I’ve lived in the Philippines for almost a year now. Here are 4 quick things I’ve learned living here as a Filipino American or Californian Igorot (Igorot refers to the native Northern Filipino Mountain tribes).
1. “Philippines is an English speaking country.” That is a statement that you will hear explaining why the Philippines has a lot of call center agents and virtual assistants. Though based on my experience… if you’re brown and Filipino like me. I strongly suggest you learn Tagalog or Filipino if you’re planning to stay in the Philippines for more than a few days. Basically, level up your Tagalog, Filipino Americans who are reading this article. If you do, you’ll have a much easier time getting around in the Philippines. I’ll talk more about this “Philippines is an English speaking country” expectations vs reality in a future blog article. You can follow me on Instagram @johnj_images for updates on this Filipino American photo travel blog.
2. Fat shaming is a daily occurrence. I personally get fat shamed probably every other day. Because that’s a major part of Filipino culture. They say you’re fat as if they are stating a fact, which might be true. It’s not meant to be super offensive. It’s meant to motivate you. So be prepared to be called fat in the Philippines if you stay here for a while and you ate too many burgers in the 1st world. You privileged 1st world people with 1st world problems.
3. HUGE BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE. In the tropics they got big spiders, mosquitos, roaches, and GIANT SNAILS. Stop being a little baby and level up your ruggedness when you visit the Philippines. I’m honestly really tempted to throw bugs at my Filipino friends who are really scared of them to make them tougher when they see where they came from. Lol.
4. Pace of life is much slower. Therefore, the cost of living is much cheaper. Which also means the fancy gear you're used to seeing everyday in stores isn’t as readily available. I’ll try to write a funny story about that in the future. Developing countries with slow island style pace of life definitely has pros and cons.
Broaden your horizons. Learn new stuff. Go places. Be safe.
You can try to direct message me on Instagram or email me on the contact page to suggest future topics to write about on life in the Philippines through a “foreigner’s perspective!” I might write about it. Who knows what the future holds for this travel/lifestyle/photography blog.
Also check out my YouTube channel for more Filipino American life content.