the house or an outdoor structure
separate from the house. It’s where we do things like cleaning fish, butchering livestock,
and cooking larger dishes that require open fires, hot coals, or traditional clay ovens
(_pugon_). Things you can’t do in an indoor kitchen without making a huge mess or
dying from smoke inhalation. It also doubles as a storage room for things like large
cauldrons and firewood.

*You pair the fork with the _spoon_, not the knife*

A custom that is also common in Indonesia and Thailand, where people traditionally ate
with their hands, not chopsticks. It’s because of the fact that a knife and fork would be
useless when eating the most important part of every meal: rice. Most of our food are
also already served in bite-sized chunks.
*You don’t have divorce*

And we’re the only remaining country that doesn’t have it. Aside from the Vatican,
which doesn’t count. If you want separation from your spouse (regardless of the reason,
including domestic abuse, adultery, etc.) your only choice is annulment which is
ridiculously expensive. Conversion to Islam (temporarily) is another option, since the
Philippines allow civil sharia laws only for Muslims (as long as they do not go against
the Constitution). And those laws allow divorce. Still expensive and quite unethical.

More and more people support divorce however. But the Catholic Church vehemently
opposes it and they are politically powerful.

*Every city, town, and village has a festival*

Every last one has at least one festival day. They’re called _fiestas_. It’s usually
religious and based on the feast day of the patron saint of the village church. In some
cases, it is cultural or both, especially in large cities.

They occur throughout the year. During _fiestas_ people prepare food and feed visitors
from their homes, even complete strangers. There are usually also celebrations, parades,
street dancing, and contests.

Among Muslim Filipinos, they also have Islamic festivals, the largest of which are the
two Eid celebrations (called _Hari Raya_ in the local languages).

Here are some of the larger examples:

Kaamulan, a festival in Malaybalay City, Mindanao Island, celebrating the seven tribes
of the province of Bukidnon.
Lanzones Festival in Camiguin Island, celebrating the Lanzones fruits for which the
island is famous.

Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Cebu Island, celebrating the conversion of the Cebuanos
to Christianity

Masskara Festival in Bacolod City, Negros Island, celebrating… well... masks.

*You regularly mix two or even three languages in everyday speech*

It’s called code-switching. We’ll use Tagalog and English and whatever your native
language is (the Philippines has dozens of regional languages distinct from Tagalog) in
a single sentence. It’s apparently so weird that monolingual foreigners immediately
comment on it when they hear it. However, it’s also common in other polyglot
countries.

It should not be confused with loanwords. Code-switching means you can speak all of
the languages used fluently on their own, and so does the listener.

*We get an average of _twenty_ typhoons every year. Five of which will be destructive.
We also give typhoons unique names, different from the international designation.*

Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are the typhoon shields of Asia. We get regularly hit
by typhoons doing a staggering amount of damage each year, not only to lives and
infrastructure, but also crops, fishing, and so on. And they can occur at any time of the
year.
Out of the three, we arguably get the worst of the lot. We have more super typhoons
than the other two. The deadliest storm in modern history is 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan
when it struck the Philippines, causing a tsunami-like storm surge in one of our islands
that flattened a major city (Tacloban) and several coastal towns and villages. I’m talking
total devastation. Massive container ships were thrown into houses like toys. At least
6,300 people died.
Speaking of Haiyan, naming storms started in the Philippines in 1963, following the
lead of the typhoon warning center in Hawaii in 1945. There were no international
naming standards then. This has persisted into today, and our national meteorological
agency PAGASA still assigns unique names to storms that enter our area of
responsibility. We are the only country to do this.

Typhoon Haiyan for example became known as Typhoon Yolanda to us when it entered
our area of responsibility.

The frequency of typhoons has actually shaped our national identity. It’s the reason why
we are fatalistic to a fault, highly resilient, and more laidback compared to our
neighbors. Even mere days after disasters like Haiyan, you can see people laughing and
smiling. Our informal national motto is basically _“Bahala na”_ (“What will be, will
be”). We don’t stress when things fall apart, we move on and try to focus on the good
things. Sadly this also makes us more tolerant of government corruption as well,
including the utterly shameless corruption and incompetence that befell the international
aid meant for Haiyan victims. Speaking of which…

*Politicians take credit for tax-funded public infrastructure, sometimes naming it after
themselves*

In government projects or infrastructure, politicians will put up large streamers or

posters proclaiming that “This project was made by Mayor So-and-So”, usually with
their grinning fat faces plastered on it.

The finished buildings themselves will often have painted signs, plaques, or even
permanent tracings into the concrete of which politicians were in power when it was
built. And finally, if they were totally shameless enough, they will sometimes _name_
the buildings after themselves. Like “Governor Shameless Integrated Bus Terminal” or
“Councilor Greedypig Waiting Shed”.

Nothing was sacred. Police cars have them. Ambulances, hospitals, fire trucks, roads,
street lights, tourism posters, bridges, holiday signs, vaccination drives, and so on. Even
something as small as a garbage can have these signs. _All_ of them.

And it’s not one or two politicians as well. _Everyone_ does it. From lowly village
officials to presidents. These posters clutter virtually every available surface in cities,
contributing immensely to the visual noise and to literal garbage.

And the thing is, all of them are funded by the taxpayers, not their own pockets. They
are basically using public funds to advertise themselves for the next election. These are
derisively called “epal” (slang for someone who intrudes into a conversation or a
situation uninvited). These are extremely common and are one of many public faces of
political corruption in the Philippines.

Several senators have proposed bills to the Congress to ban them before. But to date
none have succeeded. The latest attempt was in August 2017 by Senator Manny
Pacquiao (yes _the_ Manny Pacquiao), but it is still pending.
*You apologize to trees and rocks*

It’s one of the few surviving aspects of our precolonial animist religions. Before the
arrival of Christianity and Islam, we believed in nature spirits called _anito_ (later also
called _“diwata”_, after contact with India). This belief in spirits is remarkably similar
to the elves and fairies of European folklore, the _yokai_ and _kami_ of Shintoism in
Japan, as well as the animist beliefs of most other tribal societies all over the world.

Ancient Filipinos did not worship them technically. The mostly benevolent ones were
asked for help from time to time by the shamans (_babaylan_), but usually the average
person did their best to avoid them because they were considered dangerous. While
most are not considered malevolent, being disrespectful or even walking into one of
them unknowingly is believed to anger them and cause damage to your own spirit
resulting in misfortune and sickness. Which is why great pains is taken not to insult
them in any way.

Certain places are regarded as being their homes or are gateways to the spirit world.
Especially during twilight when the veil between the spirit world and the material world
is said to be at its thinnest. These places include large banyan trees (called _balete_),
secluded forests, caves, or places with strange rock formations or natural phenomena.

When passing by these places (or if we needed to interact with these places for any
reason), we apologize and ask for permission by saying _“Tabi apo”_ (literally “Excuse
[us], elder” or “Pardon [us], elder”).
This has survived into the modern-day. People will also actively refuse to cut these trees
down. And you’ll invariably hear stories of supernatural events near these trees, or some
person falling sick or dying after harming the trees. In some places, people still leave
offerings at their roots.

The example below is a locally famous gigantic _balete_ in Negros Island, estimated to
be around 1,300 years old.

*We have the _highest_ gender equality rank in all of Asia*

And we score higher than most western countries too in the Global Gender Gap Report
of the World Economic Forum (including the US, UK, France, and Germany). We are
consistently within the top 10 countries in the index since the report was started in 2010.
This is something most people outside the Philippines don’t seem to know.
There are no barriers to women in most professions (the only exceptions I can think of
are religious professions). Gender equality is enshrined in our Constitution. Women
have the same or higher educational attainment and life expectancy as men. It is not
uncommon to see female security guards, cops, or soldiers. Female CEOs and
politicians are also very common. You were one of the first Asian countries to have
universal suffrage for women (1937). You’ve already had two female presidents, and
our current vice president is female. No one bats an eye.

Not saying it’s perfect equality, of course. Men still dominate in politics and economics,
but the gap is lower than most countries. There is still chauvinism left over from the
Spanish period, but it mostly relates to archaic laws (like adultery still being a crime,
abortion being illegal, etc.). There are also some traditional separation between
professions considered masculine and feminine, but they are not hard barriers. There are
still also problems with domestic violence (though at rates equal to Japan’s, still lower
than most Asian nations). This is being addressed recently through legislation.
*We have a lot of brilliantly purple desserts*

And it’s natural. It’s derived from one of the most beloved root crops in the Philippines
– the purple yam, more popularly known as ube (pronounced “oo-beh”). They are
naturally purple from anthocyanins, the same pigment that colors blueberries and
grapes. It is commonly confused with the Okinawan purple sweet potato (which also
exist in the Philippines), but they are completely different plants. They do taste similar
though the ube has a mild lavender-like aroma.

They are usually eaten boiled and mashed with condensed milk, the dish known as _ube
halaya_ (or by its English equivalent: “ube jam”). But they’re widely used in other
desserts, including halo-halo, hopia, pies, ice cream, smoothies, pancakes, waffles,
cookies, cake, cupcakes, bread, rolls, jellies, doughnuts, and so on.

They became a food trend recently. The most expensive doughnut in New York (the
Golden Cristal Ube) uses ube frosting with champagne underneath the golden foil.

As a bonus, we also have radioactive green desserts. And again, the color is natural.
They’re colored and flavored from pandan leaves, which have a very fragrant vanilla-
like aroma. Pandan are palm-like trees which only grow in sandy beaches in the Indo-
Pacific.
*Your caves are full of bats… and birds*

Swiftlets (locally called _balinsasayaw_, literally “tumbling dancer”, or just _sayaw_,

“dancer”) are small very fast birds only found in tropical Australasia and in some
Pacific Islands. They nest in caves and have developed echolocation abilities like bats.
They do shifts with bats. Bats leave the caves at night and sleep in them during the day.
Swiftlets leave the caves during the day and sleep in them during the night.

They make small nests against the wall with their saliva, which was one of the goods
traded by Southeast Asian countries to China, since they are the main ingredient of
bird’s nest soup. The tourist town of El Nido (literally “The Nest” in Spanish) is named
after them.

They can become a pest, however, as they will also nest in any indoor large concrete
structures like churches and houses.
*Your national dress is see-through and were traditionally made with banana or
pineapple*

Fibers that is. Called the _baro_ (or _barong_, literally “clothing”) and _terno_ (also
_traje de mestiza_ or _‘Maria Clara’_, butterfly-sleeved dress for women). Those worn
by the aristocratic class were made from _jusi_ (pronounced “hoo-see”) - fine silk-like
fibers extracted from banana, abaca (a banana relative), or pineapple leaves. They can
also be made from real silk. They are based on the pre-Hispanic native vests/jackets
(still worn today by some tribal groups). But they acquired a Spanish flair later on. They
are partially sheer or lace-like to keep people cool in the tropical heat. There are peasant
versions made with cotton and other fabrics of course.
*Your ketchup is made from bananas*

Aside from tomato ketchup, a common household condiment is the banana ketchup. It’s
made from bananas, vinegar, sugar, and spices. It tastes similar to tomato ketchup but is
sweeter. It was originally made as a substitute for tomato ketchup during supply
shortages in World War 2. Its invention is credited to the food technologist and war
hero Maria Orosa.
*At almost every meal you are provided with miniature oranges and chilis*

These “oranges” are called calamansi. They are our equivalent to the lime or lemon and
are used similarly. They are actually a hybrid of kumquats and mandarin oranges (both
are also native to the Philippines), hence they are slightly sweeter than limes. We also
make our version of lemonade from them (squeeze several into a glass, add water, add
sugar to taste).

The miniature chilis on the other hand, is the _labuyo_ (commonly confused with bird’s
eye chilis). These are small chili cultivars native to the Philippines. They are related to
the tabasco chili. They are small, but be warned, they are very hot.

If you are eating at a Filipino restaurant you are almost always provided with these two.
You are supposed to make a dipping sauce from them. First pour soy sauce into a
platter, add a dash of vinegar or fish sauce, then squeeze calamansi into it. This is called
a _toyomansi_, a portmanteau of _toyo_ (soy sauce) and calamansi.

