We love Singapore and Qatar very
much. I think we have made that clear on our two previous entries. We will
forever be grateful that we are given the chance to see the beauty of other
parts of the world through these countries. And we will never get tired of
sharing our amazing experiences here to other people. But although we have much
love and appreciation for Singapore and Qatar, no country can replace that
special part in our hearts for our own, The Philippines.
And we don’t care about the
negative events that people may associate with our country. We know and
believe, that Filipinos, in general, can be considered the warmest and just
kindest people on earth. And the Philippines, once you’ve gone to every corner
of the country (we dream to be able to do that), can and will be considered a
very rich place.
And as a week-ender, we are going
to share with you some of the many reasons why there really is no place like
home or should we say, there is no place like the Philippines.
1. Filipino
hospitality
A: My mom would never use her most
loved plates and glasses for ordinary days, but wouldn’t hesitate to take them
out of their boxes for people visiting us to use. She’d also be very busy
cooking and making sure everything at home is just perfect. She’d be a very
busy hostess making sure everyone is enjoying their meal and everyone is having
a good time. She’d have entertainment for the guests, more than enough food, and
comfortable places for them to sit and relax. Just everything a king or queen
could probably ask for. And if a guest or guests are planning to stay for the
night and there is no room in the house for guests, then one family member will
have to sleep on the couch. And don’t think my mom is just being crazy, I can
bet that most moms if not all the moms in the Philippines do the same. That
shows the hospitality Filipinos are known for.
J: We’ve been brought up always
thinking that Filipino hospitality is the best in the world. And we believe
that Filipinos really know how to treat a guest, we always love to eat so
whenever a guest comes over, we make sure that tons of food will be served and
that our guests will leave not just with their stomachs full, but also with a
paper bag full of takeaways as well! We also love a hearty laugh! Talking to
people is something that comes effortless and just natural for us.
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| Photo source: veryinternational.net |
2.
Filipino customer service
A: I used to assist customers via
chat and through phone calls, and humility aside, I always used to get, “Thank
you for being so patient with me, others would have given up,” comment before
getting disconnected to people I was helping. Filipinos are very patient, and I
know its not too bold to say that NOTHING COMPARES TO FILIPINO CUSTOMER
SERVICE. You know the difference between Filipinos and others? Let’s say you go
to a hotel, you ask for direction to a non-Filipino, that person will point to
you where you need to go, and you would get there. Ask the same to a Filipino
attendant, and he/she will accompany you to where you want to go. I’m not
saying people from other countries are bad at providing customer service, they
can get the job done just fine, Filipinos, however, always go above and beyond
what is expected. And I don’t think there is anyone on earth that will not
appreciate that. (Oh btw, the story about the comparison between a Filipino and
a non-Filipino hotel attendant, was told to us by my boss who is of a different race. He went to Boracay and
after he came back, he never shut up about how the Filipino attendants in his
hotel are just amazing.)
J: It's been said that the Philippines has one of the largest BPO industries in the Philippines and maybe that's because we provide good service. We always respond to everything with patience and grace. We also really adapt well to their language or accent. Maybe the reason we're number one at this is because we're naturally polite and like my aunts in the Philippines they will raise hell to help out anyone and of that does not work then they can truly say that they did their best. That's just how we are.
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| Photo source: www.chenvel.com |
3.
Filipino smile
A: I have lost count how many
flood victims sitting on the roofs of their houses I have seen wave at the TV
camera as soon as it panned past them. Even in the middle of a calamity, Filipinos
will still find a reason to smile. Less fortunate kids may be only left with
some old, broken toys, but they will enjoy playing with those like they are
brand new.
I remember one evening during
Christmas season, while my boyfriend and I were outside school campus waiting
for some friends, three cute kids went near to where we were and started
playing. We started small talk with them, then small talk became kind of a
heart-to-heart convo. It’s amazing how people who have less are even more
thankful for what they have, and yes, they have smiles pasted on their faces. One
of those kids were proud that they were going to have slices of meat loaf /
luncheon meat for Christmas eve, while the other one was happy to have apples.
When we asked what they think about their Christmas eve meal, they all said
that they are happy and excited because on that night, their family will be
complete, then they went on with playing.
J: You can see us smile in the
news being struck by a calamity. We cry to weep what we lost but after that you
can still see us smile. We’re resilient; we rise above every time we’re put
down and kicked to the ground. It’s just what we do; we smile. We smile when we
greet each other, we smile when we talk, we can even smile while we’re singning!
Just look at our singers! Haha! We can smile through anything because we always
carry a little bit of hope and the assurance that we can be lifted by our
neighbors when we really need some pull. When we have problems, we were taught
to just laugh it off.
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| Photo source: www.digitalphotgrapher.com |
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| Photo source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4157064129514&set=t.730764585&type=3&theater |
4. PO and
OPO
A: There is nowehere else in the
world that has words like PO and OPO aside from the Philippines. These are
words we inject in our sentences when we are conversing with someone older than
us; as a sign of respect. I remember hearing my mom talk to my aunts (who are
just her age) also using PO and OPO, she did that so that I would imitate her. So
if you’re going to the Philippines and you already learned some Tagalog words,
a fool-proof way to get to show respect would be to inject PO’s and OPO’s in
your sentences.
