lifeinthephilippines

[lifeinthephilippines]

Students and staff of the Filipino School of New Jersey and New York.

[lifeinthephilippines]

Map of the Philippines

[lifeinthephilippines]

Education in the Philippines

As of 2012, the Philippines adapted The Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program. This program is the main function of education in the Philippines that consists of kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school, all provided for free by the government (“Briefer on the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program» Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines,” 2010).. Highschool students generally take 10 subjects per school year such as math, science, English, Filipino, social science, physical education, health, music, and arts. Other electives are not common in public schools. Typical school days begin at 7:30 A.M. and end at 5:00 P.M. Monday-Friday, usually from June to March (School, n.d.).

Dynamics between teachers and students in the Philippines require more rules than that of Western culture. Students must stand when their teacher enters the room and again when they leave. And students must only address elders by Miss, Ma’am, Sir, or Teacher X even in situations out of school.  There are usually 50 students in a classroom and no phones are allowed (School, n.d.). With the absence of electives and emphasis on respect to elders, the Filipino education system has a stricter management and focuses on students’ careers after high school. Electives in the U.S. include photography, subcategories of art, dance, foreign language, culinary, acting, family consumer science only to name a few. The emphasis on respect towards elders in school is a reflection of core beliefs in Filipino culture, present in and out of the classroom.

I’ve looked at personal blog posts of Filipino high school students describing their typical day at school and there are some notable differences from U.S education. Some say they only go to school four times a week rather than five and always wear a uniform. Before school, students may have a prayer ceremony or Citizens Army/ Philippines Army training. Many students complained about the school system and compared it to the U.S. It’s also normal in the Philippines to remain lifelong friends with your high school friends. A barkada in Filipino meaning group of friends.

Graduation rate as of 2020 is 93.8% and over 3 million students enrolled in both public and private universities (“2020–21 Data Summary - Accessing Educational Data (ca Dept of Education),” 2023). There is a higher percentage of female college graduates than male at 56% to 44%.

Sources

2020–21 Data Summary - Accessing Educational Data (CA Dept of Education). (2023, February 13). Retrieved from www.cde.ca.gov website: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/datasummary.asp

Briefer on the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program» Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (2010, November 12). Retrieved from web.archive.org website: https://web.archive.org/web/20101112125854/http://www.gov.ph/2010/11/02/briefer-on-the-enhanced-k12-basic-education-program/

Mae, S., & Joy, R. (2015). The enhanced k+12 basic education program. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from www.slideshare.net website: https://pt.slideshare.net/shayLAVAPIE/the-enhanced-k12-basic-education-program

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2013, January 10). Philippine Statistics Authority | Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved from psa.gov.ph website: https://psa.gov.ph/press-releases/id/41292

School. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://online.yfuusa.org/media/yes_lounge/Philippines.pdf

[lifeinthephilippines]

Nonverbal Communication

Understanding nonverbal communication and ques can be just as important as understanding verbal language. Nonverbal communication takes up a lot of communication and we can learn so much through simple things like how a person is standing or the look on their face. It’s important to understand nonverbal ques of other cultures when communicating with them because it can provide context needed to avoid misunderstandings as well as show respect. Some obstacles that may get in the way of understanding nonverbal communication are personal bias or lack of context. Everyone expresses themselves differently and are often unaware of their own nonverbal ques. How I might signal to you that I’m uncomfortable might be different than how someone else would. Context also plays a huge role in understanding nonverbal communication because nonverbal ques can mean different things in different settings. For example, if I gave a friend a side eye at a party it might seem like I have something to tell them, but if I give them a side eye in a classroom, it might mean I want them to be quiet.

              Adequate nonverbal communication in the Philippines is a contributing factor to showing respect and convenience. Eye contact is a huge factor in showing respect, especially to elders in the Philippines. I would often get scolded for not remaining in eye contact with my family members, even in times when I thought it wasn’t important. Another nonverbal que common in the Philippines is pointing with your lips to show direction. This extends past just pouting your lips and includes raising your eyebrows and moving your entire head and neck and is often accompanied by a muffled “mm” noise. This expression also goes hand in hand with the fact that we are taught from a young age that pointing with your index finger is rude (Ewe, 2021).