If you want it spicier, crush a _labuyo_ into it. This version of the dip is called
_silimansi_ (_sili_ means “chili”).

The use of calamansi has spread to parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, but it isn’t as
ubiquitous there as it is in the Philippines.

*You have an informal holiday where everyone throws water balloons at complete
strangers*

And it’s a Christian one. It’s called “San Juan” and it falls on June 24. As the name
implies, it celebrates St. John the Baptist.
It’s not really a festival or even a national holiday, but everyone celebrates it anyhow.
The city of San Juan even turned it into an official holiday after the fact.

People will wear raincoats on this day even if it’s sunny because of how it is celebrated.
Basically, everyone tries to wet everyone else. By pouring water on them, spraying
them with a water hose or a water gun, throwing water balloons at them, and so on.

The results are what you’d expect. Lots of angry people, especially from those who
managed to forget what day it was.

Most people circumvent this by going to the beach or a local water resort with the
family.

It can get dangerous. Because kids (and some idiots) will sometimes target passing
vehicles. Sometimes using water balloons _weighted with stones_. A bus I was
traveling in when I was a teenager got hit by one of those missiles and it broke the
windshield while we were traveling quite fast on a national highway. Thankfully, we
didn’t die in a fiery road accident. Then there are situations like below.

*When you have new shoes, your friends will step on it*

We call it a _bunyag_ (“baptism”). They’ll get dirty anyway, the first dirt is special and
will bring good luck. Or so we tell them as they angrily chase us for ruining their shoes.

*A common childhood pastime is making spiders fight*

Yep. Spiders. Similar to how Japanese kids made beetles fight. We had way too much
fun with them when we were kids. Spiders (the web-building kind) would be caught
during the early morning or at dusk, then made to fight other spiders on a twig. It was
usually to the death. Look away, PETA.

It’s in decline and mostly banned in schools and by local ordinances now, because it
became a gateway to gambling. And besides, in the internet age, most kids don’t really
spend much time outdoors anymore.

*Your favorite sports to watch on TV are basketball, boxing… and beauty pageants*

Yes, including (straight) male viewers. Entire families would watch international
pageants when they happen.

This national fascination with pageants is actually pretty old in origin. It started from
the Manila Carnival (also known as the Philippine Exposition), an annual festival in
Manila during the American colonial period, first started in 1908.

The highlight of this event was _La Reina del Oriente_ (“Queen of the Orient”) pageant.
This was where our love for pageants came from.
The carnival was discontinued in 1939. It was never revived, although its legacy
continues in the national beauty pageants. The winner of the latter gets crowned Miss
Philippines and gets to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant.

Nowadays, it can get vicious online when it comes to defending the Filipino contenders
from supporters of other countries. It’s partly because of a burning sense of nationalism
(sometimes too much) and partly a desire to be recognized at something… even if it’s
downright silly.
*We have mandatory military training… in high school*

Called the CAT (Citizenship Advancement Training, previously Citizen Army

Training). It teaches _high school_ students military drills, military terminology, how to
hold rifles, how to salute, and so on; as well as hold regular physical training like
jogging or hiking on weekends and training in the native martial arts (_arnis_). We wore
fake military uniforms, including boots and headgear, had a wooden rifle and a
ceremonial blunt sword. Most importantly, it taught us discipline and it was a lot of fun
pretending to be soldiers.

Since our high school ages previously started at age 12 and ended at 16, children can
start as young as 12. Though it doesn’t become mandatory until Senior year, children
who started early become officers later on. I started at 12 for example, and by the time
we were seniors, I was a Captain. Everyone was required to do it, unless you have
physical disabilities preventing it. Girls, boys, openly gay students, everyone. The only
way you can somewhat avoid it is if you join the marching band.

This was followed later on by ROTC in college (with real guns), which though
mandatory in the past has now become optional since 2001.

*You have uniquely-shaped traditional bladed weapons, from wavy swords to giant
anime swords to claw-like daggers*

A few of the examples are:

 _kalis_ – a wavy sword. It is related to the Malaysian and Indonesian kris or keris.
But the kalis is much larger, since it’s a sword not a dagger. It’s the traditional
armament of the Muslim Filipinos (the Moros).
 _kampilan_ – usually a large two-handed sword. It has a distinctive shape with a
handle carved into the shape of a mythical dragon or tiger creature. The tip has a
small bladelet giving it an appearance of being forked

 _laring_ – a variant of the common sundang or itak sword with a deep fork halfway
up the blade.

 _ligua_ – the battle-axe of the Ifugao highlander tribes in northern Luzon. They
have a characteristic crescent shape. They were specialized for cutting off heads
during the ritualistic head-hunting wars of the Ifugao. Their design can vary by
tribe.

 _panabas_ – a large battle-axe which can be up to 4 feet long with a unique bent or
curving shape similar to the Gurkha kukri. But it’s unrelated and is an axe, not a
knife.

 _karambit_ – a sickle-like dagger derived from a farming tool. Uniquely held and is
meant as a gouging weapon. Also exists in Malaysia and Indonesia.

And so on.
*When you say “switchblade”, our version is a folding one*

Made popular recently by Hollywood movies, the _balisong_ (also called the “butterfly
knife”) is one of the most unique blades of the Philippines. It originated as a pocket
knife. Probably indigenous in design (though some claim it’s based on a long-forgotten
French pocket knife in the 19th century). Regardless, it quickly became very popular in
the Philippines, with its primary manufacturing area being the province of Batangas.
Particularly as a weapon for criminals and wannabe gangsters, with the same reputation
as switchblades in the west. They became much larger, with the average size being
about 29 centimeters (around 11 inches, hence the other name for them: _viente y
nueve_). Filipinos also developed a mesmerizing way of quickly flicking them open and
shut which caught on in the west and is now a weird hobby. Like fidget spinners with
the risk of losing a finger.

*You’ve turned mountains into rice fields*

The rice terraces of the northern Philippines are UNESCO world heritage sites. They’re
centuries-old and they’re stunning. There are similar terraces in other countries but none
on this scale and steepness, and/or are not rice fields.
*When you come across strangers eating, they will invite you to eat with them*

And unless you can see there’s enough food for all of you (i.e. it’s a party), or you’re
genuinely starving to death, the polite response is to say “I’m full, thanks.”

A similar invitation is when you come across people drinking alcohol in private settings
(which paradoxically enough, might mean in a public place like a street or a beach).
You will always be offered a _tagay_ (a shot). You can agree to drink just a glass, join
in and get drunk, or decline. Decline _politely_, however. Like everywhere else, some
people are nasty drunks and can get offended.

*You don’t have a word for “cheers!” because we drink alcohol from one cup*

As in one cup is used for a group of people. Passed from person to person. Each shot is
called a _tagay_. This is an ancient tradition going back to precolonial times, and the
Spaniards mentioned it in their description of traditional practices. It is related to the
precolonial Filipino ritual of the blood compact (_sandugo_). Drinking from one cup is
seen as symbolic of camaraderie and trust.

Hence why we don’t have a word for “cheers”, because you can’t exactly raise your
cups when only one person has it. _Tagay_ is sometimes used for “cheers!” though, but
it’s inaccurate, as it really just means “[let’s] drink!”
This is also why bars (as in the counter-and-stool kind) is not that popular in the
Philippines. Our version of a bar is one where you get a table with a group of friends,
then you are given the drinks, some ice cubes, some food (_pulutan_), and a single
glass. More commonly however, you do these drinking sessions at a friend’s house, a
beach, a backyard, the street, the bed of a truck, or wherever it is you can get away with
being drunk and loud.

One of you becomes the “gunner”, the guy (or gal) who pours the drink into the glass
(usually the one who stays sober the longest). Then you take turns drinking from the
glass. It is easier to moderate as well as you can simply “pass” if you’ve had enough.

All through this, you simply enjoy each other’s company and talk about everything and
nothing. This is the main reason why people do this. For the company and conversation,
not for the alcohol. Which is why in our culture, the main indication of an alcoholic is
someone who drinks… _alone_.

These drinking sessions are called _tagayan_ or _inuman_, and they are an important
cornerstone of Filipino social interactions.

*You traditionally made window panes from… oysters*

They’re called windowpane oysters (duh!). They have round and flat shells and are
abundant in the Philippines, particularly in the province of Capiz. The shells (called
Capiz shells) were traditionally used as a substitute for glass during the Spanish colonial
period because of their translucency, beauty, and durability. This use later spread to Goa
in India via the Portuguese. They are still found in the windows of old Spanish-Filipino
architecture. They are now also used to make lamps, chandeliers, wind chimes, and
other decorative items for export.

*It is common to see cats with tails that seem to have been bent and cut off*

Especially among strays or semi-feral cats. Westerners (and even some locals) often
think these were deliberate mutilation or were the result of accidents or fights with dogs.
There are even stories about how their owners supposedly cut them off then buried their
tails under the house front doors to make sure the cats return at night (which is
ridiculous… you can’t tell cats what to do!).

All of these are false. It’s genetic. The dominant native breed of cats of in most of Asia
has the bobtail gene. They tend to have tails that are short, kinked, or seemingly cut off.
*Commenting about your weight or looks is normal and isn’t rude*

Telling you to your face that you’re getting fatter or are way too thin or should sleep
more and so on is completely normal. Usually followed by advice on what you should
eat, encouragement for exercise, or an offering of food.

This usually infuriates the hypersensitive PC culture of most westerners, leading to rants
online about how Filipinos are sooo rude! OMG.

It’s _not_ an insult, however. It’s meant as friendly teasing or motherly advice. If they
really wanted to insult you, they’d have kept quiet and told __someone else.

*Avocado is a dessert fruit*

Unlike most other countries, avocado in the Philippines is traditionally treated as a

dessert from way back in the colonial period. The standard way of eating it is to mash it
up (finely or into small chunks) and mix it with condensed milk or sugar. Rarely,
peanuts or even chocolate can also be added. It can also be blended with ice chips into a
shake. Until recently, we never use it for savory dishes like salads, sushi, or guacamole
like in the west.
*You stay with your parents until we either get married or get a job away from our
hometowns*

Regardless of how old you are. This is common enough in most Asian, Latin American,
and some European countries.

Families will also continue supporting each other, even long after they have children of
their own. The family culture is very collectivist. It is considered shameful to be
wealthy, while having parents or siblings that are struggling. And it is the duty of the
most successful member of the family to try and bring everyone else up to a reasonable
extent, with the goal being comfortable self-sufficiency for everyone. Especially if that
success is because of the sacrifices of other family members. Failing to do so can cause
permanent rifts in family relationships and ruin your reputation to most of your peers.

An old Filipino proverb that summarizes this is: _Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa
pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa pinaroroonan_, roughly “one who does not
know how to look back to their beginnings will never reach their destination.” The
closest English saying would be “never forget where you came from.”

A lobster dinner in a 5-star restaurant doesn’t taste as good when you know your family
back home is still eating the same old meal of rice and dried fish in your childhood
village. If you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, the answer will almost
always end with “…so I can help my parents/family.”
The up-side is that family in the Philippines is everything. Kinship ties are very strong.
You can always rely on family in times of need.

The down-side is the built-in culture of nepotism. As well as some members of the
family abusing the support at times.

It is often the cause of friction in Filipinos who marry foreigners, as westerners usually
cannot understand why their spouses will still continue sending money to their family
back home for things like building their parents a new house, investing in a family
business, or helping their siblings find jobs or get an education.

*Your desserts have various jelly-like components, and they’re all derived from plants*

Jelly desserts in the Philippines (and Southeast Asia) are predominantly made from
_gulaman_ (agar) which is derived from seaweed. Other jelly-like desserts are harvested
from plant starch or palm fruits, including _sago_, _kaong_, _nata de coco_,
_macapuno_, and tapioca pearls.

Unlike in the west where jellies are usually made gelatin which is derived from animal
collagen (usually pork or beef), they’re all perfectly fine for vegetarians and those with
religious dietary restrictions (Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc.).

