After I finished the meal I requested the bill.  I already had the amount of 220 plus a tip in my hand.  To my surprise the bill was 300.   I did ask why the price was different and the waitress explained that they put the prices up last night on that particular menu item.  She neglected to inform me of this when I ordered.

The thought might occur to some that maybe I was being given a special “kano” price.   I doubt it in this case and hope for her sake that is not the case because I am a good friend of the Filipino owner of the restaurant and will mention the incident to him, not to complain by way of feedback.

This type of price changing without warning is a fairly common practice in the Philippines and, while the Filipinos I have discussed it with say they don’t like it, they seem to accept it.

For most foreigners it is totally unacceptable and many will become indignant.   In most Western countries a business is compelled by law to honor its published pricing.

Assuming you are not being given special “kano” pricing my advice is just pay the bill and take your business elsewhere in future.   Getting upset or being principled about it will not enlighten the staff or management.  They will think that you are just another “high blood” foreigner or even just “kuripot” (stingy with money).

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In the life experiences of both camps they are both correct.   Our minds are amazing filtering devices and will seek out evidence in the real world that supports our underlying beliefs.  To put it simply if you look for good in people you will see a lot more of the good and if you look for bad you will see more of that.

People are fundamentally the same all around world.   Sounds like a cliché but I have come to know this as an absolute truth.  We have the same biology and basically function the same way.

The differences we observe and label as cultural are very superficial but again the mind is amazing at filtering the external world and if we are looking for differences we will see them in abundance.   The reality is we humans are driven by the same fundamental motivations and share the same emotional responses.

I know of many long term expats that would disagree with the preceding statement.  They are perplexed by the apparent lack of logic in the actions of many of the Filipinos they encounter but this is because they are focused on details and fail to see the bigger picture.  They are viewing things from their own very limited perspective yet in their minds they truly believe that is the only possible viewpoint thus there is no logic in what they see.

Behind every action no matter how self detrimental it might seem to the observer there is a positive intention on the part of the perpetrator.   Very often they are not even consciously aware of it themselves.   There is a reason for everything a person does and it is only perplexing because we look at the action in isolation.  In other words Filipinos have logical reasons for all their actions and if we don’t understand them it’s because we are ignorant of their circumstances.

By its very nature this blog focuses on the apparent differences between the Filipino and the rest of humanity.  As already stated these differences are superficial but none the less can be challenging to the non-Filipino and cause misunderstandings and fuel misconceptions.

Those that tend to make negative generalizations about Filipinos fail to see individuals and only expect responses that confirm their established beliefs.  Their minds will obey and provide filtered feedback that confirms their beliefs.  Most of these people will never change their minds because all their life experience to date only supports their belief.

Don’t fall into the trap of negative stereotyping the Filipino as so many expats do.   They seem to enjoy complaining about the way Filipinos do things and sharing their “proof” to confirm their belief.  If they don’t like it in the Philippines then I say to them go back to your own “perfect” countries… anyway why did they even come to the Philippines in the first place?

Being aware of some prevalent Filipino values and beliefs (generalizations) is useful as long as you always remember to see the person as an individual.  Here is the thing to remember.  The Filipinos are also often working from stereotyped models of foreigners.

Break this communication cycle by reaching out to connect to them as a fellow human being.  Look beyond the stereotype for an individual and you will be amazed at how suddenly they are no longer your “typical Filipino” and become the exception.

The same goes for Filipinos.   Next time you encounter a foreigner try looking beyond the stereotyping you have learned and see them as an individual and fellow human being.

We all have much more in common than we have differences.

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In 2006 I first made this site with basically the article Produced below entitled “So You Want To Move To The Philippines!”

I am a web host and Internet marketer with a long association with the Philippines. When I saw an opportunity to promote the excellent ebooks on the Philippines written by my friend Perry Gamsby, I decided to create this site.  The main theme of the site was to encourage people, especially men, to examine their own motives for wanting to move to the Philippines.