              I feel comfortable using cultural norms in the Philippines regarding personal space because it is very similar to Western culture. Filipinos tend to prefer to stand and arm’s length away from each other and aren’t unfamiliar to showing affection to their loved ones. Something we all learned in school when were young is our personal bubble and although the Philippines might not teach that concept specifically, they understand the meaning behind it.

              How Filipinos follow time is based on polychronic culture. It is common and expected to do multiple things at once rather than one thing at a time. And this is a contributing factor to the term “Filipino Time”. Filipinos are always late. To everything. This term was coined by Americans in the 1900’s as their response to lack of punctuality from Filipinos. Punctuality and its symbolism behind it were commonly written about in Filipino literature. Tardiness was already so common in the Spanish colonial period that it was written about in Jose Rizal’s “El Filibusterismo”. A couple enters a theater very late, and she was described to have the “air of a queen” and came late as if to say, “I’ve come later than all of you, you crowd of upstarts and provincials!”. Rizal points out here that tardiness by Filipinos was not just a habit, but a status symbol (Tan, 2020). He even compared it to that of a mule race – the last one to show up is the most important. It can be crucial to understand these deep-rooted meanings behind the ideas surrounding punctuality and how to use up our time. Knowing these little things is what makes how people in the Philippines live their lives compared to individuals in other countries.

Sources

Ewe, K. (2021, April 13). Why Do Filipinos Point With Their Mouth? Retrieved July 1, 2023, from www.vice.com website: https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgxq7j/why-filipinos-point-mouth-explained

Tan, B. (2020, September 11). Why Filipinos follow Filipino Time. Retrieved from Medium website: https://medium.com/@brianctan/why-filipinos-follow-filipino-time-d38e2c162927

[lifeinthephilippines]

Conversation in the Philippines

The two official languages of the Philippines are English and Filipino, which is a general term that covers all the different dialects present. The most common dialect is Tagalog. The dictionary definition of lingua franca is a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different. (“Lingua-Franca Noun - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com,” 2023). It is also referred to as a bridge language, common language, or trade language. Since the Philippines was a colony of the United States between 1898 and 1946, English now had official status. At the time, using English as a bridge language must have been difficult, but now since English is a mandatory subject taught in schools all the way from adolescence to adulthood, about 92% of Filipinos speak English (Armstrong, 2021). When communicating with someone from the Philippines, I wouldn’t expect them to speak fluently in English, but I’m sure simple conversation could be maintained, or help would be given where needed.

Key words and simple phrases from English to Tagalog with pronounciation:

Hello – Kamusta (kah-moo-sta)

Yes – OO (oh-oh)

No – Hindi (hin-dih)

Please – Pakiusap (paki-oo-sap)

Thank you – Salamat (sah-la-mot)

Can you help me? - Pwede mo ba akong tulungan? (pwe-de mo ba a-kong tulu-gon)

I don’t understand - hindi ko maintindihan (hin-di co mine-teen-dee-han)

I don’t speak Filipino - hindi ako nagsasalita ng filipino (hin-di a-co nag-sas-a-lee-tah nang Filipino)

My name is Eric - Ang pangalan ko ay Eric (ahng pong-ah-lan co I Eric)

          Fortunately, I am familiar with Filipino pronunciation, so none of these words were particularly hard to understand or pronounce, but some words like OO and ng may be difficult to say when seeing them only written down. But for the most part, it is possible to sound out a lot of words from the Filipino language. Learning these words is key to traveling safely in any foreign country. Not being able to ask for help or use manners like please and thank you can cause danger or put you in danger you cannot get out of without being able to speak. It’s also important to remember that its possible there won��t be access to internet that allows you to look up how to see these key phrases, so learning them beforehand is principal.