It is common to see two or more of these jellies as part of the various mixed fruit
desserts in the Philippines (including halo-halo), as well as chilled beverages (the
traditional _samalamig_ refreshments).

*Christmas starts in September*

Informally called the “ber” months. September is taken as a signal to bring out the
Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. By October, malls and shops will start
playing Christmas music and selling Christmas food and merchandise. By mid-
November, yards and streets will already be decorated with Christmas lights, especially
the gorgeous handcrafted traditional star lanterns (the _paról_), which symbolize the
star of Bethlehem. Local governments will start putting up the public _belén_
(Christmas dioramas) in community parks. By late November and early December,
children and adults will start caroling for money in establishments and houses. In the
past this also usually meant children will start playing with firecrackers, but that has
been banned.

We eat rice 3/7/365. Thee times, daily

And no, I’m not talking about a modest cup or scoop. We’re Filipinos! We go all the
way.

Fill that plate or go home!

Extra rice. Unli rice.

Been to the Philippines? Then you SHOULD know this. When eating out in fastfood
restaurants, rice is usually served in a burger-like fashion. It's molded in a cup, so it
looks like a bun, and is wrapped in sandwich paper. For heavy eaters, a cup is never
enough. My usual order in Jollibee is C2 (2-piece chickenjoy) with extra rice and
service water.

And unli rice? Oh boy. Only one fast food company pops in the Filipino mind. God’s
gift to Fil-humanity, Mang Inasal.

They literally have this bucket of rice which the server carries while walking around,
trying to spot “unli-ricers.” People can go as much as 3 refills or even 4. Don’t be
fooled. The first cup that comes in your plate is smaller than the succeeding cups the
bucket holder will give you. If you loosen the cupped rice, it will literally cover your
whole plate. Good bye diet! What’s worse is, they have bottles of soy sauce and chicken
oil. Yes. You pour them like soup over your rice and gobble till you fatten up.

I wasn’t joking.

Not just rice. We have unli call, unli text, unli surf, unli drinks, etc. How to spot
cheap people.

Barkada bundles

Okay, so since I’m talking about food, might as well mention this. Barkada is a Filipino
term for a group of friends. When I was in Saudi Arabia, meal promos always targeted
families. And because Saudi families tend to be huge, you’ll find chicken buckets in
KFC, for example, that contain 20 pieces of fried chicken. Definitely one of the things I
miss. Here in the Philippines, the most bundles can accommodate are 6 people. But
yeah, everything is for group of friends. Like barkada meal bundles, etc.
There’s also McDonald’s BFF Fries, which I find really cute.

Speaking of groups, it’s pretty normal to order meals good for 3 or 4 people in a
restaurant. Though single meals are also very common, it is always better to eat with
company and share from the same set of food, especially when it's a rice meal.

Musical TV commercials

I’m not even going to challenge it. Filipinos love music. And what better way to market
a product than a musical jingle, right?

Many, if not most, Filipino TV ads are delivered in musical jingles. Either an original
catchy song is made for a product or they use popular music and make new (usually,
corny/cringy) lyrics to go with it.

Sometimes, it's cute…

https://youtu.be/ASKXmr3BXgk

^^ (ok lol sorry there was no jingle but it’s so cute)

Sometimes, it’s creative…

https://youtu.be/GNEp05ihkOc

Sometimes, meh…

https://youtu.be/Kn7Uf3iPZsY

Lip-pointing

“Where’s the restroom?”

We don’t always have to verbally respond to questions like this. We can simply pout
our lips and point it towards the direction.

Jollibee
If you have a Jollibee branch in your country, you SHOULD check it out. Jollibee is a
Filipino fast food chain with so many branches in the Philippines alone. Good news,
there are also many branches abroad including the USA, the Middle East, and
elsewhere.

The chickenjoy (a trademark for their particular fried chicken) is like the best in the
country. It’s just perfect. Something you could never grow tired eating. So, lines are
always insanely long, especially in branches overseas. And if you’re a tourist/visitor,
Filipinos will ALWAYS recommend it to you.

It’s a normal thing to see two or more branches of Jollibee in one block or along the
same street. It’s everywhere.

The popularity of the fried chicken

I’m not sure if it’s because of Jollibee’s success, but today, literally every fast food
place in the country has its own take on fried chicken. Even McDonald’s, pizza shops,
and bakeries sell chicken and rice. Strange to me because I always thought only Jollibee
and KFC sold fried chicken.

Don’t even get me started on gravy. Everyone has their own gravy too. It's like they're
just copying concepts.

Disregard for rules/laws

This is normal, as in common, but not necessarily acceptable.

This picture says it all:

The red sign literally says: NO CROSSING. SOMEONE ALREADY DIED HERE.
And yet this man is still crossing like he just chose the other side of the road over his
own life.

And this…

Red text: NO PISSING HERE. HEY STUPID, ONLY DOGS PISS ON WALLS.

KAIN TAYO (Let’s eat)

Filipinos always invite other people to join them even if they were eating from a tiny
lunchbox. This is something I never actually understood. I don’t know if it’s just
something said out of politeness (e.g. you’re eating and someone walks in the room) or
legit generosity/hospitality. I was once invited by a person eating a burger. You can
invite anyone, even random passersby.

The default response is usually “Sige,” which literally means okay, but people don’t
actually sit to join you in meal (unless they have the audacity to take the offer literally).
So I guess in this sense, Sige means go ahead, as in “Go ahead. Just eat your food.
Don’t mind me.”

In our province (not sure if this is practiced in other provinces), it’s normal for a
family to get a relative (usually a bit distant) and have them do errands for you

So, kind of like a house helper in the literal sense, but they are not treated like
employees. They live in the same house and eat together. If the relative is a student, the
family send the child to school and pays for everything.
People in the Philippines are just happy with life

You might think that people in the slums are completely miserable, but they’re not.
Many of them are really happy. The environment is loud and fun. There’s laughter and
smiles everywhere. Poverty, hunger, and natural disasters do not break the resilience of
Filipinos. The tougher life gets, the stronger they become. They’ll cry sometimes, but
they’ll get up and smile again.

This might seem weird for societies where personal relationships between people are
weak and where suicide is an okay solution for unbearable problems in life. But that’s
something we should all try to apply in our lives. Remember that life goes on and things
will get better.

Alcohol and cigs

Many Filipinos are quite addicted to alcohol and cigarette. Not that they go crazy over
them and get high as a drug user would, but these vices seem to always have a fit in the
budget, no matter how tight it is. The reason is that you can easily buy a cigarette stick
individually. And a regular sized bottle of gin or beer is not expensive either. But
alcohol is a more national thing than the cig. As my father told me, it is highly unlikely
for Filipinos to sit down together as a group for hours without alcohol and pulutan
(foods that are eaten with beer) on the table. Probably not as hardcore as Koreans who
can drink tons on a nightly basis or even in broad daylight (thanks to boxed soju)
(referencing K-drama), but not a single village is free from nightly drunkards who sit
outside the house and consume bottles of vinegar-looking alcohol with their friends,
usually with shirts off.

Many poor Filipinos who earn very little still buy sticks of cigarette and at least a bottle
of cheap alcohol instead of spending the money on real food. Some would beg money
on the streets to buy a cig and a bread. They just couldn’t abandon it. Everyone’s well
aware of the health hazards of smoking and drinking. But still.

Longest Christmas in the world? Maybe

When the first Ber-month (i.e. September) arrives, people start planning and preparing
for Christmas. It’s a really, really long celebration, quite expensive too, but people love
it. It’s like the best time of the year for them (I don’t celebrate Christmas hehe).

It’s not like in other societies where people prepare for Christmas the day/night before
and then wrap up the day after. And then everything goes back to normal until New
Year’s eve. It’s totally different in the Philippines.

Every Filipino has his/her own umbrella

We use it as a shield against the scorching heat of the sun (YES, WE USE
UMBRELLAS IN SUMMER) and against drizzles and rains. So don’t be surprised to
see an Asian using an umbrella in broad daylight anywhere in the world. I’m telling
you, that Asian is 100% Filipino.
In the Philippines, and to most Filipinos, if you’re not a Muslim, you’re a Christian

As many of you know, Philippines is predominantly Catholic. If not a Catholic, many

others are still within the Christian circle, just in a different sect. Muslims, however, are
a minority. Approximately 11% of the population (still a lot at 10.7 million (2012)),
most of which live in or come from the southern island of Mindanao (close to Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Brunei).

Not many people know about Islam, but everyone knows what a Muslim is. And
most of them mistakenly think Muslims are a cultural/indigenous group

Not many are aware that we are simply adherents of another religion. It’s always a long
discussion, but I manage to end it with this: CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANS; ISLAM:
MUSLIMS. Believe me, they always react like I just taught them how to fry egg
without sticking by adding some oil to the pan.

Discrimination of Muslims AMONG Muslims

Many Muslims who come from Mindanao Muslim tribes tend to look down on Muslims
from “inferior” tribes as well as Muslims who are not from a Muslim tribe and Muslim
converts. I accidentally bumped into a Muslim lady and she frowned and murmured
something with a “Maranao,” saying it like it was a disgusting word. It was shocking
because, one, I’m not a Maranao (the dominant Muslim tribe); two, on what basis was I
mistaken for a Maranao (do Maranaos bump into people a lot?); three, so what if I was?

Most non-Muslim Filipinos have no idea that there exists a false hierarchy. Like, one
tribe is superior to the other and so on. This, for sure, is a cultural thing. As if belonging
to an inferior clan or not being born Muslim at all makes you less of a Muslim.

Because most people assume that all Muslims come from Mindanao, when you
don't dress like or look like (face-wise) a typical Muslim from the south, non-
Muslims are compelled to confirm if you are a Muslim (even if you are a woman
wearing hijab!)

Taxi driver: “Muslim po kayo, Ma’am?” (Are you a Muslim, Ma'am.)

Me: “Opo.” (Yes, I am.)

TD: “Ah. Hindi po kasi kayo mukhang Muslim.” (oh. I just thought you don’t look like
a Muslim.)

Me: *smiles* (but in my head: “I'm wearing a hijab, bruh. And what are Muslims
supposed to look like anyway? Any human who converts to Islam is a Muslim.”)

1. Facebook is life for most people under 40. It is not uncommon to find parents
creating accounts for their kids at birth. I have recently met a 11-year-old girl who
told me she has reserved 7 FB accounts for her future children. When I asked her
about when she was planning on starting to have kids, she told me when she could
find a pale skinned pointy nose American to make babies with. I shudder at the
thought because I am pretty sure she was propositioning me.

2. 12 is the legal age of sexual consent, but only among Filipinos. Foreigners who
come here hoping to get some underage action will be jailed for such things. Not all
the girls either know this or care and neither do most of their parents if it means
possibly getting the financial support of a rich foreigner for the entire family. It is
also against US law to go to a foreign country for the purpose of having sex with
someone under the age of 18 regardless of local age of consent.

3. Teachers are encouraged to participate in social media with their students. I am not
talking about having a public professional space to interact with students and family
about school matters, but rather accept friend requests and interact socially with
their students and family. Even before I was officially married into the family
students of my MIL who teaches grade 1 were using her public posts about me and
her daughter as a means to find my profile and send friend requests which my MIL
said I should accept to keep her job secure since any member of her household who
upset the family of her students (yes many of their parents and siblings also friended
me) could upset the whole works. In just over a year I added something like 3750
new FB friends who were between 2 and 4 degrees of separation from her students.
It would have been considered rude and potentially offensive not to accept their
request. You don’t offend strangers in an area known for NPA activity.

4. There are no laws protecting gay rights, but in many ways, there is far less anti-gay
behavior. One of the most beloved teachers at my MIL’s school was a gay Muslim
cross-dressing man who taught kindergarten. This is in a region with 85% Christian,
10% Muslim, and 5% indigenous religions. Moreover, the school is in an area that
services mostly Mormons, Jehovah Witness, and 7th Day Adventists. Just try
imagining that happening in the US or other so-called enlightened countries. Why
doesn’t this man teach kindergarten anymore? He finished his PhD and was
promoted to principal. I asked what the few Muslim parents at the school think of
him, he told me, “they were more concerned he ate pork than sucked dick.”

