As you know (I’m assuming, since it’s on my about page and all), I am a Filipino – someone who came from the Philippines. Since the Philippines is such a small country, a lot of people have probably never heard of it or if they had, they know little about it and its people, so I thought I’d share some trivia about us because one fun fact about me: I totes love trivia! (Nerd alert!) So here we go!
(1) We eat rice with all our meals.Â
Well not all all, but whenever we serve Filipino cuisine. When you don’t eat rice, people will ask you why, are you on a diet? And say things like, “How can you handle it?? I would die if I had to give up rice.”
I even have a guy friend who, after eating pizza for dinner, would still eat rice when he gets home because he doesn’t feel full without it.
(2) We are warm, friendly folks.Â
When I still lived in the Philippines, foreigners would always gush about how warm and friendly we were. I always thought that was a weird comment to make until I moved here and realized what they were talking about.
On an acquaintance level, people here are friendly enough, but you just don’t see it on the street level. Am I making any sense? I mean if you wander in the malls and restaurants, don’t expect the customer service people to smile at you.
Whenever I go home to the Philippines, I always experience a reverse culture shock when random security guards and sales ladies greet me “good morning ma’am!” with a happy smile. That rarely, or even never, happens here.
(3) Our middle names are not chosen.Â
I know most western folk have middle names chosen by their  parents, but Filipinos’ middle names are their mothers’ surnames. We usually write it as an initial in school and official documents.
So if your parents are named Juan Cruz and Anna Santos, you would be Ann S. Cruz. You could have more than one first name, though, like Mary Ann S. Cruz.
(4) We have strange nicknames.
The most common nicknames are Boy and Baby. My dad’s nickname is Boy, actually. And I have an aunt and a godmother nicknamed Baby. It’s kinda weird when they grow up and they’ll be called Daddy Boy and Grandma Baby, no?
Other common nicknames are repeat syllables of some version of our names. Like Lalang, Bobong, Tata, Letlet.
And a lot of people go by nicknames which are completely different from their official names. Like me, I’m “Ga” at home.
(5) Most of us can understand and speak English.Â
When I was in school, 6 out of the 8 subjects I had to take every year were taught in English. This is why I find it easier to read in English and I reading lengthy articles and books in Filipino gives me a headache.
Speaking is a different matter, though, we still speak in our local language, so when we speak in straight English to each other, we feel awkward (yes, even here in Singapore).
We are also heavily influenced by the American culture thanks to their books and TV shows and movies, so even children can speak English well.
(6) Most of us are bilingual.Â
As I said, we have to learn English and Tagalog, the national language, in school, so most of us know at least two languages. But the Philippines has around 175 languages (according to the graph below) so some of us know more.
Like me; I know a total of 4. My parents both speak Bisaya, so that was the first language I learned because that’s what we use at home. But they were both from elsewhere and moved to my hometown, which has a different language, Chavacano, which I had to learn too. It’s actually the Spanish-based creole one mentioned below, so it’s made up of a lot of Spanish words in a different grammar, so I Â guess I know a bit of Spanish too.
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| Source: Wikipedia |
(7) We are very family-centered
Parents pay for kids’ tuitions even until college. And kids don’t move out of their parents’ homes even when they’re all grown up and working, unless they moved elsewhere or got married. And even then, some still no.
We take care of our parents when we’re the ones who are already working. A lot of Filipinos sacrifice by working abroad, just so they can provide for their families back home.
Did you already know these about Filipinos? What are some of the fun facts about your nationality?
I agree. I spent 3 weeks in Pampanga and I loved it. The people are so warm and friendly, and sincere! Before traveling to the Philippines, I had only visited other Spanish-speaking or English-speaking countries and was worried I wouldn't be able to communicate around town. I was happy to find everyone speaks English! It's a great country.
The Filipinos I know are so friendly! I could definitely get down with eating rice during every meal 🙂
Such interesting facts! I'm planning to head to the Philippines next summer, so I love to read up on facts about the country and the people! 🙂
this is all SO true lol i'd also like to add the traveling with boxes thing! every time im by a baggage claim i've noticed those big boxes almost alway belong to a filipino &my parents do it. sometimes.
I have colleagues who are from Philippines. And should say they are one of the most friendly persons and always there for their people. 🙂
Ah yes, the balikbayan boxes. I guess that's related to #7 as well, in a way. Those usually contain presents for all the relatives back home!
Aww thank you, that's a very nice thing to say about my people. Glad you enjoyed your stay. 🙂
I am glad that you agree with me about the friendliness thing! Thank you. 🙂
True! They usually bring home more than they leave with so I never complain 🙂 I've only been to the philippines a couple times when I was younger and I'm hoping to go back soon!
interesting! I'm half Filipino (my dads parents moved to Los Angeles from batangas in the late 60s, he's the only one of their five kids born in America), so I did know about most of these, except the nicknames! I have an aunt baby and my grandmother Victoria has always been called Betty, growing up I always thought it was strange but now I know that those are typical Filipino nicknames!<
I wasn't born in the Philippines but my parents were! Those still apply to me though (even though I'm not as fluent in Ilocano as I'd like to be)! My uncle's name is Boy! LOL! Anyways…yay Filipino pride!
