Things you found strange about the Philippines

[Ban Hammer 12,880]

this thread is about "things you found strange about the philippines"

stay on topic.

[JoBri 545]

I Guess that is considered "taboo" off limits! I never kissed my Fiance ever in public, I was told that was the norm there. I been there 5 times and i have NEVER seen anyone kissing in public, You right!

Hehe... I always show my wife the old movies, like in WW2 when the train is getting ready to leave the station as the man is going off to war, the woman hanging from the man's embrace with feet kicked up as they passionately kiss goodbye. I say "See?? That is how it is here! Who cares what anyone else thinks when you are parting for who knows how long?" But I understand the cultural difference. But as an American, I guess I just think "Who gives a hoot what anyone ELSE thinks? All that matters is us."

[JoBri 545]

Hey, Jollibee is one of the things Filipinos overseas miss. You're not a Pinoy if you don't like Jollibee. And when your fiancee gets here, you would find yourself driving for miles just to get her "terrible" foods from Jollibee.

Yep, good thing we have one in NYC. The wife is always asking me to bring her burgersteak or let's go to Jollibee.

We dont have Jollibee here in Knoxville, Tennessee, at least not that I am aware of. We dont have Chowking either. So my wife has to settle for my "awful" hehe cooking instead, which she incidentally never complains of, although I am sure of a few times when I know it was awful. I made her a great meal of Chinese Sesame Chicken last night though, with rice from the rice cooker, so that when she got home from work it was all laid out, chinese style, and we sat on the floor and ate by candlelight with chop stix, and watching a Filipino movie.

I found it strange that people there actually will trust the food from the street-side vendors. I dont care if some of those vendors are government approved, I still wouldnt trust them.

[Dan and Judy 614]

Hey speaking of religion; they realy crucify people in the philippines around easter time

[Dan and Judy 614]

Hey, Jollibee is one of the things Filipinos overseas miss. You're not a Pinoy if you don't like Jollibee. And when your fiancee gets here, you would find yourself driving for miles just to get her "terrible" foods from Jollibee.

Yep, good thing we have one in NYC. The wife is always asking me to bring her burgersteak or let's go to Jollibee.

http://www.jollibeeusa.com/storelocator.html

in case anyone is interested here is a list of jollibees in the US

[Dan and Judy 614]

I'm working the graveyard shift and have nothing better to do;

3 foot long lizards under my bed going kika kika kika cooooooo. Judy said they were small and in the cieling but they were giants and they were under my bed.

Pigs make more noise in the morning than the roosters do.

between the lizards waiting to bite off my toes at night and the roosters and pigs at like 5am it was easier to nap during the day.

Confussion about flip flop etiquett, they all seem to take off their flip flops when they come in the house but they want me to wear mine in the house.

Judy was primarily in charge of making sure I had my slippers on but once when getting out of bed I told her "just relax" I don't need slippers just to

walk into the kitchen. As soon as I step into the main room, one of her cousins notices I don't have my slippers on and rushes to get me some.

Kids playing with spiders 2 inches across, not in a jar the way I played with spiders when I was a kid, they just let the spiders walk all over them.

I asked "how do you know which ones are poisonous?" they said there are no poisonous spiders in PI.

It is against the law to use your given name in the Philippines, you must have a nick name and it is preferable to have two or three.

[marizzacdo 4]

the presence of turo-turo or sari-sari store in the sidewalk or even in the neighborhood...

electrical lights are tangled

having armed security guards in every establishments

the presence of jeepney as their major way or transportation other than taxi and buses

make sure you know what C.R. means

the presence of rice in every meal, even breakfast

filipinos are not really a pet lovers like american, they feed their dogs/cats left over food (trash), fish bones

where fish sauce became an appetizer, haha

shoes/slippers from outside are not use inside the house

being late on a meeting or any gathering is pretty NORMAL

ohhh not to forget the sunset.... it gets dark at 6pm...all year long

where using of toilet paper in the bathroom of every household is not necessary

use of a small plastic container/cup in taking a shower. Most filipino's dont have shower but they still say, im taking a shower, hehehe

i hardly see woman driving school buses

so far i havent seen hot water flowing in regular faucets/sink in houses

they put ice in beer glasses

the use of spoons than forks

the presence of internet cafe's in every corner

prices jack up if you are a foreigner (not all though but most)... let me think more...

[Ban Hammer 12,880]

8 posts removed for not heeding my earlier post and continuing with the hijacking and bickering.

2 members are now unable to participate in this thread.

a reminder for others:

this thread is about "things you found strange about the philippines"

stay on topic.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

While I was there if I made eye contact with another American/Kano (or someone who just looked American) everyone assumed we knew each other. Apparently Filipinos don't publicly acknowledge the presence of others.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The urine running across the sidewalk into the street was almost as interesting as ten year kids openly selling x-rated dvds from illegal street vendor stalls.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

The urine running across the sidewalk into the street was almost as interesting as ten year kids openly selling x-rated dvds from illegal street vendor stalls.

OMG! How could I forget about the public piss stalls all over Manila? Yuck, I still can't believe those things exist.

[Dan and Judy 614]

While I was there if I made eye contact with another American/Kano (or someone who just looked American) everyone assumed we knew each other. Apparently Filipinos don't publicly acknowledge the presence of others.

If it is white guy you don't know the proper etiquett is to yell "Hey Joe". That's what I did anyway

I liked being on the elevated trolley, being squeezed in like sardines but I could see from one end of the car to the other. Ok I didn't realy like being squeezed in like a sardine.

being 6' gives you a nice view on the trolly but takes all the fun out of climbing into a jeepney with 4' clearance and once everyone is settled in and the jeepney is full some conductor like bozo

that hangs on the back of jeepney tells two more people to climb in. everyone being wet from the pouring rain adds to warm fuzzy feeling baya doa

also interesting that the guys in the back pass their money up through 2 or 3 pairs of hands and the driver seems to get the money and you get your change

[Derbo/Yamkins 4]

also interesting that the guys in the back pass their money up through 2 or 3 pairs of hands and the driver seems to get the money and you get your change

HAHA, yeah! As Americans, the only time we feel comfortable passing money around in public is to buy a few hotdogs at a baseball game

[LynAndArt 2]

Fish heads in soup.

My fiancées favorite dish is salmon head Sinigang. As a soup it taste pretty good, but, I loose it when she starts eating the head, specially the eyes.

[LynAndArt 2]

Traffic is insane yet you don't see many accidents and people don't flip each other off when someone cuts in front of some else

They call tennis shoes or sneakers, rubber shoes

Eating with a fork and spoon, no knife

At least 2 sales girls per isle in the larger stores, compared to 2 sales persons per floor here, if your lucky

Lots of posters, ads, and billboards for skin whiting creams

Signs in english

Shakey's Pizza

Heavily armed guards everywhere

The smell - hard to describe, not bad just different

School kids in catholic school uniforms walking home for lunch in the provinces

There is more ... but I cant think of it at the moment