5. Rich is seen through the eyes of local income. An American with a smallish
retirement or disability settlement of $1000 a month could live here and would be
considered rich, even though they fall under the US poverty level. This is because
 the average household consists of 2 working adults, 1 elderly person, and 4 school
age children with a net monthly household income of $425 USD.

There are only two countries in the world where divorce is illegal: Vatican City and the
Philippines.

My country is predominantly Catholic with over 86% of the population identifying as

Roman Catholic. Despite the separation of Church and State, religious officials hold
influence powerful enough to sway government laws, bills, and millions of voters.

In the Philippines, those wishing to end their marriages are presented with limited
options. Legal separation means that their assets are divided, but they can never
remarry.

Another option is going through annulment, which is a lengthy and expensive

proceeding, making it out of reach for the majority of the country’s population who live
below the poverty line. An annulment doesn’t just end a marriage; it declares that the
marriage was never valid to begin with. This means that the parties must prove that they
were either underage when the marriage took place or one partner had a sexually-
transmitted disease. Cases of polygamy or mistaken identity are also grounds for
annulment. However, children of a marriage that has been declared annulled are
considered illegitimate. Bastards, for short.

The only Filipinos in the Philippines who can file for divorce are those belonging to the
estimated 5% of the Muslim population in the southern part of the country who abide by
their own Code of Muslim Personal Laws.

Divorce wasn’t always illegal in the Philippines. Our various colonizers - the Spanish,
the Americans, and the Japanese - had allowed divorce in cases such as adultery.
However, when we were liberated after the end of World War II and the Philippine
Civil Code of 1949 was introduced, divorce was outlawed and remains to be so until
today.

In 2013, statistics showed that there were over 10,000 petitions filed to end a marriage.
More than half of those petitions had been filled by women. These cases are often
dragged out for years with court and lawyer fees exceeding the average monthly wages
of Filipino workers. This long and expensive process that does not guarantee an
amenable or even satisfying result is the reason why so many Filipinos continue to stay
in abusive and unhealthy relationships.

Despite the increasing number of Filipinos fighting for a divorce bill, the Catholic
Church continues to push back, claiming that the sanctity of marriage would be
destroyed if divorce was allowed in the Philippines.

Honestly? I think that the narrow-minded arguments against divorce made by members
of the unmarried religious clergy in the Philippines are bullshit.

Still, there’s hope for the hundreds of Filipinos trapped in abusive marriages.

In 2018, the Lower House of Congress passed a bill to legalize divorce. For divorce to
become legal, the Senate still has to approve this bill and even then, President Duterte
could use his veto powers to strike it down. The President, despite having his own
marriage legally annulled, has been steadfastly opposing the divorce bill.

So what is normal in my country that is weird in the rest of the world?

Outlawing divorce because a bunch of unmarried bishops and priests claim that
God would be offended if it was legalized.

Take a look at my personal blog Kayla Auf Denglisch where I write about my passion
for languages and other random life experiences.

https://kaylaaufdenglisch.wordpress.com/

Sources:

Trapped in an abusive marriage in one of the last places on Earth where divorce is
illegal
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-09/the-philippines-is-one-of-two-countries-
where-divorce-is-illegal/10332600

The Only Country in the World That Bans Divorce

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/06/divorce-philippines-
annulment/396449/

Divorce Is Prohibited In The Philippines, But Moves Are Underway To Legalize It

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/23/613335232/divorce-is-prohibited-in-
the-philippines-but-moves-are-underway-to-legalize-it

Philippines Stands All but Alone in Banning Divorce

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/world/asia/18iht-philippines18.html

Philippines moves closer to divorce law

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43457117

Religion in the Philippines

https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-philippines

“Kain tayo,” which translates to “Let’s eat.”

In my country, it’s quite normal to invite someone to join you if he or she happens to
catch you at a time when you're eating.

This happens everywhere. I drop by my friend's place and a family member happens to
be having a snack. He may have only one sandwich on his plate but he'll invite you to
eat anyway and say, “Let’s eat.” If you catch the entire family eating, they would also
invite you to join them for their meal. It also happens in the office when I had to go see
my colleague and I find her in the lunch room having crackers and coffee. “Let’s eat,”
she would say.

I've heard some people say that this phrase or invitation isn't really sincere, but a
necessary invite done out of habit since, in my culture, it's considered polite to ask
someone to join you as you eat. Not inviting someone to eat with you would mean
you're not willing to share your food.

While I also do this, I do it only when I have enough food to share. I don't see any point
in inviting someone to eat with you when you don't have food to share in the place.

In other countries, if you happen to catch someone while he is eating, it’s not necessary
for him to invite you to join him. He will simply continue eating while you have your
conversation.

This “mandatory invite” is one thing I know is normal only in my country but weird to
the rest of the world.

Poor phone reception. We’re so used to having poor call and SMS quality that we
literally just shrug them off or walk out into the open (or in case of being inside a
vehicle, open the windows and raise our arms outside even if the car is moving!) just to
get better reception. Maybe this is also normal in other poor countries, but in
modernized nations, customers would lose their minds if they couldn’t call while taking
a shit.
Flight and public transport delays. If you have a flight at 6:00 am, you bet they will
start boarding by 6:30. Trains are late? Too bad. Buses take too many illegal bus stops.
So?

Taking 2–3 hours to get somewhere that normally takes an hour at most. Rush hour
can be really, really bad here but it’s become so bad, it’s tolerated and not minded
anymore.

Attending Sunday mass just before committing the sin of gluttony. Nothing like
being blessed by God before indulging in an all-you-can-eat buffet for your birthday.

Celebrating Christmas as early as September 1st. Seriously. We like Christmas so

much, there are actual countdowns to the first “ber” month and after that, also starts the
countdown to Christmas. We greet people here, as a national running gag, Merry
Christmas on September 1st.

Anti and Religious people celebrating other religion’s events. Ever seen a self-
proclaimed atheist go to Church every week and on Christmas eve? How about a strict
sub-section of Catholicism with members who don’t believe in Christmas participate
during Christmas parties? We have them all here, proudly!

Black/Brown face. We literally had a show about ancient Filipinos played by

Caucasian-looking actors and actresses with face paint last year. And we fucking didn’t
mind as a nation! hahahaha

Wondering why a friend is still alive after not seeing them for a long time. There’s a
phrase close male friends use when they see each other after so many years. “Tangina,
buhay ka pa pala!” when translated, means “Son of a whore, you’re still alive?!”

Pedophilia. You know how there’s a stigma around adult men/women finding
teens/minors hot? It’s next to normal here. Normal could be an extreme version, but it’s
more or less not a problem or is not taken as seriously as people in the West often do.
Also, if there’s a sex video of anyone (even a minor) floating around somewhere, both
men and women would be shameless and tagging their friends asking for the sauce
using accounts that have their real names and photos.

Not getting license plates for years. I don’t know if it’s been fixed, but we literally had
years with many new cars running without a license plate and operating on conduction
stickers. I still see a lot of cars without plates on the road and we’re all fine with it.

Hating our own skin. If you’re a half-breed (Fil-American, Fil-Spanish, Fil-Korean,

etc.) you have a hundred times more chances of being a celebrity or being a model than
those who are 100% Filipino. Hey, even our last two Miss Universe queens (Pia
Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray) are halfties. Not to mention if you’re a mixed breed, you
get treated better too.

Racism. Before I start, this will offend you but is certainly NORMAL to think about if
you’re born in the Philippines. You Caucasian? You’re automatically rich, smart, a sex
tourist, and either American or British. Indian? You drive a Vespa, right? You’re also a
loanshark by default. Middle-Eastern? You smell bad and probably have thick chest
hair. You’re also a woman-hater. Chinese/Korean/Japanese? We make fun of your
language.

Traffic laws. We don’t give a shit about traffic laws and yet we always complain about
traffic.

Dumb pride. We take pride over small/irrelevant feats. If one famous person is even
hinted to have a drop of Filipino blood (or had a Filipino as a close inspiration), we
headline the shit out of that. Filipinos have the top trending topics on twitter or
whatever social media platform? We glorify it not knowing it just shows Filipinos have
no real past time outside the internet.

Gay stereotype. If you’re gay, you’re either a comedian or rich. You also become a
celebrity, appearing in movies and shows randomly as comic relief.

Electing political jokes. Oh wait, I forgot Trump was a thing.

I don’t know most of the customs in other countries and I’m not even sure if what’s
normal here is also normal abroad. But anyway, here in the Philippines…

- it’s perfectly okay not to tip at a restaurant because most restaurants include service
charge on top of your bill.

- water is free in all restaurants, just ask for it. It's filtered water, not tap.

- fast food is not really fast food. Often times you have to wait 10–15 minutes if what
you ordered isn’t cooked yet.

- we never eat fried chicken dry, there has to be gravy or ketchup.

- we eat rice with everything, all day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

- Filipino style spaghetti is sweet.

- parking cars in a 2 lane street effectively making it 1 lane.

- 30 C is the average temp all year round. If it gets to around 22 C, people will be
wearing sweaters and jackets.

- everyone (mostly males) spit on the road. Even in cars, they will open the
door/window to spit out.

- seeing dead cats on the road killed by a speeding car is normal.

- being greeted by your relatives during family reunions with “hi, how are you? You’re
getting fat/You got fat!”, “hi, how are you? When are you getting married?!” I hate it.
- annually, we have this procession called “The Feast of the Black Nazarene” where in
millions of devotees walk barefoot for 6.5km while carrying the Black Nazarene, a life
size statue of a suffering Jesus fallen under the weight of the cross.

- nobody really follows simple signs. You will see people smoking where there is a “no
smoking” sign, or people crossing the road when a sign says “no jaywalking”, etc etc
In the Philippines…

1. Rice is king. It’s the staple food here. In McDonald’s, the menu for chicken meals
has rice. Mang Inasal offers “unli” rice. Eat all the rice you want, bruh.

2. We have “sabit” on jeepneys. This is a typical scenario. Some men “hang” on

railings at the rear of jeepneys, especially when in a hurry and all jeepneys are full.
It’s kind of dangerous, so sabit at your own risk.

3. There are early morning classes. In Metro Manila (and other cities/towns), kids and
teens who study in public elementary and high schools have classes as early as 6
AM. College students have classes as early as 7 AM. Zzzzz.

4. Motorcycle helmets are worn not on the head, but on the elbows. Like an ornament.
It’s a violation, but many riders still do it. Lucky if you don’t get caught red-handed.

5. A very short time of heavy rain could bring floods. Once the rain is done, flood
subsides as well.

6. The phrase Bababa ba? actually makes sense.

7. Skin whitening products are seen almost everywhere. Hehe.

8. In almost every household, you can see this duo in the bathroom.
Ride to work
http://www.pna.gov.ph/photos/36527

Save water
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jhaykage/2422411732/

Killing the poor

Apparently, the current war on drugs of the government targets a specific population –
the poor. Who are the ones who can’t afford an attorney to defend their rights? The
poor.

Let’s say it’s true that they are drug addicts and drug pushers, do we have the right to
take away their rights? Isn’t it another crime to not follow the due process?

Rehabilitation is not an option

In the Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5, drug addiction is a mental illness and therefore
needs psychological intervention. There’s definitely a treatment for it which the
Government chose to ignore. Here in the Philippines, killing drug addicts is a more
convenient option than turning them to potential productive individuals.

Majority tolerate and worse, even support it

Most of the Filipinos think that the extrajudicial killing is the answer to majority of the
problems that the country faces today. Come to think of it, the inflation rate increased to
5% in a span of one year, one of the highest rates recorded so far. Our economy is
spiraling down.

After this war on drugs, if the economy continues to decelerate, more and more
Filipinos will be poor not being able to afford education, not being able to enjoy leisure
time or engage in productive activities. The cycle will continue. The economy will
continue to create the unfortunate depressed poor who will then resort to drug addiction.

I’m ashamed that we have been this kind of people but here I am admitting the things
what people in my country think is normal but in fact isn’t when compared to the rest of
the world. Although it breaks my heart but it’s true that the Philippines never learn from
history.