J: These are the two words I find
very unfortunate that doesn’t have an english counterpart. It’s what we say
after a sentence whenever we’re talking to someone we respect or someone older.
It’s our sign of respect along with the usual ‘mano’. We love how these two simple words can make all the
difference when talking to someone older, it can also be sweet!
5. Tito,
tita, nanay, tatay, ate, kuya, etc
A: These words are what we use to
address mostly people related to us, BUT we also use them for strangers,
especially those older than us, again, as a sign of respect. We find addressing
older people who are not related to us using their first name as disrespectful.
So instead, ladies a little older than I am is called an “ate”, while an even
older women are “tita” or “nanay”. And
older men are called, “kuya”, and even older ones are either a “tito” or
“tatay”.
I don’t know about others, but I
will never enjoy a conversation wih someone older than me with me just
addressing him/her with his/her first name. And that is why it makes me feel
really happy and thankful we have these words.
J: I read a book by Mitch Albom
called ‘The five people you meet in heaven’ and the last person the guy from
the story met was a young Filipina girl caught in between the war during that
time and I took pride when the girl in the story uttered ‘inay’, which means
mom in Tagalog. It’s like something that is undeniably Filipino. For an
instance, I call my parents ‘inay’ and ‘tatay’ instead of mom and dad, they
brought me up that way and I am glad that they did because inay and tatay are
something I rarely hear nowadays. Parents now prefer their children to call
them mom and dad or mama and papa, rarely do I hear modern parents letting
their children address them inay and tatay anymore and that is really sad.
I am also glad that I have a
‘mamay’ (grandpa) whose really invested in promoting the Filipino language, he
even give out phone numbers in Tagalog! He is also a writer for a newspaper
called ‘Malaya’ and wrote under the
pen name ‘taga-bukid’, he even sometimes quiz us about how we call our elders;
like how we’re supposed to address our aunts as ‘tiya’ instead of auntie or
tita, or my parents older siblings as ‘kaka’ as a sign of respect and hierarchy,
I guess, and all those stuff. I am proud to say that I am among the few who
still know these stuffs, thanks to my mamay!
6.
Tourist spots
A: I have not yet gone to all the
corners of the Philippines, but someday, I will, and I am sure going to be amazed
with its beauty. I sometimes get jealous watching people from other countries
make documentaries aboutdifferent spots in the Philippines. Jealous and at the
same time very proud that I am being told about the beauty of my country by
someone who isn’t even from there.
There are a lot of places one can
go to. During the summer, Baguio, which happens to be called “The summer
capital of the Philippines” is a favorite. It’s that one places you can go to
to escape the heat of summer. Another famous tourist spot would be Cebu, this
place can offer historical sites like Magellan’s cross and the Taoist temple,
and beaches and resorts like Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa. Have you seen
a volcano in a lake? If not yet, then it’s time to visit the Taal Volcano in
Batangas, Philippines. Or a cone-shaped volcano like the Mayon Volcano of
Bicol.
J: Aaah! The tourist spots! Oh, how we love them! Believe it or not, we’ve already been to different countries but we’re not even close on being able to go to all the wonderful places in the Philippines. I mean would love to see the green landscapes of Batanes, or try wakeboarding in Cam Sur, or walk the cobbled streets of Vigan or go swimming with the friendly ‘butandings’ of Donsol. I would also love to go to the underground river in Palawan or dive off to see the Tubbataha reef. All of these places and more can take your breaths away and they’re all just within the Philippines.
We also love how we never cease to amaze the world with our pride about all the treasures of the Philippines! We are all so ecstatic whenever Boracay is included as one of the best beaches in the world by ‘Travel+Leisure Magazine’. We also flooded our support when the Tubbataha Reef and the Chocolate Hills are on the running to be the new 7 wonders of the world! We never fall short in taking pride for what’s rightfully worthy and simply ours.
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| TAAL VOLCANO Photo source: www.25travels.com |
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| BORACAY Photo source: www.boracaycoupons.com |
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| PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER Photo source: www. mikeniconchuk.com |
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| CHOCOLATE HILLS Photo source: www.flickr.com |
7. Modes
of transpo
A: I think Filipinos don’t like to
walk. Haha! If you are into travelling, but don’t really like getting tired,
then you are going to love the Philippines a lot more! We have tricycles,
pedicabs, jeepneys, buses, cabs, our very own calesas (carriage pulled by a
horse), among many others.
If there is one thing Filipinos
are really great at, that would be improvising. We love improvising so much we
have come up with ways on how to shorten walking time for every Filipino and we
have satisfied the commuter inside all of us. For travelling to distant
provinces, you can take either plane or boat (of course) or buses, jeepneys for
shorter distances, and pedicabs or tricycles for even shorter ones. Kalesas, on
the other hand, are very famous when you choose to travel in a slower speed to
get to admire different views in the country.
