Here are things you should know about the Philippines before coming here and studying.
Special mention: 80% of the Philippine population is Christian Roman Catholic, 95% are Christians.
Just so you know =)
10. Filipinos are friendly but- Filipinos (including half of me, I'm mixed) are friendly but we are a bit of a racist, just a little bit, Koreans and Chinese are fine with us.. I rarely hear another Filipino bad mouth a Korean or Chinese,.. our only complain is Koreans and Chinese are a bit lazy in group activities, that's it. On the other hand, Filipinos love to say dumb stuff about Iranians and Arabs, jokes like they don't take a bath or they are terrorists are pretty common, but what Filipino's discriminate most are black people. They tease them about their color behind their backs, and also say all sorts of nasty things about their odor. BUT STILL Filipinos are friendly and will be more than willing to help a needing foreigner. We are friendliest to white people though, because we were under their rule for 400 years.
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9. Filipino are hygienic- Because of hot weather, Filipino like to keep themselves clean, we take a bath everyday,.. and make sure we don't smell like crap. So please I know you have a different weather in your country but you need to take a bath when your here, also please use deodorants.. that's a common issue we have here, on how bad foreign students smell.
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8. Our Food- Filipino food consists of rice, from morning to evening. That's right. We eat rice from dusk to dawn, some foreigners can't stand it. So be prepared to eat lots of carbohydrates. We just have different viand tough out the day to mix things up, but all the same. WE EAT RICE ALL DAY.. So if you don't like that, better visit our grocery stores/malls, we have everything you need if you don't want to eat rice. Other thing though about our viand, they taste good, specially our adobo.. its a common food here in the Philippines, you might like it. Other thing our food in a mix of Spanish dish and Chines cuisine, mix with our native tounge Walah... you get Filipino food.
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7. Filipinos are ethnically diverse- You might have a classmate who looks like Chinese and another who has Caucasian/ white features.., That's because of our culture, we Filipinos just accept everything that is foreign, we don't even mind mixing genes with you guys, so what happened was.. We are ethnically diverse. Don't be surprise if you see a who looks like an Indian, Iranian,Chinese and others.. they must have foreign ancestors, but still they are Filipino.
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6. We have many islands- We have about 7,107 islands low tide in the Philippines, 7'108 if its high tide, so there are a lot of beaches here.You also need to know what City you going to study in. There are three main city here in the Philippines Manila, Cebu and Davao.. The three city have sub cities, but my point is, they are all separated by water, you need to take a plane or bought just to get to one of these city, So if your friend wants to study in Cebu and you in Manila. That's like 4 hours away by plane, maybe even less. So choose your city wisely, I would recommend Cebu, good school, not to crowded, the people are friendlier than the people in Manila, and the cost of living is cheaper. Davao by the way is ok, but its not as developed as Cebu and Manila. Also you'll see a lot of history of the Philippines in Cebu.
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Keywords; things you should know before studying in the Philippines, things to know before coming to the Philippines.
5. Everything for you is cheap- That's right, if your an American, you can eat for under $1, that's equivalent to 43 Pesos here, honestly you could, but don't expect for you to dine in fine restaurants. You probably can eat at McDonald's with a $1.25, that's already a burger, fries and coke. So food is cheap here for you foreigners, other thing that is cheap in this country EDUCATION and everything else that ytou can think of.
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4. We love basketball- Even though the average height of a Filipino is 5'4, the Filipinos go crazy over basketball, football is still a growing sport and Filipino don't understand baseball. You'll see our basketball players in billboards, magazines, TV etc.... We are a basketball country and we are good at it. Philippine mens basketball team is a strong contender in Asia. So if your coming to the Philippines, say goodbye to rugby, football and baseball for awhile, because we're basketball crazy.
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3. English Speakers- We all speak English, even the beggars speak English, although not that fluent. I don't know anyone who doesn't speak English NONE, everything here in the Philippines is English based. If you are going to study here the materials will be in English. So you will, read, write, speak English everyday, you won't have a choice but to speak English. Some Filipinos are better than others of course, but the fact is WE ALL SPEAK ENGLISH.
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2. Beware of Snatchers- Ok, your going to study here, you will be a target of bad guys, lurking and stalking to take your money. Snatchers are the kind of guys who will snatch your bag. Hold-uppers are the one who will point a gun at your head, then take your bag or wallet, or whatever that is of value. SO BE CAREFUL!!! Don't show off your brand new phone, laptop and other crap you have that might draw attention. And the police won't be able to do anything.
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1. It's fun here- Remember when I said its cheap to live here? Your money has great value in our country. We also have everything that you want for half the price. To have an idea of EVERYTHING YOU WANT FOR HALF THE PRICE, close your eyes and imagine something, then open them.............................done?
Ok we have that here in the Philippines at a cheaper price. Besides you can go crazy over here... with no one watching over you..wooohooo... it would be like an adventure everyday. =D