When will the killings stop?

Philippines represent.

We have a term for eating dinner or lunch meals without rice - papak. It implies that
you are not eating a full meal. We have this term because we eat almost everything with
rice - minimum twice a day, up to possibly 5–6 times a day (counting brunch, merienda,
midnight snack lol). It’s more than normal. It’s a must in the Filipino diet. In fact, the
first thing a Filipino will look for in a foreign country is rice.

Here are some google searches I did to show the presence of rice in our major meals.
Notice the search term and find the rice. You won’t miss it.

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Some Asian countries eat a lot of rice too, but not like we do.

The first time I ever travelled to the US, I had to stay there for about a month. When I
can, I order the Grilled Tilapia meal at Denny’s because it came with rice pilaf (Denny’s
was right in front of the Best Western I stayed at in Buffalo, NY).

At some point during my stay, I discovered that in one of the nearby malls, the food
court has a stall that sells rice with its meals. I was ecstatic. However, since I don’t have
much control of my schedule then (was sent there for business reasons), I was only able
to visit it once.

During the last week of my stay, one of the friendly Americans we met there invited us
over to her place and she made us shrimp jambalaya. The thing came with rice! I was so
happy I asked for a second helping.

I swear this is not just me. A true-blue Filipino will tell you that it feels incomplete
eating any meal without rice. I was in fact surprised to realize that the rest of the world
didn’t eat rice much as we do.

THE PHILIPPINES

 Burying the dead under the house or the backyard

A little bit of context here. The Philippines is an archipelagic country. It has

approximately 7,107 islands, 100+ languages and god knows how many ethnic groups.

I was born and raised in a little town located in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges where
I spent my early fluffy childhood years with the nice people of the tribes Ibaloy and
Kankana-ey.

I am an Ilocano myself. We bury our dead in the cemetery. But some of our neighbors?
They don’t.

When I was eight or nine years old (or seven, I don’t really know, I suck at math) I
remember insisting to have a sleep over at a friend’s house and my mother wouldn’t let
me because it’s just too far for a walk and I hate walking. I went anyway and when we
arrived in their house, my friend was like “That’s my mother.” I looked all around and
saw nothing. “Where?” I asked. And she goes “You’re standing on her.”

We were in their front yard and because it was getting dark, I didn’t notice a little
wooden cross amongst the grasses.

Oh boy, was that normal and weird as hell.

 Mourners gamble during the wake to honor the dead

Also totally normal and weird as hell.

 Inviting the whole neighborhood to your wedding

My husband and I were really sneaky about our wedding. We weren’t going to kill ten
pigs to feed the whole town just to get married!

But if you’re already engaged to a Filipino/Filipina, well... prepare a hundred disposable

plates and get ready to be broke.

Don’t worry, we’re worth being bankrupt for. ;)

 Kids can buy alcohol and cigarettes

Nope, not teenage kids. I’m talking about kids below the age of 13. It goes without
saying that the alcohol and cigarettes are for the parents, of course. My father never
asked me to buy a bottle of gin or beer for him and his friends. But I know some of
friends, classmates and even cousins did. Totally not weird at all.

 What fork and knife? We use our hands to eat

Been living in the Netherlands for a while now, but sometimes I still eat with my hand.
Not in front of any Dutch person though. That’s just for my husband to see.

 Street food, street vendors, streets flooding, people who live on the streets and
people who piss on the streets

We eat, we sell, we swim, we live and piss on our streets. I guess it’s them streets where
you find us most weird and at home.

Some of our street foods are:

There’s pig’s blood. Chicken intestines. Chicken feet. Normal barbecue. Chicken heads.
Pig’s ears.

Damn, just looking at this makes me drool.

And of course, the star of it all. Balut.

My personal favorite. ;)

Our street vendors are also street ninjas. They chase a bus and they get off the running
bus while carrying a bag of chicharron as big as Santa’s sack or a casserole of fried
peanuts or a tower of buko pies (young coconut pies). They’re super impressive because
they never trip or fall.

Streets flooding.
Pretty common in Manila.

I once stayed for one night in my university though my dormitory’s just across the street
because I don’t want to swim through the river of god-knows-what-is-also-swimming-
in-there.

Homeless people living in the streets. Now that I think about it, this isn’t odd at all.
Every country has some.

But guess what not every country has.

The tree pissers.

 Rice obsession

Fun fact: We have different words for rice based on its… stages of life?

1. Freshly harvested rice – palay

2. Unhusked, uncooked rice – bigas
3. Cooked rice – kanin
4. Fried rice – sinangag
5. Burnt rice – tutong

Another fun fact: We eat everything with rice.

1. Pork? Yes.
2. Noodles? Yes.
3. Eggs? Yes.
4. Soup? Yes.
5. Chicken feet? Yes.
6. Pork’s blood? Yes.
7. Even the food at Mcdonald’s?

Definitely yes.

 We use whitening soaps, lotions and even pills

 We don’t use tissues. We wash our butts with water and soap

I feel like I just betrayed my countrymen by revealing our little secret just now.
 We use the words “po” and “opo” to show respect

Hack: You can add the word “po” even in the English language to make your sentence a
tad bit more respectful.

“Where’s the toilet po?”

“Oh, over there.”

“Uhm, where is the tissue paper po?”

“We don’t use that here. Here’s a bar of soap and a pail of water. You also wash your
hands after, okay?”

“Ugh… Okay po.”

Philippines:

1. In the capital Manila, most people who are working there wake up at 4 am just to
arrive at the office at 10 am (the person is late). I might be exaggerating but we have
the worst traffic in the world. Our business district is so decentralized, concentrated
in Manila it’s normal for a person to come from far provinces just to work in Manila
office.

2. Majority of the people are worshipping an ugly wooden statue. We have events were
thousands of people are willing to die just to touch, kiss, and hanky-wipe an ugly
black wooden statue in a procession. The Catholic Church also meddles with the
government policies and people are okay with it. We are the only few countries left
with no legal divorce because the Church wouldn’t allow it.

3. School year will at least have several days (spreaded) suspension due to our pathetic
country being raped by not less than 20 typhoons annually. 1-3 of these typhoons
would be very destructive. Typhoons are very normal in this country.

4. Related to 3, it’s normal to see kids swimming in the dirty floods.

5. Extremely regionalistic where one person from another island or province have very
different culture and language from the others. Internal racism is very prevalent and
seen normal.

6. People worship celebrities and elect as government officials. It’s normal that some
of our government officials were actors and actresses before no matter how
incompetent they actually are.

7. Our criminals are so creative they invent quite sophisticated modus operandis to
execute their crimes. We have an extensive list of scamming and fraud methods. It is
normal for us to be either gullible to fall victim and then become too skeptic we die
without life insurance.
PHILIPPINE TOWN FIESTAS

For one or two days every year, almost every household in every municipality in the
Philippines hold off their daily schedules, prepare a scrumptious feast, and entertain
dozens of visitors in their homes to celebrate the annual town fiesta of their
municipality.

Why is it held?

The town fiesta is held to celebrate the town’s patron saint – either the saint’s birthdate
or date of death. Sometimes, even the smaller divisions of the town called barangay
apply to change their patron saint so their barangay can have a separate fiesta of their
own.
The Bisperas: The Day on Which Many Die

A lot happens during fiestas. First of all, comes the bisperas – the eve of the fiesta. At
dawn during this day, pigs are mass-slaughtered because almost every household will
serve pork dishes and there is nothing more special than fresh meat. Live pigs are
bought from farms and delivered to homes generally 3–5 days before the fiesta.

Then, everyone will be busy cooking and huge pots of different dishes will be prepared.
Every dish that is not fried or grilled will already be prepared during the bisperas so that
people will not be very busy on the day of the fiesta itself. This includes the desserts as
well. In some households, desserts are even prepared two days before because they
anticipate that they will have literally a battalion of guests which means that they will
have to prepare bucket-loads of dishes on bisperas.
Usually, neighbors help each other in butchering the pig and cooking it. In the
Philippines, your neighbors are usually your relatives anyway. If you still need help,
then relatives from nearby towns might come to help with the preparations.

Some guests will already come during bisperas for reasons I can’t quite justify. Some of
these guests even visit twice: during bisperas and on the day of the fiesta itself. The
hosts don’t mind. Such guests are very much welcome because that’s what fiestas are all
about: to showcase the legendary Filipino hospitality. I admit that I, myself, can even be
such a guest.

As a host, however, I find this rather stressful because I don’t like to keep people
waiting for the food that is not prepared yet. Even the house is still quite untidy because
of busy kitchens. Guests don’t mind this, however. Filipinos go to fiestas for the food.
Your humble and messy home doesn’t matter to them as long as their stomachs are
satisfied.

Festivities everywhere

The entire town will be busy with all sorts of festivities on the days leading up to the
fiesta. Some towns hold beauty contests and amateur singing contests usually three or
four days before. Other towns hold scheduled street parades during the week. Some of
these parades can be very colorful.
Every street in town will also have banderitas hovering over it. These are made of
plastic – usually recycled – and they are always colorful. But good luck if you decide to
bring a lorry/huge truck when you visit a town fiesta.
Some towns dare to be creative with their banderitas:
Carnival in town

A few weeks before the day of the town fiesta, a company of travelling carnival settles
in that town. They set up their attractions which usually include the common rides in
amusement parks – albeit heavily downgraded, travelling merchants, and small-time
gambling stalls. Some even bring freakshows with them.
The following is my favorite gambling attraction. It’s called color game and you can bet
whatever amount you like. However, some towns declare them illegal.
Why you go to fiestas

Now here comes the most important aspect of town fiestas: the food. As I’ve said,
people go to fiestas for the food. So, what can you expect to be served?

Let’s start with the desserts since they are the ones that are made first. A very common
dish is this:

It’s called suman and it’s simply sticky rice with sugar that is wrapped in banana or
coconut leaves. You eat it as it is or you can dip them in hot or cold coco or eat them
with ripe mangoes.

Another common star of the table is this:

Its name is ube and it is made of purple yam with coconut or condensed milk and sugar.
This one is a heavy favorite of overseas Filipino workers who get homesick and miss
their childhood food.

You can also always find these two desserts in fiestas:

It’s called buko salad and it’s made of coconuts, fruit cocktail, and coco jelly with
condensed milk and cream; and this:

It’s called leche flan and it’s made of eggs and condensed milk with a sugar syrup on
top. I believe we got this recipe from Mexicans.

My personal favorite is this:

It’s called buko pandan and it’s like buko salad above but it’s flavored with pandanus
leaves.

Now what do Filipinos do with the pig? Here are some common pork dishes in fiestas. I
will not describe them anymore because it makes me (and I’m sure you, too) hungry.

Menudo
Embutido

Dinuguan
Kaldereta
Lumpiang Shanghai

Lumpiang Sariwa/Lumpiang Ubod

The last one is not really made of pork. It’s made of vegetables, particularly the heart of
a palm tree, in an egg wrap with a sweet and savory sauce. I like it that’s why I included
it.

More affluent families will sometimes also serve this iconic food:
The Lechon

It is what you think it is.

You can encounter more sorts of dishes in each town fiesta you visit especially if the
town is a seaside town. You will surely feast your eyes on different varieties of seafood
dishes there.

In General Santos City, Manny Pacquiao’s hometown, for example, the highlight of
their fiesta is their most precious commodity: tuna. As a matter of fact, their fiesta is
called the tuna festival. Throwing up due to excessive tuna consumption is almost a
guaranteed experience if you choose to visit there.

So, there you go. This is what’s normal in the Philippines but unusual elsewhere.
Actually, I hold the belief that celebrating fiestas is just a fabulous excuse Filipinos give
themselves to eat a lot. LOL

What is normal in your country but weird in the rest of the world?

I am from Philippines and I am not sure if these are weird in some countries but I am
just going to share it.

Filipinos are working so hard but still remain poor. Philippines is poor but not the
poorest. The best example is myself I work 16-hours straight today but still broke.
Sabong/Cockfighting in the Philippines.