Article Translation:

Halos ₱1M tinistis na kahoy, naharang sa N. Vizcaya - Almost ₱1M of cut wood, intercepted in N. Vizcaya

Sa paunang report ng Aritao Municipal Police Station, naglatag sila ng anti-illegal logging operation sa Purok 3, Barangay Calitlitan nang sitahin nila ang nasabing aluminum van.

Translation:

In the preliminary report of the Aritao Municipal Police Station, they laid an anti-illegal logging operation in Purok 3, Barangay Calitlitan when they located the said aluminum van.

Knowing how unreliable Google Translate is, I was not expecting a perfect translation free of grammatical errors, but that’s exactly what I got.

Language influences our view of reality when different cultures speak differently to describe things. For example, in many other languages its common to use direct terms in order to avoid confusion, but something I notice about English is that we use so many metaphors, indirect language, and slang to describe things that it can become confusing, misinterpreted or even completely lost in translation. And when we become so used to informal language, using formal language feels different to us. An extremely popular example of this is the use of the period in modern culture. Using a period used to be common practice in writing on paper, but when texting on your phone, its not. So now, when people use periods at the end of their sentences over text, the recipient often thinks they are mad at them or something is off because they used a period.

Sources

Armstrong, L. (2021, February 15). 10 Non English Countries Where Locals Speak English | Seven Corners. Retrieved June 28, 2023, from www.sevencorners.com website: https://www.sevencorners.com/blog/travel-destinations/10-non-english-speaking-countries-where-locals-speaks-english#:~:text=Philippines%20%E2%80%94%20English%20at%20its%20most%20Chill&text=According%20to%20Ethnologue%2C%20there%20are

Basa, L. (2023, June 28). Halos ₱1M tinistis na kahoy, naharang sa N. Vizcaya. Retrieved June 28, 2023, from Balita - Tagalog Newspaper Tabloid website: https://balita.net.ph/2023/06/28/halos-%e2%82%b11m-tinistis-na-kahoy-naharang-sa-n-vizcaya/

lingua-franca noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (2023). Retrieved June 28, 2023, from Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com website: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/lingua-franca

[lifeinthephilippines]

[lifeinthephilippines]

World View in the Philippines

The dominant worldview of Filipino culture is influenced by many things such as Spanish colonialism, religious practice, and modern western influence. Although core concepts of Filipino worldview are influenced by the Catholic religion, there is still much room for freedom of expression and personal choice. A core assumption in the Philippines is Bayanihan (buy-uh-nee-hun). Bayanihan derives from the word “community” and emphasizes communal unity (“Bayanihan,” 2020). The idea of unity is so important in the Philippines that most people don’t care what decisions you make as long as it doesn’t cause a divide in the community. Cultural expression has no limit in the Philippines as they have an extreme sense of pride and identity as a nation. Filipinos are taught to be proud of their racial identity and to use that for the good of the nation. Important ethics in Filipino worldview mostly surround solidarity, unity, optimism, and respect. Utang na Loob is the sense of indebtedness and gratitude, which also influences Filipino ethics. It promotes reciprocity, a strong sense of obligation to repay kindness, and the recognition of the interdependence of individuals within relationships and communities (Kaut, 1961).

          The perception of death in the Philippines is complex and multifaceted and is influenced by Catholicism and indigenous beliefs. Death is significant in Filipino culture but doesn’t mean the end of life. Since the sense of unity is highly prevalent, the death of one person effects the whole community. It’s common that large amounts of people will show up to pay respects. I can remember so many funerals I went to of people I didn’t even know, yet still paid respects as members of the community. I can also remember going to families of the deceased for days in a row to ensure support. A symbol of Catholicism is the rosary, which is used for nine days after their death to ensure their soul moved on to the afterlife (“Filipino Funeral Traditions | Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory | Corona, ca | Riverside, CA,” n.d.).

          The worldview of the Philippines can be seen in everyday cultural practices such as general respect, optimism in unity, and praying/ going to church. Growing up, it was church every Sunday, theology every Wednesday, and religious confirmation when you reach high school. A common celebration of community is eating together. One specific, yet not uncommon food celebration is a Boodle Fight where all of the food is laid next to each other on the table with no plates, where you just eat what you can with your hands. Most foods in the Philippines are eaten with your hands to symbolize camaraderie.