I am aware that the original site became a topic of discussion on a Cebu government message board where someone expressed dismay at the image of the Philippines as destination for sex tourism.  In particular they referred to the image of the bargirls.

I did not intend the site to promote an image of the Philippines as a sex tourism destination or be degrading to Filipino women in any way.

There are only two references to Filipino women in the original site:

The first reference is “Are you excited by availability of so many beautiful Filipinas?” and is presented as one of the common motives men might have for wanting to move to the Philippines.  The site attempts to tell them that the reality is often different than what they imagined.

The second reference is a caption under a picture of bargirls saying “Find Philippine Bar Girls that are not so innocent”.   I have to admit this was an unfortunate choice of phrase that taken out of context does seem to promote sex tourism.  It was only used in the context of a theme of contrasting extremes and meant to be humorous.   In the contrasting image above I used a picture of my wife with the caption “Find Sweet and Beautiful Filipina Ladies” and thus the next caption leant itself to use of the “Find” word not as encouragement to do so but rather pointing to their existence.

The rest of the page only encouraged people to seek more information about the Philippines via the ebooks offered by Perry so that they can make an informed decision about moving to the Philippines and not move there for the wrong reasons.  Below is the original site:

So you want to move to the Philippines!

What is it about the Philippines that attracts you?

Do you have a romantic view of life in a tropical paradise?

Want to Escape the Rat Race for a more relaxed pace of life?

Are you excited by availability of so many beautiful Filipinas?

If you are not moving to the Philippines for work then the above are some of the more common motivations for many wanting to move to the Philippines.

THE PHILIPPINES CAN OFFER ALL OF THE ABOVE!

…but you need to be fully prepared to avoid disappointment

The reality is often different from what you imagined.

You may have already visited many times on holiday, but you will find that living in the Philippines is very different. No amount of visits will fully prepare you for the experience of actually living in the Philippines.

To better prepare yourself and find out more about the reality of living in the Philippines you need to learn about the experiences of others.

There are many free resources on the net that you can find using a Search Engine and common terms such as “Living in the Philippines”.

Some sites you will find seem to view the Philippines through Rose Colored Glasses and omit all the negatives. On one popular site about living in the Philippines the owner, who has been living in the Philippines for many years, will tell you on his page that the language is easy to learn. Yet this guy has not learnt it himself in all that time.

In reality learning Filipino is not that easy and it’s also not really necessary anyway. I am actually learning Cebuano properly as I believe there are advantages.

There are also many online forums and groups where you can find others that share your interest in moving to the Philippines, and can share information with you. Learning from expats that have the experience is your best option.

One such expat has committed his extensive experiences to a number of ebooks marketed under Streetwise Philippines. What makes these ebooks invaluable to anyone considering moving to the Philippines is that he tells it exactly as he sees it – the good, the bad and the ugly.

These ebooks will give you invaluable insights and knowledge about what its like to live in the Philippines that will save you both time and money. In fact I would suggest that you will save the small cost of the ebook purchase multiple times and you will look back on the purchase of these ebooks as one of your best investments.

Dreaming of Moving to a tropical Paradise?

This is the Paradise for millions of Filipinos

Escape the Rat Race and relax

Join The Philippines Rat Race instead

Find Sweet and Beautiful Filipina Ladies

Find Philippine Bar Girls that are not so innocent

BEFORE MOVING TO THE PHILIPPINES
GET THESE EBOOKS

THESE TWO BOOKS ARE THE BEST GUIDES TO LIVING
AND MAKING MONEY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Philippine
Dreams

Philippines Dreams includes information specifically on moving to the Philippines and will give you a better idea what its like to live day-to-day in the Philippines and list some of the disadvantages also.

Live the Philippines Dream

Making A Living
in the Philippines

Making A Living In The Philippines will be of interest to many that need to make money in order to live in the Philippines by working, starting a business or investment.

Make Money in the Philippines by working, business or investment

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