Traditional circumcision in Philippines or called “tuli”. Traditional circumcision doesn’t

need anesthesia; instead, the boy chews the guava leaves while the “manunuli” or
circumciser (?) removes foreskin with sharpened wooden or steel implement. The
chewed guava leaves are then placed on the wound to prevent infection.
Horse-fighting in South Cotabato, Philippines
Boodle fight in Philippines. “Boodle fight” is “a military style of eating,” in which food,
piled on top of banana leaves laid out on long tables, is to be taken with bare hands
washed with water from jugs prepared on the side, which “eating combat” begins when
the signal is given. This is normal for us and I guess in some countries too?
Traditional tattooing

Filipinos eating with bare hands and with one foot raise on the chair. I do this
sometimes when no one is watching haha. This is normal for us but I considered it
unethical.

We Filipinos are good at procrastinating or mañana habit. We procrastinate now and

panic later.

Thank you!!
10 Shocking Old-Timey Practices Filipinos Still Do Today
https://www.filipiknow.net/old-practices-filipinos-still-do-today/

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/210027/the-boodle-fight

Filipino here, and here are some things weird that you can find around my country.

Guys feel it’s okay to pee in public places if it’s an emergency

Apparently, bladder control is a problem. Public toilets are not readily available and
traffic forces you to pee in the streets.

This is the irony, "Bawal umihi dito" means "Do not pee here." See? Filipinos don’t
really listen to instructions.
It’s not that weird to see guys facing the wall and peeing.

Just a little rain causes floods due to a lack of city planning, and inability to clean
the sewers

Many Filipinos still do not throw trash properly thus clogging the sewers.
Hence, with just a little wind and rain, this happens.
Wash, dry and repeat.
This photo is in Roxas Boulevard. Here’s the news: LOOK: Piles of garbage thrown
back by Manila Bay spill onto Roxas Boulevard.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/663785/piles-of-garbage-thrown-back-
by-manila-bay-spill-onto-roxas-boulevard/story/
Floods are a way of life and it’s not a weird thing for us anymore. The same places that
flood keep on flooding every single time it rains.

And yet, we never solve our problems through the decades. Sigh.

Our traffic is world famous

Most people spend 1–3 hours commuting to and from work via jeep, UV, bus or
MRT/LRT. To get to work at 9:00am, I have staff who leave their homes at 7:00am to
beat the traffic.
It takes me 30 minutes to get anywhere within my area. If it’s in another area, 45
minutes to over an hour.

We usually calculate traffic already when traveling. However, when anyone is late, they
blame this on Filipino time.

Most likely, it’s just us underestimating the traffic.

Many people living in the city live in the squatter area

The houses are made up of GI sheets (yero) and are illegally built on private land.
Families who live there are congested and it’s usual for 8–10 people to live in a small
space.

It’s a bit sad but a common way of life. While there is move to remove shanty towns,
they’re not usually successful as politicians need the squatter vote during elections.
Manila is not all poor though. We have a newly developed area called Bonifacio
Global City that somewhat looks and feels like Singapore.
Divorce is not legal here. The only way out of a broken marriage is a very
expensive annulment.

Having kids then without getting married is very common since divorce is not an
option. There are a lot of illegitimate kids in the Philippines.

It’s very common for the masses to have 2–4 partners in their lifetime, and have kids
with different husbands.
Kids are a blessing from God so abortion and contraception are still not as widely
accepted.

Here is an amazing video that talks about The Philippines’ Baby Factory

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2018/01/philippines-baby-factory-
180117092641851.html

We love to eat pork and eat almost everything that’s part of the pig including the
head (sisig), intestines, tail etc.

This is sisig, made up of chopped pig’s head, onion and sauces. Very delicious
especially with rice.

This is isaw, grilled intestines in a skewer.

There’s also the world famous Lechon…
Pork adobo.
Pork menudo.

And chicharon which is fried pig’s skin. Best served dipped with spiced vinegar.

No, we do not waste any part of the pig.

Filipinos like to sing and dance, and it’s not weird when someone starts singing
softly out of the blue
It’s not a weird thing for us. Thankfully, the Filipino talent is undeniable and they are
actually in tune!

Filipinos bursting out singing is positive vibes all around.

There are a usually lot more waiters in a given restaurant in the Philippines

If you go to a restaurant here, you can see there’s usually a lot of servers and waiters at
your beck and call.
Personally, I feel it’s for redundancy.

Filipinos can be sometimes not that reliable to getting to work. Some people live in
flood prone areas and cannot leave their house when it rains. Some have family
problems or don’t have enough money to get to work.

Having lots of servers and cashier ensure smooth business operation. It ensures that
even if someone goes absent, the business will still run smoothly.

There are security guards EVERYWHERE

Yes, given the amount of petty crime, it’s unsurprising that businesses will hire security
guards to guard not just the banks or the jewelry store but also:

Your normal restaurants – they technically just help open and close the door for you.
Here is a guard outside Starbucks.

It’s not that it’s super unsafe, but guards are just a deterrent for petty thieves.

I’m personally ok with it. Actually, it’s good because it provides Filipinos decent
respectable jobs.
Bonus Answer: Filipinos eat rice with EVERYTHING

Thanks to Alex for suggesting this but what he said is TRUE!

For breakfast, we silog it and eat Viands with one cup rice and fried egg.

Yes, Filipino breakfasts are yummy.

For lunch and dinner, same thing!

Even our McDonald’s have rice meals on offer:
And if all else fails, there's always rice with salt and soy sauce.

Hope you enjoyed my list! :)

“Mall loving Filipinos”

(Solar powered mall, Robinson’s Mall)

When I was 6 or 7 years old, I can remember my grandmother telling me the story about
how she met my grandfather in the 60s. It was in a town plaza where teens like her
would usually hangout. They would sit at a wooden bench eating turon (deep fried
banana in egg rolls with caramelized sugar) after attending the mass at the local church.
A Filipino town or city plaza is like a public square that is usually surrounded by a
church, market, government office, school, etc. Events are held such as festivals,
political campaigns, Christmas programs and even singing/dancing contests.

Back in the day, going to the plaza is a part of the daily life of being a Filipino.

(A typical Filipino public plaza)

Time is changing... and so is the daily grind of Filipinos.

Usually, people would go to the mall for groceries, new clothes, dinner and/or movies.

In our country, a mall is our new plaza. The following are usual in our malls that are
unusual in other countries.

Not feeling well? Go to the mall to get checked.

Need to sue someone?

Or pay your water/electric bills?

Government transactions. They had a sign that says, “Pay your taxes with a smile”. I
tried, but they need cash.

They’ll do the dirty work for you.

If you want to lose weight, go to the gym. Procrastination is second…

Tired of running away? Learn self-defense.

How about ice skating?

Tired of lotto? Try bingo!

Chinese New Year festival celebrated by Filipino-Chinese (Dragon Dance)

Job and career fairs in malls.

Call centers? Yes, they are lurking in our malls.

Does your date fancy a rooftop garden/park?

or a modern urban gondola ride?

Filipinos are crazy with malls. Almost every city (some remote towns) has at least one.
Due to our craziness with malls, we have three out of the top 10 biggest malls in the
world.
Philippines

on the subject of food

McDonald’s here serves Spaghetti

(it’s called McSpaghetti)

Coffee is mixed in rice

I personally don’t do it but I know a lot of folks who love it.

Almost all parts of a chicken are used for food.
not in photo but also used for food: intestines which is commonly barbecued

We have dishes that’s cooked one-time on large quantities and gets served
repeatedly for days, sometimes weeks

no one gets tired of eating the same stuff

While buffets are in, eating with our hands with other people with all of the food
on a banana leaf is still a native and a common, social style in our country

Whenever celebrating birthdays or special occasions, we roast a whole pig, and it’s
more important than the cake!

It’s called Lechon

Fun to know :))

“What is normal in your country but weird in the rest of the world?”

From the Philippines here,

1. Pagmamano (Mano)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordzagato/13905634320

This is our typical greetings for our elderly relatives or family friends. It is our way of
showing respect by taking the elder’s hand and places the back of it to their forehead.
We called it in Filipino as pagmamano (I cannot find direct English translation of that
word, but the short English word that correspond to the pagmamano is ‘bless’, like,
“There is your grandpa, go on and bless to him” which sounds like a weird sentence.)
So, if other cultures have forehead-to-forehead, nose-to-nose and kiss-to-cheek
greetings, we have pagmamano as a sign of respect.

2. Inability to say no

A Filipino quirk that many a time frustrates foreigners as much as it confuses them is
when locals refuse to give an outright decline or negation. Filipinos, in general, don’t
like confrontations, and many avoid saying ‘no’ at all costs. Instead, they’ll give the
Tagalog equivalent to a ‘maybe’, an ‘alright, we’ll see’, or an ‘I’ll try.’ So should a
Filipino be invited to a gathering, and he says ‘I’ll try,’ there’s a 50/50 chance he won’t
make an appearance. Pay attention to the words they use and their tone of delivery –
you’ll soon recognize what a Filipino ‘no’ sounds like.

3. Eating using bare hands

An example of boodle-fight eating.

Eating using your hands is generally frowned upon. Western cultures see it as being
unhygienic, barbaric, and taboo. However, in certain Asian countries it’s a perfectly
normal way of eating your food. This is especially true in the Philippines.

Kamayan, or the act of eating food with your hands, is not only a practical way of eating
your food (as it eliminates the need to clean spoons and forks), but also a good way of
bonding with the locals. It breaks social boundaries, and is seen by most Filipinos as a
better way of enjoying your food. This is also the most enjoyable way of eating in a
“boodle-fight”, as shown in the picture above.

4. Using ‘po’ and ‘opo’

Respect is essential in Filipino culture. There are even particles of speech in Tagalog,
such as ‘po’ and ‘opo’, that are used to express politeness when speaking to elders. In
fact, these two words and their usage are taught to children from a very young age so
that they may get used to it and grow up knowing how to speak with respect, like in
Japanese where ‘san’, ‘chan’, ‘sama’, ‘kun’ and others are being used. This high regard
for honor is also the reason that there are titles used to politely address other people.
First names are almost exclusively used for your peers of around the same age. For
older people, there are titles such as ate (older sister), kuya (older brother), tito (uncle),
tita (aunt), lolo (grandfather), and lola (grandmother), all of which are used depending
on the age of the person you’re addressing, regardless of whether or not they are
actually related to you.

So far these are the things that I can think of that are considered “weird”.
Thanks

Some of you may already be familiar with this picture but most of you are not. This
duck egg or “balut” is one of the favorites of most people than any other street foods in
our country. It is an unhatched baby duck that has been incubated for up to 20 days
before it to be ready to boiled and eat. Sounds crazy right? Yes, it’s crazy but must to
try if you are planning to take on holidays to Philippines! It is eaten with little amount
of vinegar and a pinch of salt to enhance the taste but others prefer eating balut without
any seasoning. So, if you are too curious and want to try, my tip is crack the top of the
egg and try to eat a yellow part first by using spoon and there you go take it easy
because it’s a process for those first timers.

I’m from the Philippines. One thing I find weird about our culture is that if you tell off
a group of people for being noisy in a public place (except maybe in libraries), you are
the one who will be considered rude, not the other way around.

Filipino culture is inclined towards the extroverted side. People here are encouraged
(Ilabas mo!) and are almost expected to express themselves emotionally. You are also
socially obligated to tolerate other people’s form of extraversion, self-expression or
their “one person’s show”, unlike in other Asian countries like Japan where you are
supposed to respect other people’s space, which includes minimizing your noise.

In fact, it’s common for Filipinos to speak (or play music) loudly in public transport and
blast their karaokes during a birthday celebration in their neighborhood without even
thinking about the noise they will create or if it will bother others. As a good neighbor,
you are expected to tolerate the noise, and trust that when it is your turn to blast your
karaoke, your neighbors will tolerate it, too. Or they might even join you.

As an introverted Pinoy, this drives me crazy.

SPOON AND FORK. Filipinos use spoon and fork instead of fork and knife in every
meal of the day, like, EVER.

