You Know You’re in the Philippines if…

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!