I have now been in the Philippines
for four months, but in many ways it feels a lot longer than that. A couple of
days ago, my fellow languages students and I started compiling a list of some
of the unique features of life in the Philippines. This took more thought than
I expected as most of these things already seem so normal to us! Here are just
a few from my list:
You know you’re in the Philippines
if…
…you have a bank account at the
United Coconut Planters’ Bank. Yep, that is what the bank is actually called!
I’m not even kidding.
…you can buy packets of MSG at the
vegie stand. Or pretty much anywhere else, for that matter… I guess it’s kind
of like a Filipino pantry staple?
…your meal comes with unlimited
rice. Okay, so it’s actually only one restaurant I know of that does this, but
that’s not the point. The presence of rice is what gives food “meal” status. Different
types of noodles are also available everywhere, but they are considered “meryenda” foods – snacks.
…you get asked if you are jogging
every time you go for a walk. I also get told by neighbours that they saw me
“jogging”. Whilst I do walk faster than the average Filipino, I can assure you
that I most definitely am not jogging! I’m not sure, but I suspect that the
reason my walking gets labelled as jogging is because I’m wearing sneakers
rather than tsinelas (thongs/flip-flops).
…you have to check the labels of
soaps, moisturizers and deodorant if you want one without whitening agents in
it. While we are working on our tans, Filipinos are doing everything they can to
make their skin lighter.
…you pay for things with the
biggest note/bill you think they will accept because you’re always trying to
collect more small change. Until now, I had always tried to get rid of small
change because I find it annoying, but you need it for so many things in this
country. Now I often find myself intentionally trying to create change.
…you go furniture shopping and
every cabinet you look at turns out to be a shoe cabinet. I am therefore using
a shoe cabinet for my pantry, and a couple of shoe racks for additional storage!
