In this post, we’re diving headfirst into the time warp known as Filipino Time. It isn’t a time you’ll find on any clock – it’s a way of life. And above all, it’s the ultimate test of a Westerner’s mental stamina, frustration threshold, and capacity to accept existential chaos. If you’ve ever visited the Philippines…
Tag Archives: Filipino culture
17
heinä
heinä
There are countries where everything follows logic. And then there’s the Philippines. Here, logic doesn’t exactly disappear – it simply finds a different job and starts working under a completely different set of rules. The longer you live here, the more often you encounter what I like to call the Filipino paradox. The Filipino paradox…
05
touko
touko
Scroll through any Facebook group about the Philippines long enough, and you’ll eventually find the same question popping up again and again: “What’s it like to have a Filipina wife?” The answers usually range from “Best decision of my life” to “Bro, you have no idea…” – often followed by a mix of admiration, confusion,…
21
huhti
huhti
Tourists are back in the Philippines. You can tell from the souvenir shops – business is brisk, and suitcases are swelling with gifts. Alongside the usual trinkets, travelers can also pack a few more… distinctively “only in the Philippines” souvenirs. Like anywhere else, people flying out of the country tend to grab last-minute gifts at…
25
helmi
helmi
Let’s look beyond the familiar, into a parallel world that is part of everyday reality for many Filipinos but utterly baffling to those of us perfectly comfortable inhabiting just one reality at a time. In the Philippines, all kinds of supernatural beliefs are woven into daily life and culture. Some Filipinos will firmly deny believing…
20
marras
marras
In the previous post, I listed the most common (yet often completely wrong) stereotypes about the Philippines and Filipinos. But that was only half the story. So here are five more stubborn misconceptions that sometimes contain a grain of truth but collapse like a poorly built sandcastle when applied to an entire nation of more…
19
marras
marras
Is the Philippines truly a place where you can live like a “king” on a thousand dollars a month? Is it inherently dangerous? Is every Filipino genuinely happy, all the time? Many of the assumptions Westerners hold about the country – its cost of living, safety, or the nature of its people – are due…