Haha, I have an Auntie Betty whose real name I can't even remember because it was also completely different! Glad you learned something from me. Thanks for dropping by!
It makes me feel happy to hear (read?) that about my people. And interesting info about your love for rice. 🙂
Happy to help! Hope you enjoy your stay there, where exactly will you be going?
I think it's amazing how many languages you can speak. And I didn't know that about rice! I would have thought it was a stereotype! x
Yay! High five! 😀
Thanks! It gets confusing sometimes, though, and I speak one sentence using words from different languages and the one I'm talking to doesn't understand me. :-/
I think that's amazing and makes you super incredible! x
nice dee =)
Hahah! These are all so true! Rice is just about the most important part of the meal for most Filipinos. As long as there is rice, nothing else matters.
That's so cool that you know so many languages! One of my favorite things to read about in linguistics classes in college was code-switching. I also like learning about naming traditions. . .it's cool that you can trace genealogy by middle names. In America, it's just arbitrary, whatever "sounds good" together, though some people do use mother's maiden names.
Yeah, I remember when we went to an Italian restaurant where we ate only pasta, and when we arrived at home he was searching for rice!
Thanks Zen! =)
Most Filipino men do!
That's so true! I used to snack on rice with soy sauce and vinegar.
This is informative… I mean I did not know most of the facts ,mentioned here.<br />By the way every sixth person you meet in Kerala has the name Baby. And it comes in the form of name or surname.
Haha so my friend is not the only one who does it! He and your dad probably share the same DNA or something.
Yeah, it's easier to find relatives thanks to our middle names. Like if I met someone whose surname is my middle name, or my mom's middlename, it could be that we're relatives.
Oooh! That's interesting info! Thanks for sharing!
I like this story. And thank you author much.
You're welcome. 🙂
Yay! High five! 😀
Happy to help! Hope you enjoy your stay there, where exactly will you be going?
I think it's amazing how many languages you can speak. And I didn't know that about rice! I would have thought it was a stereotype! x
nice dee =)
It makes me feel happy to hear (read?) that about my people. And interesting info about your love for rice. 🙂
Hahah! These are all so true! Rice is just about the most important part of the meal for most Filipinos. As long as there is rice, nothing else matters.
That's so true! I used to snack on rice with soy sauce and vinegar.
I wasn't born in the Philippines but my parents were! Those still apply to me though (even though I'm not as fluent in Ilocano as I'd like to be)! My uncle's name is Boy! LOL! Anyways…yay Filipino pride!
Yeah, it's easier to find relatives thanks to our middle names. Like if I met someone whose surname is my middle name, or my mom's middlename, it could be that we're relatives.
Thanks! It gets confusing sometimes, though, and I speak one sentence using words from different languages and the one I'm talking to doesn't understand me. :-/
Yeah, I remember when we went to an Italian restaurant where we ate only pasta, and when we arrived at home he was searching for rice!
This is informative… I mean I did not know most of the facts ,mentioned here.<br />By the way every sixth person you meet in Kerala has the name Baby. And it comes in the form of name or surname.
You're welcome. 🙂
Haha so my friend is not the only one who does it! He and your dad probably share the same DNA or something.
I think that's amazing and makes you super incredible! x
That's so cool that you know so many languages! One of my favorite things to read about in linguistics classes in college was code-switching. I also like learning about naming traditions. . .it's cool that you can trace genealogy by middle names. In America, it's just arbitrary, whatever "sounds good" together, though some people do use mother's maiden names.
True! They usually bring home more than they leave with so I never complain 🙂 I've only been to the philippines a couple times when I was younger and I'm hoping to go back soon!
Oooh! That's interesting info! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Zen! =)
Most Filipino men do!
I agree. I spent 3 weeks in Pampanga and I loved it. The people are so warm and friendly, and sincere! Before traveling to the Philippines, I had only visited other Spanish-speaking or English-speaking countries and was worried I wouldn't be able to communicate around town. I was happy to find everyone speaks English! It's a great country.
I am glad that you agree with me about the friendliness thing! Thank you. 🙂
I have colleagues who are from Philippines. And should say they are one of the most friendly persons and always there for their people. 🙂
Aww thank you, that's a very nice thing to say about my people. Glad you enjoyed your stay. 🙂
Haha, I have an Auntie Betty whose real name I can't even remember because it was also completely different! Glad you learned something from me. Thanks for dropping by!
Ah yes, the balikbayan boxes. I guess that's related to #7 as well, in a way. Those usually contain presents for all the relatives back home!
this is all SO true lol i'd also like to add the traveling with boxes thing! every time im by a baggage claim i've noticed those big boxes almost alway belong to a filipino &my parents do it. sometimes.
I like this story. And thank you author much.
The Filipinos I know are so friendly! I could definitely get down with eating rice during every meal 🙂
interesting! I'm half Filipino (my dads parents moved to Los Angeles from batangas in the late 60s, he's the only one of their five kids born in America), so I did know about most of these, except the nicknames! I have an aunt baby and my grandmother Victoria has always been called Betty, growing up I always thought it was strange but now I know that those are typical Filipino nicknames!<
Such interesting facts! I'm planning to head to the Philippines next summer, so I love to read up on facts about the country and the people! 🙂