American on Why He Chose THE PHILIPPINES to Raise His Kids 🇺🇸 🇵🇭

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As a foreigner in the Philippines when someone look at you and stare at you it is a sign of admiration not in a bad way., just take it or leave it.

My son is completely the opposite of Chase. Born in the Philippines, but left when he was only 6 months old. Growing up in New York City made him stoic and a little cynical. He said he had to, to survive, and we did not know that he actually developed anxiety because of this. We take him to visit the Philippines every so often and every time we do, he would always say that people in the Philippines are a lot nicer and happier. This, in spite of the economic situation they are on. He finds this amazing. So now he looks forward to his visits, and I hope he'll do it every year.

I have been married to my wife for 17 years....she is from Sablan, Benguet and we will be moving there next year for our final chapter in life. There are many reasons I've decided to make this move and one major reason is what I consider is the US is in a major decline. Loss of morality, political dissention, crime, and a host of other factors that I don't want to deal with. (I'm old). So, wish us luck and yes I will be stared at in her province :)

The Filipino Stare is not a bad thing: it can mean curiosity, admiration, amazement, or acknowledgment of someone's presence. To non-Filipinos going to the Philippines, when you catch someone staring at you, try smiling back instead of being offended. 99.99% of the time – if not 100% – you'll get a smile back. They don't mean to offend; they're just Filipinos 😁. And if you find other weird observations, it's a great opportunity to discover why; this is a great way to learn about the culture and probably a good topic when you converse with Pinoy friends.

I am a Filipino working at Costco. and every time I talked to the members they always told me I think you are a Filipino because the way you interact with the members is really polite and smiling. it's flattering

His story and mine are fairly closely related, other than backgrounds. I grew up in south Texas, then joined the Air Force. One of my first long tours was at Clark AB, Philippines. I was stationed there for 6 yrs. I grew to love it. I moved around to many countries during duty, including Japan, Okinawa, and many others. I was previously married, with 3 boys. It didn't work out. I retired from the Air Force in 2000. I then worked for Lockheed Martin and Harris Corp, as an Engineer and Instructor. I also set up a vacation for us in Hong Kong, and we stayed there for a week or so. As he said, people were not very friendly there. I wasn't impressed. Then, in 2008, I came back to the Philippines to live. Not married at that time. BUT, I met my "now" wife that same year. We dated for a while, then lived together. I had to go back to work in the U.S. for a few years. I supported her, and she supported me, while apart. I knew she was "it" for me. I came back for good in 2016, and we got married right away. Been doing very well since then, and I love living here!

When I was a kid I used to get so baffled and confused about the notion of being racist because when I see black and white foreigners my first thought was that I was in awe. I remember being so amazed. And at that point, I didn't really label them "black" or "white" to me it was really just that feeling of being amazed seeing another form of human beings apart from what I usually see in my native country. It was only when I got exposed to social media that I learned what's considered racist and what's not.

I think it boils down to the culture of the country. Generally, Filipinos are God-fearing, hospitable, open-minded, resilient, and adaptable to any given situation. That makes them unique as compared to other peoples of the world.

I know some foreigners are having a hard time adjusting but in short i try to explain. If you are not born in the Philippines or not raised in the Philippines for sure you will have a cultural shock. But you have to put in mind whenever you arrive in the Philippines just start to smile. Just Smile. Leave your hardome in your country. Filipinos love to help interact and have fun. Filipinos are friendly specially to those we think they are poor on the information about the area. Just ask and you will be answered. Be nice and they will be nice back to you. Filipinos live a simple life. ❤

I honestly believe that Filipinos, like me, are still among the nicest people on earth! There maybe some “bad guys” around greatly influenced by changes through the years, but if you dig deeper, there is goodness, genuine kindness and that beautiful smile in every heart of the Filipino people! MABUHAY!!!

I had a different experience in Taiwan, this time. Im Filipino and generally if a foreigner was asking for directions and I didn't know where it was, I'd still try instead of outright ignoring the person. But in Taipei I had an experience where I was asking and this dude who looked like a drug dealer in the movies was signing something that I figured meant "wait"... he put out his cigarette on the ground, picked up his phone and started speaking chinese. So I figured this guy was not the person to ask. But as I started to walk away, he called me back and gave me his phone. Coz the person he was calling up spoke English. That was a pleasantly weird one for me.

The philippines is a very free and happy country but very polite and humble. Kids are very curious especially for foreigners

I am an Filipina American. My parents were both born and raised in the Philippines but after they married in the 1960's, they were transferred by the U.S. military to the U.S.A. growing up in the mid 1960'-1970's my parents decided not to teach my siblings and I Tagalog when we lived in the U.S. My mother said it was because she thought we would get confused learning two languages in our household and not do well in school. My mother was a teacher by profession. I don't know if that was the trend during that time. When my dad retired from the military in the early 1970's he moved our family to live in Baguio. Because we dis not know Tagalog, we often got laughs when we attempted to speak Tagalog. We were also asked why we only ate "bread" (sandwiches, instead of typical filipino lunches with rice ) for lunch. We attended a private Catholic school. They tried to accommodate me in Filipino class, where Tagalog was only spoken, by having me sit next to the smartest student in my girls-only class. They'd also send me home with a vocabulary list of Tagalog words to study at home. One day the teacher called me to the front of the classroom and she wrote down the word, "Sabon", on the chalk board. She asked me to pronounce the word out loud and when I did, the entire class laughed. I felt so embarrassed. At the time, I was 10 years old and not happy about it. I felt sad and I had a hard time because I didn't know the language or the culture. I would cry alot and beg my parents to take us back to the U.S. After 3 months we moved back to the state where we came from. I only returned to visit family with my Ilokano- American husband when I was in my 50's and we really enjoyed our vacation to Manila and Ilocos Norte. I never learned to speak Tagalog fluently, but when I was living there briefly, I was able to sing the National Anthem but I didn't know the meaning. I learned a few commonly used words and phrases. I can understand a little too. We don't get stares when we visit. I guess we blend in (we have tanned complexions)until we start speaking, and then they realize that we are American. 😂

I get what the dad means about English and culture. I am Filipino born and raised. I am now a US resident 5 years and counting, coming to the US past my 40s. I consider myself fluent in English as I do speak the language at home growing up. Here in the US, I have come to realize that English is only my second language. I now understand the difference between a "native English speaker" compared to a "Filipino english speaker." I can tell a person who grew up here in the US through their choice of words, depth of vocabulary and nuances in conversations. It is different from the English I was used to, back in Manila.

The father is so kind choosing his words not to hurt Filipinos.

Thank you for all the good words describing us, as Filipino we are friendly people, very hospitable to our visitors, and we treat them as a friend not aliens in our country.

"You have to be more accepting, the world is getting smaller." Very perceptive.

Colonial mentality plays a lot of influence to Philippine culture thats one reason why Filipinos are so hospitable toward foreign visitors. Philippines been once colonized by Spain, Americans…learned from our foreign brothers…. Plus being a Christian country with values taught from home to school : kindness, humility, compassion, honesty…the hard way of life has also molded Filipinos to be resilient and patient….

As a Filipina. I love the topic. Yeah Manila changed a lot. Have been living here for more than 30 yrs.