J: Tricycles and jeeps! Every
balikbayan are always excited to ride these public utility vehicles whenever
they go back to the Philippines! It’s just that vibe of being home that these
noisy jeeps and tryks are giving that we love so much, minus the pollution.
LOL. We, or I, even wonder how is it like to ride a ‘padyak’, it’s basically
made of wood and the one in charge is pushing it along the rails, it’s an
innovative means of transportation that the people who loves along the train
rails have put together so the residents won’t have to walk to go to the main
road. It may be dangerous but it looks like fun to ride!
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| JEEPNEY Phot source: www.habitsforsmartpeople.com |
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| TRICYCLE Photo source: www.daintyc.wordpress.com |
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| CALESA Photo sourse: www.redbubble.com |
8. BIG malls
A: A cab driver in Singapore once
asked me if I was Filipino, and after I said yes, he immediately told me how
beautiful our malls are and how he was shocked that a country, not as rich as
his own (he wasn’t being offensive at all), could have really big malls. And he
hasn’t even been to SM Mall of Asia yet! He has just seen SM Mega Mall when he
visited back in 2001.
I guess having big malls can
somehow be associated with how Filipinos love spending time and going out with
many loved ones. Sometimes, we go to malls just for the airconditioning, or
just to look around, or just to have a cup of coffee. Nevertheless, small
shopping malls will just not work for the Filipino standards. We like big
spacious malls where we can dine, shop, watch the kids play, among many others.
And that is just what we have in our country.
J: We have the Mall of Asia! It
was the largest mall in the Philippines! It has a very huge space for activities
and even concerts. We also have the Makati malls, such as Greenbelt. The good
thing about Greenbelt is that it’s not just like you’ll walk around inside a
square, it has that oasis-like interior and a nice mixture of nature and
concrete. It may be the Philippines concrete jungle, haha.
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| SM MALL OF ASIA Photo source: franciscanouine.blogspot.com |
9.
Beaches
A: The clear waters, the touch of
the sun on your skin, the fine sand, and the horizon will awe you if you pay
the lovely beaches in the Philippines a visit. We have beaches that are not
only nice destinations for your summer getaways, our beachers have also been a
favotire venues for weddings, birthdays, concerts, and many other events. And
aside from getting a tan, you can also enjoy water sports in our beaches, partying
at night, relaxing in spas around the beaches, or maybe spending some quality
time with the family through snorkeling or diving. Our wide variety of spieces
will definitely make you want to see more of the Philippines.
J: Boracay. Palawan. Pagudpud.
Coron. Puerto Galera. San Juan, Batangas. The list goes on and on. These are
just some of the best beaches in the Philippines! We’re an archipelago for
crying out loud! Haha. Of course, we have some fine beaches, we have all the
bodies of water we need, really. We try our best to preserve them, even if some
people are always trying to take advantage of our nature’s beauty. We love how
are beaches can go from having that really fun nightlife and bars to just quiet
and relaxing beaches. We’ve got all of them right there in the Philippines!
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| PAGUDPOD BEACH Photo source: travellingthephilippines.info |
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| Photo source: http://scubadivingphilippines.com.ph/ |
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| PALAWAN BEACH Photo source: www.tourism.gov.ph |
10.
Festivals
A: Filipinos know how to party,
that’s for sure. And I’m just not talking about the dancefloor, tequilla, and
led lights. We can rock that kind party, but we just rule in Fiestas. I have
gone to countless fiestas since I am young, and to be honest, the only one I am
really familiar with is the Feat of Sto. Niño which is celebrated every 3rd
Sunday of January. But aside from the feast of Sto. Niño, we also have bigger
ones in the Philippines which are looked forward to every year not only by
locals but also by foreigners like the Panagbenga festival or flower festival,
Maskara festival or mask festival, and Higantes festival or giants festival.
J: It has been said that we love
to celebrate! In fact, Philippines’ Department of Tourism confirmed that we
have festivals every day! We celebrate all sorts of stuff; from smiling to
flowers and to the most sacred of them all, Jesus and His saints. We just love
that vibe of being festive and having guests and singing and dancing and lots
of food! It’s innate! We are just naturally happy people; we always find a way
to smile even through adversities!
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| PANAGBENGA FESTIVAL Photo source: backpackingphilippines.com |
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| HIGANTES FESTIVAL Photo source: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdy7pxgrjt1qkfedxo1_1280.jpg |
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| MASKARA FESTIVAL Photo source: pinoyadventurista.com |
FYI: Did you know that in some areas in the Philippines, Filipinos change their addresses by literally taking their houses somewhere else?
And how do they do that? Through “Bayanihan”. Owners of the house, relatives,
neighbors, friends, and all those willing to help, lift the house and take it to its new spot. Beat that!
There are just so many beautiful
things we can say about our country. Maybe we are being biased on some of them,
but hey, love thy own, right? The Philippines will always be home for the both
of us, and we will forever be thankful that we were raised in a country rich in
values and with such colorful history and culture. And no matter where life may
take us, we will always look forward to coming back to The Pearl of the Orient.
And there is no better way to end
this entry but by showing you our currently-most-favorite video abou the
Philippines. Enjoy!
Video source : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hssvFher8E0
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