Being Filipino

When I first arrived in the Philippines, I did not have a hard time getting around with my English and telling the taxi drivers where to go. I saw a lot of western style restaurants and shopping malls where one would feel at home, like you would in your own country. Filipinos really cater to your westernized needs and you would feel that Filipinos are very much westernized, as well.

But that is only skin-deep. Behind a Filipino is still a barrio person hidden. Many long to go back to their roots. A lot of the locals here live in housing not used to foreigners. Many work in areas where they serve the foreigners, speak like a foreigner, but their lifestyle is still very much Filipino.

Their cuisine is still of what mother cooked a generation ago, unlike the fast-food stuff many westerners eat. Bringing up their children is the Filipino way, unlike many do in the western societies.

Although, many foreigners feel a western side in the Philippines, it is only veneer thick.

Also, the local ways of doing business is different of what westerners are used to. Being a little late is polite, much bureaucracy in doing business is Filipino style, and you have other ones. The way certain things are done is also sometimes different as to what a foreigner would do.

All in all, at least they go half-way for us, to foreigners, to cater our needs, and it's very important to understand and accept their differences to live a harmonious existence with our fellow neighbours.