          The worldview of the Philippines is homogenous, but I would almost describe it as a spectrum. Yes, we are taught from birth the importance of religion and community, but there’s room for interpretation as Filipinos are open-minded and not extremely conservative. We know that the Philippines is the most gay-friendly country in Asia and ranks 4th worldwide in women leadership. From my own personal experience, I don’t think we are taught to embrace other cultures, but tolerate and attempt to integrate different beliefs, like homosexuality, to ensure communal harmony. I was raised to be very religious, and my mother still is, however she still accepts the fact that I’m queer. And that’s what I think makes the Philippines different from other countries but still ties back to modern Western culture.

Work Cited

Bayanihan. (2020). Retrieved June 25, 2023, from Mit.edu website: https://groups.csail.mit.edu/cag/bayanihan/bayanword.html#:~:text=Pronounced%20like%20%22buy%2Duh%2D

Filipino Funeral Traditions | Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory | Corona, CA | Riverside, CA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2023, from www.thomasmillermortuary.com website: https://www.thomasmillermortuary.com/our-services/multicultural-services/filipino-funeral-traditions/#:~:text=Death%20is%20a%20significant%20event

Kaut, C. (1961). Utang Na Loob: A System of Contractual Obligation among Tagalogs. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 17(3), 256–272. https://doi.org/10.1086/soutjanth.17.3.3629045

Raymund. (2015, May 21). What is a Boodle Fight? Retrieved June 25, 2023, from Ang Sarap (A Tagalog word for “It’s Delicious”) website: https://www.angsarap.net/2015/05/21/what-is-a-boodle-fight/

[lifeinthephilippines]

Family Structure in the Philippines

Family structure in the Philippines is centered around the nuclear family and is patriarchal and hierarchical. The father is the head of the family, making most of the money to support them and the mother taking care of the home. Extended family members play a significant part in raising children and making family decisions. There is a close-knit relationship amongst the family and often times extended family members will live in the household. A notable function in Filipino family culture is Faliel Piety.  Piety derives from China and is the notion that practices respect and care for one’s parents (Spielman, 2012). Family structure also extends beyond blood relations and almost always includes close friends and neighbors.

 In the Philippines, individuals have significant freedom to start a family with who they please. Although families in the Philippines are tagged as patriarchal, they are closer to a matriarchal society as female influence does not go unacknowledged as many women hold senior roles in businesses. Starting a family in the Philippines is synonymous with starting a family in the United States. Men and women begin to date, decide to get married, then have children. All influenced by the Roman Catholic religion that takes up 81% of the Philippines and 65% of Filipino Americans (Lipka, 2015). Economic functions of a Filipino family extend past providing the necessities for the family itself and will often pool their resources together for other close loved ones in need. When it comes to the socialization of children in the Philippines there is a concept called Hiya that heavily persuades that. Hiya is a descriptive word that people try to avoid that typically means timid or shy and follows the idea of not causing embarrassment of somebody else (Constante, 2022). Children also learn to socialize in school where they are required to learn English, as it’s the Philippines second official language. Children begin to learn English in preschool and don’t stop until college (Jonas, 2022). Identity functions in Filipino culture usually remain in the ballpark of respect for elders and authority figures, close relations with family, and practicing Catholicism. The family structure interacts with other deep structures in several ways. Family is seen as the basic unit of society where they are expected to care for each other. However, the community plays a role in family structure as they are expected to provide support and guidance. The worldview of this family structure emphasizes respect for authority figures including parents in order to enforce the importance of family structure overall.

Child rearing practices in the Philippines are not complex. Notable practices are respecting elders and close family ties. Children are expected to show respect their superiors and this is influenced by not just the parents but extended relatives and close friends. Specific gender roles aren’t taught, but children learn conformity in school. A study conducted by The Thomas Reuters Foundation in 2014 found that the Philippines is the most “gay-friendly” country in Asia with 73% of Filipinos declaring “society should accept homosexuality” (Foundation, 2014). Women are also taking on more leadership roles in various fields with the Philippines being ranked 4th globally in women in leadership positions (Mirano, 2022).