RICE. Filipinos like rice like any other Asian country, but we always pair it with
anything. From chicken, pork, soup, to powdered milk, we always pair it with anything.
A meal without rice isn’t considered a meal here.
Yes, that is Durian and Milo on Rice. I don’t eat it because I find it disgusting, but my
relatives do. Even Malaysians are disgusted of this photo lol

SWEET SPAGHETTI. I think Philippines is the only country in the world that likes
this spaghetti. I found out that spaghetti/pasta isn’t supposed to be sweet less than a year
ago.

JEEPNEYS. After World War 2, America left their war vehicles here in the
Philippines, so we improvised them, and it became a symbol of art/icon for the
Philippines and Filipinos. Today, it is the most common way of transportation. No two
jeepneys are decorated or painted the same way.

People riding on top of any vehicle is illegal, but it’s quite common in rural and/or less
urban areas

Unfortunately, the government is phasing out these iconic kings of the road because
they are too old (most are more than 15 years old), and produce too much smoke. See:
End of the road for Jeepneys?

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23352851

JOLLIBEE. The rest of the world has McDonald’s but we Pinoys have our very own
Jollibee. This iconic bee is the number one fast food chain in the country, and The
States’ “McDo” is far far behind it. Cities can have at least one Jollibee branch and no
McDo (I speak from experience of traveling the whole country). Don’t believe me? See
for yourself: Jollibee to continue stinging McDonald’s despite labor issues.

https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/amp.rappler.com/business/165545-jollibee-
mcdonalds-contractualization-issues-philippines
The 3Bs. Basketball. Boxing. Beauty Pageants. Filipinos always look forward to the
three.

Every NBA finals, many Filipinos watch them, and some even gamble (including me).
One can see basketball ring anywhere. Some near the edge of a cliff, on the small spaces
between houses, and even inside house lots. Boys like to spend their time watching or
playing basketball.
You can see from the photo that there are destroyed trees and a wrecked building
despite the blue skies. This is because this photo was taken just a short while after
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on December 2013. These boys enjoy a game to seek relief
and happiness after a devastating typhoon. Yolanda is known as the deadliest typhoon
that hit Philippines, and strongest landfalling tropical cyclone before Patricia beat it
two years later.

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is the most famous Filipino boxer, and every time he has a
match, the criminal rate nationwide goes down as people are busy watching his fight.
This is one of the many examples: PNP: Zero crime rate in Metro Manila during
Pacquiao-Mayweather bout

https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/newsinfo.inquirer.net/689013/pnp-zero-crime-rate-
in-metro-manila-during-pacquiao-mayweather-bout/amp

Filipinos are fond of beauty pageants, and we like to have them in events. In barangay
feasts, school events, citywide, regionwide, and nationwide events, beauty pageants are
always there.
Miss Universe titleholders from the Philippines. As you can see, each titleholder
represents a color of the Philippine Flag. This is a detail Filipino fans enjoyed

The pageant that we always look forward to is Miss Universe. In my personal

experience, during our second period, we suddenly became brave and waited for the
livestream on YouTube in our phones (there is a gadget ban in our school), but the
teacher teaching in front didn’t mind us. This is also the same day of our research/thesis
title defense, but the judges never showed up. Minutes of waiting, and they still didn’t
show up, so we ran to the nearest television we could find. When Catriona was
announced the winner, the students left in our classroom told us (when we got back)
that they heard cheers and shouts from the faculty, meaning that the panel of teachers
didn’t show up to our defense because they were also watching Miss Universe (the
teachers also admitted this by the way lol).

Philippines is one of the famous country with a great beautiful Islands. I am proud to be
a Filipino because of our inspiring delight culture, colorful heritage and our optimistic
attitude. Filipinos provide a warm hospitality to all. An incomparable love for family
and funny human beings.

I am sharing which are normal in Philippines but weird in the rest of the world.

Balot (duck egg with embryo) sold at ₱15.00 ONLY.

Eating Balut is a must to include in your diet and contains nutrients beneficial to the
health. :D This is incubated for 18 days. When foreigners see balot for the first time you
can see their face saying like “Ew”! But it is a must try exotic food in the Philippines. I
promise it is so delicious.

Isaw (sold at ₱5.00 only per stick)

This is a street food made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines. The intestines are
cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again, repeating the process several times; they
are then either boiled, then grilled, or immediately grilled on sticks.

Lechon baboy (roasted suckling pig)

Lechon is prepared throughout the year for any special occasion, during festivals, and
the holidays.

Dinuguan
Savory stew usually of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart, and
snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and
vinegar.

Boodle fight (eating with the hands)

In the photo foreigners are getting used to eat with hands especially in the islands and
beaches. This is quite FUN!

In the Philippines, friends and family gather for a boodle fight, a fabulous feast served
atop banana leaves and eaten with bare hands.

IS IT WEIRD?

Mano po! (honoring-gesture)

It is a way of requesting a blessing from the elder.

When SEPTEMBER month is approaching

Filipinos from around the world mark September 1st as the beginning of the
countdown to Christmas. Isn’t cool?
Only in the Philippines: A new year with a lot of jumping, throwing coins & polka
dots!

Jumping when the clock strikes twelve is believed to make people grow taller
It doesn’t matter where the polka dot pattern is. It could on your shirt, shoes, or even on
your underwear, round shapes are said to bring in prosperity and wealth.

So those are normal in our country but weird in the rest of the world.

Thank you for dropping here. :)

Here in Philippines:

1. When two or more people are talking in front of your way and you have to walk
pass through them, Filipinos will have this gesture in order to excuse themselves,
and not disturb people talking. We bend our stomach forward with two arms
horizontally pointing the floor walking in front of them, swiftly. It’s like hunchback
posture.

2. Dried fish or “tuyo” (is salted fish, sun dried usually fried when cooked) is very
common dish in every Filipino. But should not be served when you have foreign
friends. As I have experienced when this Filipino cook includes this dish during
 breakfast and for your information, this dried fish when being cooked, the smell
really lingers everywhere even in the other room. So, when time comes that the
Norwegian guys have to take their breakfast, the smell for them is really disgusting,
so they backed out and returned to their room, pissed.

3. We call everyone ‘Sir’. Our boss, teacher, people with higher ranks in the room, in
the government or in business, even to a foreigner or to a stranger who are rich
looking. :p

Winking in Philippines is not common, as this means you are flirting with him/her. So,
avoid doing it, you’ll be called pervert or such.

Lip power. Some Filipinos, when being asked where to find things example nail cutter
or comb, they will point at it using their lips, instead of finger. Same is true when giving
directions.

Washing of feet before sleep. I don’t know if this is common to other countries but this
has been our routine, maybe not for those who take shower before sleep of course.

Filipinos wanted to have pale or whiter skin. So, most of the people invest in these
whitening products as people find beauty in white skin.

Speaking local language or dialect in the classroom/inside school premises is prohibited.

Some elementary and high schools wanted their students to speak English all the time,
so when you’re caught there will be consequences.

99.9% of Filipino men are circumcised. I don’t know anyone who is uncircumcised. But
I don’t ask of it, of course. Lol.

Filipinos love singing regardless if you sound like a mosquito. So, just for your
information, in every celebration there will be like a singing competition. Neighbors
good night sleep is at stake though.

PHILIPPINES

I know there is probably so many things but I will pick some

Jeepney

This transportation is the most popular and people usually pay by passing the payment
from each passenger until it reaches the driver then if there is a change it will be passed
from drivers to passengers until it reaches the rightful owner.
BAYANIHAN is something Filipinos are familiar with

Imagine what happens if you need to move houses.

It looks like this

These days they do less of this as most houses are already concrete and permanently
cemented but for those who lives in Nipa huts this is still common.

and lastly… you can find food everywhere.

FOOD vendors while stuck in traffic jam. You will never go hungry
1. Softdrinks
2. Bread
3. Newspaper
4. Cigarette
5. Water
6. Chips
7. Peanuts
8. Candy
9. Chocolates

There are many vendors who make a living like this.

In a traffic jam like this I consider it a blessing.

Philippines here, and this’ll be an interesting list.

1. When you set a call time to gather together at one place, expect that we arrive 1–
2hrs later, so set the time advance if you want us to be on time.

2. When riding the jeepney, when someone passes the fair to the driver, you have to
pass it along until it reaches him, and pass any change back to the person who gave
it. It’s courtesy, rarely does one steal when passing along another’s jeepney fair.

3. We have a dish made of pig’s blood that’s actually a lot tasty than what it looks like.

4. We usually point directions to others with our lips if we know that the place you are
looking for is close by.

5. There is a bag check whenever you enter any malls.

6. Most Filipinos live with their parents, grandparents, and even aunts and uncles in a
single house.

7. We don’t normally eat much in Filipino restaurants in other countries because we

value home cooked meals if we crave filo food.

8. We all don’t speak Tagalog… there are multiple languages in the Philippines.

9. Traffic is bad here and learned to adapt to it, if you are going somewhere far, leave
at least an hour or two earlier to avoid rush hour.

10. We serve ice cream scoops between burger buns.

11. Spaghetti here is sweet, not sour.

12. We eat with our hands sometimes, or with spoon and forks, not many Filipinos eat
with chopsticks.
13. Canned food in the Philippines is really good, no really, go try it.

14. This is perfectly normal to do when rush hour happens.

Here are few of unusual Filipino practices most foreigners won’t understand.

Pagmamano

A scene that may seem rather peculiar to the foreign traveler is when Filipino children
come up to their parents or grandparents upon arriving home or seeing them, and
instead of greeting them with a hug or a kiss, they take the elder’s hand and places the
back of it to their forehead. This gesture is known as pagmamano. It is an act of respect,
usually done to someone either older or a person of the religious order (usually a priest).
It is usually accompanied by saying ‘mano po’, mano meaning ‘hand’ in Spanish and
po, a particle in Filipino speech used to express respect. This saying is used to ask for
the elder’s hand, followed by a slight bow and the act of touching the hand to the
forehead. People do this action as if to receive the elder’s blessing, to which they would
normally reply, ‘God bless you’. Pagmamano is like the Filipino counterpart to Japan’s
bowing and Spain’s double cheek kiss.
‘Filipino time’

While many Filipinos have recognized this unfavorable stereotype and are making
attempts to change it, the country is still quite known for running on what is known as
‘Filipino time’, which is essentially a euphemism for saying that Filipinos are always
late. When Filipinos agree on a specific time, say for a meeting or an event, it is, more
often than not, understood to actually mean around 15 minutes to half an hour after the
agreed upon time. So, don’t be surprised when Filipino gatherings almost always turn
out to begin later than planned.

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/11-stereotypes-all-filipinos-hate/

Inability to say ‘no’

A Filipino quirk that many a time frustrates foreigners as much as it confuses them is
when locals refuse to give an outright decline or negation. Filipinos, in general, don’t
like confrontations, and many avoid saying ‘no’ at all costs. Instead, they’ll give the
Tagalog equivalent to a ‘maybe’, an ‘alright, we’ll see’, or an ‘I’ll try.’ So should a
Filipino be invited to a gathering, and he says ‘I’ll try,’ there’s a 50/50 chance he won’t
make an appearance. Pay attention to the words they use and their tone of delivery –
you’ll soon recognize what a Filipino ‘no’ sounds like.
Being both religious and superstitious

The country’s transitional history under different foreign colonizers brought with it
varying influences, including that of religion and belief systems. During pre-colonial
times, the area of what is now known as the Philippine archipelago practiced a form of
animism. Archaeological research also found traces of Buddhism. Then, when the
Spanish came, massive movements to convert Filipinos to Christianity took place,
leaving the country to this day with a majority of its population Roman Catholic. And
with many Filipinos possessing Chinese ancestry, they have adopted belief systems
from that culture as well. This diversity is why the Philippines is so unique in its
spiritual aspects. It’s a country with millions of devotees cramming the streets of Manila
during the Feast of the Black Nazarene and with people actually flagellating and
crucifying themselves during Holy Week Good Friday. However, it’s also a country
with people who refuse to go directly home after a wake (for fear that the spirit follows
them home) and forbid that the weddings of two immediate family members fall within
the same year (in fear of bad luck).
Rare use of first names

Respect is essential in Filipino culture. There are even particles of speech in Tagalog,
such as ‘po’ and ‘opo’, that are used to express politeness when speaking to elders. In
fact, these two words and their usage are taught to children from a very young age so
that they may get used to it and grow up knowing how to speak with respect. This high
regard for honor is also the reason that there are titles used to politely address other
people. First names are almost exclusively used for your peers of around the same age.
For older people, there are titles such as ate (older sister), kuya (older brother), tito
(uncle), tita (aunt), lolo (grandfather), and lola (grandmother), all of which are used
depending on the age of the person you’re addressing, regardless of whether or not they
are actually related to you.

I’m a Filipina and these are the “normal” things in the Philippines that are quite weird or
not normal in the rest of the world:

Nguso (pout) – When you ask a Filipino for directions, instead of pointing by hands or
fingers, sometimes they would point by pouting.
Security guards are everywhere. An Australian friend told me about this, and I’ve
noticed the same too… Whenever I travel abroad, they don’t have a lot of security
guards.
Family ties. Filipino family ties are just too much for me. Some Filipinos who are
married and have kids still stay in their parents’ home. I’m a Filipino, but such thing
isn’t practiced into our family… We were told to leave once we’re working, married or
not.

Topless men along the streets. Being topless is usually common along the beach.
However, in the Philippines, you will see topless men along the city streets.
Public establishments (overpass, bridges, public school walls, barangay halls, tents)
with the politician’s name on it. Lol. You will see a lot of overpass here with labels
“Donated by Mayor Blah Blah Blah”.

Disclaimer: Photos are not mine. Everything I posted here, I found them on Google.

PHILIPPINES REPRESENT

Pagmamano

A scene that may seem rather peculiar to the foreign traveler is when Filipino children
come up to their parents or grandparents upon arriving home or seeing them, and
instead of greeting them with a hug or a kiss, they take the elder’s hand and places the
back of it to their forehead. This gesture is known as pagmamano. It is an act of respect,
usually done to someone either older or a person of the religious order (usually a priest).
It is usually accompanied by saying ‘mano po’, mano meaning ‘hand’ in Spanish and
po, a particle in Filipino speech used to express respect. This saying is used to ask for
the elder’s hand, followed by a slight bow and the act of touching the hand to the
forehead. People do this action as if to receive the elder’s blessing, to which they would
normally reply, ‘God bless you’. Pagmamano is like the Filipino counterpart to Japan’s
bowing and Spain’s double cheek kiss.
‘Filipino Time’

While many Filipinos have recognized this unfavorable stereotype and are making
attempts to change it, the country is still quite known for running on what is known as
‘Filipino time’, which is essentially a euphemism for saying that Filipinos are always
late. When Filipinos agree on a specific time, say for a meeting or an event, it is, more
often than not, understood to actually mean around 15 minutes to half an hour after the
agreed upon time. So, don’t be surprised when Filipino gatherings almost always turn
out to begin later than planned.

Inability to say ‘no’

A Filipino quirk that many a time frustrates foreigners as much as it confuses them is
when locals refuse to give an outright decline or negation. Filipinos, in general, don’t
like confrontations, and many avoid saying ‘no’ at all costs. Instead, they’ll give the
Tagalog equivalent to a ‘maybe’, an ‘alright, we’ll see’, or an ‘I’ll try.’ So should a
Filipino be invited to a gathering, and he says ‘I’ll try,’ there’s a 50/50 chance he won’t
make an appearance. Pay attention to the words they use and their tone of delivery –
you’ll soon recognize what a Filipino ‘no’ sounds like.
Being both religious and superstitious

The country’s transitional history under different foreign colonizers brought with it
varying influences, including that of religion and belief systems. During pre-colonial
times, the area of what is now known as the Philippine archipelago practiced a form of
animism. Archaeological research also found traces of Buddhism. Then, when the
Spanish came, massive movements to convert Filipinos to Christianity took place,
leaving the country to this day with a majority of its population Roman Catholic. And
with many Filipinos possessing Chinese ancestry, they have adopted belief systems
from that culture as well. This diversity is why the Philippines is so unique in its
spiritual aspects. It’s a country with millions of devotees cramming the streets of Manila
during the Feast of the Black Nazarene and with people actually flagellating and
crucifying themselves during Holy Week Good Friday. However, it’s also a country
with people who refuse to go directly home after a wake (for fear that the spirit follows
them home) and forbid that the weddings of two immediate family members fall within
the same year (in fear of bad luck).
Rare use of first names

Respect is essential in Filipino culture. There are even particles of speech in Tagalog,
such as ‘po’ and ‘opo’, that are used to express politeness when speaking to elders. In
fact, these two words and their usage are taught to children from a very young age so
that they may get used to it and grow up knowing how to speak with respect. This high
regard for honor is also the reason that there are titles used to politely address other
people. First names are almost exclusively used for your peers of around the same age.
For older people, there are titles such as ate (older sister), kuya (older brother), tito
(uncle), tita (aunt), lolo (grandfather), and lola (grandmother), all of which are used
depending on the age of the person you’re addressing, regardless of whether or not they
are actually related to you.

Typical table utensils are spoons and forks

Usually, a very basic table set-up anywhere else in the world includes a knife and a fork.
People will only see a spoon if there will be some soup and a teaspoon for desserts. In
the Philippines, however, unless harder, larger cuts of meat are part of the meal, the
knife is unnecessary, and a spoon takes its place. Filipinos use forks and spoons
essentially because almost every meal always includes rice. The spoon is much more
useful in carrying the rice and other food items, and the fork is used simply to push
them onto the spoon.
Greeting someone with ‘Have you eaten?’

Perhaps to say the Filipino day (and life) revolves around food would not be too big of
an overstatement. This country is a largely food-loving one. With three huge meals a
day, several snacks in between, and every event throughout the year celebrated with a
feast – food is at the heart of everything Filipino; this is the main reason Filipinos are
very fond of greeting with ‘Kumain ka na ba?’ (‘Have you eaten?’). They’ll invite you
to join them for a meal or snack, or they’ll simply feed you, especially if it’s an elder
asking you (they really do take sheer joy in doing so). So, if you come across a Filipino
and he greets you with one of these instead of a ‘how’s it going?’, he isn’t being nosy
about your eating habits; this is simply a very common way for Filipinos to greet one
another.

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-best-traditional-filipino-dishes-
you-need-to-try/
Once me, my brother and my cousin been to a trip to Philippines. We were in an island
named Cebu, doing some adventure sport. Two local guides aged around 23 helped us at
that place. We were sharing our whereabouts, itinerary and other personal stuffs. They
were so shocked about one thing. “How come you guys are still single at this age.” We
were aged 28, 24 and 23 at that time. I told them this is common in India and so
common in our state called Tamilnadu.

As this is a common thing our country it is so weird for them. What surprises me was,
not having a girl friend is uncommon in Europe, America and some other countries but I
never imagined that even in Philippines it is weird.

I live in the Philippines.

If trains and buses are the most common mode of transportation in other countries,
jeepneys are the king of the roads in my country.
Meat blood? Meat intestines? Meat livers? They are usually thrown in other countries.
But in my country, they are common street foods!
If in other countries they usually use 3d arts to slow drivers…
It’s normal in my country
Epic fail government projects

Metro train breakdowns

And even though I hate to say and post… extra judicial killings :(

I was born and raised in the Philippines, and these are just some of the best things I
could possibly think of:

Sense of humor

Filipinos are happy people in general. If you come here, you will meet a lot of people
that will smile and joke around even if something bad has happened (e.g. heavy
flooding, super typhoons, you name it!). There is simply something to make fun of in
every situation, and every Filipino will manage to smile even in challenging times. You
can take a look at this article for example.
https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/10188-filipino-humor-persists-in-times-of-disaster

Simply, there is a MEME for everything. Especially when a typhoon hits the country
and there’s flooding everywhere, it’s like a coping mechanism to see Filipinos
‘meming’ this in social media or just laugh at it even in person.

Here’s a picture of Filipinos just laughing while wading the floodwaters:

And a meme:
Offering food to people whenever you are eating

If you come to the Philippines and you come across a person eating and they offer you
to eat, don’t be surprised! It’s very common here to offer food to everyone, even if it’s
just a new neighbor passing by.

It’s common that when another person sees you eating, you will instantly offer then to
eat and say “Kain! (Eat!)”. Most of the time though, they don’t really expect you to
accept, because most Filipinos really don’t. This is just a sort of polite action, I guess.
But it’s completely okay to accept though, they will give you food if you want!

‘Po’ and ‘Opo’

Asian countries do have something about respect but I don’t think there’s something
like ‘po’ and ‘opo’ of the Philippines that can match to other countries. These two
words are polite words, usually added in either the middle or the end of the sentence
when you are talking to elder people, strangers, the higher ups, etc. ‘Opo’ is the polite
way of saying “yes”, while ‘po’ is that part of the sentence that you add in between or at
the end to make it a polite sentence. As far as I know, there really is no rule on when to
put ‘po’ in a sentence, it just comes naturally.

For example, you want to ask the personnel in a building for directions to the toilet. In
Filipino, you are supposed to say “Excuse me po, saan po ‘yung comfort room?” or
something along the lines. That sentence means “Excuse me, where is the comfort
room?”. In that sentence, you can only put ‘po’ after the Excuse me and after the saan
(where). You can’t put it after ‘yung because that would be incorrect. While you can put
it after comfort room, it would sound unnatural and uncomfortable to the locals’ ears,
and it would almost sound as if you only added it as an afterthought, like you didn’t
even intend to be polite in the first place.
Respect to the elderly are very widely practiced here, but more into this in the next thing
on my list.

‘Mano po’/Pagmamano

Like I said above, respect to the elderly is widely practiced in the Philippines.
Pagmamano is an action done when you see an elder person, your parents, your
grandparents, your uncle, your aunt, your mom’s friends or your dad’s kumpares, your
godparents, etc.
In my older books, they used to translate pagmamano as kissing the hands of the elders
but nowadays, I don’t see any more books translate this word. That translation is quite
incorrect, because when you do it, you don’t kiss their hands. Your forehead will just
touch their hands. If you don’t do this, it is considered not respectful.

Bands

Yes, you read it right. Bands. While bands are completely normal in every country, you
would be surprised at the popularity of bands in the Philippines. Pop music and pop
artists are in the mainstream, but not a lot of people likes listening to them, really. More
Filipinos prefer listening to bands, which usually are alternative rock bands. Unlike in
other Asian countries, pop groups are not popular here. Bands are very widespread and
supported by both the elder and younger age, and if you ask the elders about a certain
band that went popular during their time, expect a reminiscing answer!

There are probably a lot more things I forgot to mention, but here are just some that I
could possibly think of. Hope you enjoyed reading this!

The Philippines

Using lips to point at something

If you are asking which way or who is, don’t curious if someone do this to you. It is
another alternative over the pointer finger.
Eating Rice Thrice A Day

Rice is a staple food among Filipinos. They eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Even if there’s limited dish available, it’s not a problem as long as rice is present, and
they’ll just use condiments such as toyo (soy sauce), suka (vinegar), or bagoong (shrimp
paste) to spice up a simple meal.

Using Tabo (Dipper) In Restrooms

It’s only in the Philippines where locals use a dipper or tabo as a primary hygiene tool
in the bathroom for the purposes of bathing, personal cleansing, flushing the toilet, and
cleaning the tiled floor.
Buying items in small units

Aside from supermarkets and grocery stores, there are local convenience stores called
sari-sari (variety) stores found almost in every neighborhood. This will able to purchase
something you need.

When Someone lend your hand and touch it with their forehead.

Sometimes, we eat foods using the banana leaves

This one is one of the most popular habit in the Philippines that is strange in others. We
do this when our family gathered and eat using our hands instead of spoons.
Originally, we are rich in good values, morals, attitudes and habits. They are the
legacies that our ancestors have left us.

From the Philippines.

During a dead person’s funeral, attendees sing on the videoke box, eat and drink a lot,
and – the biggest of them all – engage in gambling games.

The last part is used as a form of donation and fundraising for the relatives of the
recently-departed.