 There is a strong emphasis on collectivism, with family and community ties playing an important role in individual behavior. Group harmony is put before individual achievement as there is a strong obligation to one’s community. Although, individualism isn’t completely left behind. It is valued in terms of self-reliance and personal responsibility, but heavily tempered by obligation to the larger group. I believe at this point we are aware of the perception of elders in the Philippines. We are taught to respect and admire our elders as well as take the responsibility of caring for them when they no longer can.

In the past decade or so, globalization and migration continue to have notable impact on family structure in the Philippines. It is common for Filipinos to migrate to other countries in search of better economic opportunity leaving behind family that struggle to maintain traditional roles. This changes family dynamic with extended family ties weakening and the nuclear family becoming more prevalent. However, the rise of technology and social media allows families to stay in touch over long distances. While writing this, I think about my own family and how my mother’s life has changed since moving to the United States and honestly, it hasn’t. My mother continues to maintain close knit relationships with our family in the Philippines because social media allows her to. We also often ship large amounts of goods and money to our family. I always thought that my mother deprived us of traditional Filipino family culture but the truth is that it isn’t much different than western culture.

[lifeinthephilippines]

Filipino Culture

The culture I chose to study for my blog project is Filipino culture. Reasons I chose this this culture is not limited to it being my own, but to further understand the way my parents chose to raise me and the effect that had on me being a mixed person as I’ve lost sight of its differences the longer I’ve lived in the United States. I would also like to understand the differences in the way I grew up in America vs. how my mother grew up both as Filipinos. I think the impact this assignment will have on my future experiences with other Filipinos and people from other countries is being able to fully understand the differences from my own upbringing in America and underlying reasons why I may do things a certain way or why my mother or other Filipinos dress the way they do, eat the food they eat and behave the way they behave. A fundamental piece of me being slightly more uneducated on my Filipino side is my parents’ marriage to being and presenting American. When my mother immigrated to America, it was important to her that she take advantage of the privilege she never had in her home country and made sure I knew mine as well.

Some notable features of Filipino culture that I’ve experienced firsthand are respect to elders, respect to food, and love for music, specifically singing. A sign of respect I’d use to acknowledge my elders is to raise the back of their hand to my forehead. My mother would enforce that I do this to any elder Filipino I meet. Another fundamental piece of Filipino culture is respecting and valuing food. When I was younger and would reject the food that was given to me, my mom would always say “don’t hate your food or it will run away”. And I think that left a mark on me to always find value in the privilege of having food whenever I wanted. Singing is also another huge factor in Filipino culture. In the Philippines, singing is used to express happiness. Karaoke is present at every social gathering and something I’ve seen every Filipino loves to take part in. Even though the Philippines is a third world country, they’re ranked as third happiness in the world and that is symbolized by their passion for singing (Karaoke ·, 2022).

What is meant by the statement, “In studying other cultures, we do so very often from the perspective of our own culture” is that we measure how different other cultures are by comparing it to our own. For example, how we feel about the food Filipinos eat is measured by the food we eat in America. Steps I would take to make sure I research unbiased and accurate information is to use credible sources and fact check with Filipinos I know personally. I am able to communicate with many Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines and trust what they say regarding cultural information.

Sources:

Dumaraos, G. (2017, August 30). 11 Things You Should Know About Filipino Culture. Culture Trip; The Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/11-things-you-should-know-about-the-filipino-culture/

Karaoke ·, P. (2022, April 22). Reasons Why Filipinos Are Good At Singing – Platinumkaraoke.com. Www.platinumkaraoke.com. https://www.platinumkaraoke.com/blogs/platinum-karaoke-blog/reasons-why-filipinos-are-good-at-singing#:~:text=Happiness%20is%20expressed%20through%20singing