Filipina Long distance

La Águila Negra

 
Banned
Other Christian
Seafoods should be gotten from the market .. as for male friendship its really hard as People are very simpletons. Some are xenophobic and small minded as well. Deep conversations are Hard to come by. Upper class filipinos are generally more easy to and open to foreigners as well. Sadly most of the lower class only see foreigners as a ATM
The only intellectual conversation that I have ever had here was with a (full blooded) Chinese Filipino at the local Chinese temple.

I am sure there are plenty Filipinos of native stock that are intelligent as well but you just won't find them. They stay in their guarded subdivisions, go to their societies and mingle with the similar top 5 percent crowd at work or at exclusive gatherings

Maybe you can try the student crowd in Manila although I wouldn't get my hopes up
 

greenwolf

Woodpecker
Protestant
The only intellectual conversation that I have ever had here was with a (full blooded) Chinese Filipino at the local Chinese temple.

I am sure there are plenty Filipinos of native stock that are intelligent as well but you just won't find them. They stay in their guarded subdivisions, go to their societies and mingle with the similar top 5 percent crowd at work or at exclusive gatherings

Maybe you can try the student crowd in Manila although I wouldn't get my hopes up
Yeah met some of these. Hard to find them. But they are a smart bunch. No wonder I must add.
 

bmw633

Woodpecker
Good points. I'd like to retire there with my wife someday. Having a wife all but takes care of the companionship and her family will make for a lot of other people to do things with. Seafood is something I have been hoping to have a lot of!
Where I live, there are fresh fish, crabs, shrimp, clams, and oysters. Ice is not commonly used on seafood. Ovens are not usually found in Filipino homes, so everything is usually boiled or fried. Not many vegetables usually, rice every meal.

My wife has an oven and is a wonderful cook, and will make me anything I want.

As far as friends are concerned, some of her family speak good English and I am on good terms with them. Expats can be varieties: guys who are broke or have no savings, guys who are recluses and are antisocial, drunks or drug addicts, guys who are weak, used by their wives/GFs as ATMs, and then there are some nice guys who can be good friends.
 
But really, the food was very unhealthy, and very heavy on meats, particularly fried or grizzly and fatty processed meats. I was expecting a diet much more like Latin America with tons of fresh fruits along with some fish, due to the location. The sushi in Taiwan is incredible, and I don't understand why it's not more popular in the Phillippines.
I, too, was disappointed how hard it was to find fresh produce in the Philippines. And I visited multiple islands. All you can really find is meat in heavy sauce or deep fried with giant servings of white rice. The food in the Philippines is more related to the islander/Polynesian diet. This is most likely do to the standard of living across all islands. People in the Philippines just don't have enough disposable income, hence food will be the quality that is most affordable. Also, Filipinos do not care for raw fish and the average Filipino wouldn't really be able to afford sashimi. The worst part of the Philippines was the supply chain operations. I walked into a Jollibee (Filipino equivalent of McDonald's) and there were like 5 teenage employees just sitting and texting on their phones while I waited 30 mins for my food. Terrible service.

Taiwan is close to the Philippines in geography, however they are culturally way more East Asian. Not to mention their economy is much stronger so its citizens have the spending power. Noodles in Taiwan are freshly handmade and their beef soup always has tender chunks of slow cooked beef. Their service was great, too - once a table was vacant, someone would clean and wipe it down within seconds so that the next party could sit. Kids were super behaved, too. A huge contrast from the Philippines. I loved my visit to Taiwan.
 
Last edited:

GWYW2015

 
Banned
Orthodox
I, too, was disappointed how hard it was to find fresh produce in the Philippines. And I visited multiple islands. All you can really find is meat in heavy sauce or deep fried with giant servings of white rice. The food in the Philippines is more related to the islander/Polynesian diet. This is most likely do to the standard of living across all islands. People in the Philippines just don't have enough disposable income, hence food will be the quality that is most affordable. Also, Filipinos do not care for raw fish and the average Filipino wouldn't really be able to afford sashimi. The worst part of the Philippines was the supply chain operations. I walked into a Jollibee (Filipino equivalent of McDonald's) and there were like 5 teenage employees just sitting and texting on their phones while I waited 30 mins for my food. Terrible service.

Taiwan is close to the Philippines in geography, however they are culturally way more East Asian. Not to mention their economy is much stronger so its citizens have the spending power. Noodles in Taiwan are freshly handmade and their beef soup always has tender chunks of slow cooked beef. Their service was great, too - once a table was vacant, someone would clean and wipe it down within seconds so that the next party could sit. Kids were super behaved, too. A huge contrast from the Philippines. I loved my visit to Taiwan.
I have been to Jolibee a lot over the last five years in Davao and it has always been busy with no time for anyone to relax. Swamped usually. About all I eat there is the spaghetti with the little beanie weanie in there, maybe there is more than one, but I like that.
 

Transsimian

Pelican
Gold Member
Taiwan is close to the Philippines in geography, however they are culturally way more East Asian. Not to mention their economy is much stronger so its citizens have the spending power. Noodles in Taiwan are freshly handmade and their beef soup always has tender chunks of slow cooked beef. Their service was great, too - once a table was vacant, someone would clean and wipe it down within seconds so that the next party could sit. Kids were super behaved, too. A huge contrast from the Philippines. I loved my visit to Taiwan.

Taiwan is basically a less uptight/xenophobic but more feminist version of Japan.

It's worlds' away from the Philippines.
 

alchemical

Sparrow
Catholic
They stay in their guarded subdivisions, go to their societies and mingle with the similar top 5 percent crowd at work or at exclusive gatherings
Filipinos tend to be clannish. Could be a good thing or a bad depending on one's perspective
The only intellectual conversation that I have ever had here was with a (full blooded) Chinese Filipino at the local Chinese temple. I am sure there are plenty Filipinos of native stock that are intelligent as well but you just won't find them.

Intellectual =/= intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence: Philosophy, psychology and theology are often of interest to people with intrapersonal intelligence. They are quintessentially introspective.

Interpersonal intelligence: People with Interpersonal intelligence thrive with social interaction. They are enthusiastic and lively.

Intellectualism is mostly nonexistent here. Interpersonal intelligence is far more honed than anything (Phils being texting capital of the world).

A 145 IQ pinoy would rather crack jokes with you that discuss philosophy. Chances are you've met one, but wasn't able to tell. The so called intellectuals tend to parrot SJW/liberal talking points, not worth the time.

I'm sorry if that has been your experience; I myself have only 1 or 2 people that I can talk about deep stuff... but too much introspection leads to blackpilling which in turn causes me depression so I'd prefer someone I can have a laugh with.
 

greenwolf

Woodpecker
Protestant
I, too, was disappointed how hard it was to find fresh produce in the Philippines. And I visited multiple islands. All you can really find is meat in heavy sauce or deep fried with giant servings of white rice. The food in the Philippines is more related to the islander/Polynesian diet. This is most likely do to the standard of living across all islands. People in the Philippines just don't have enough disposable income, hence food will be the quality that is most affordable. Also, Filipinos do not care for raw fish and the average Filipino wouldn't really be able to afford sashimi. The worst part of the Philippines was the supply chain operations. I walked into a Jollibee (Filipino equivalent of McDonald's) and there were like 5 teenage employees just sitting and texting on their phones while I waited 30 mins for my food. Terrible service.

Taiwan is close to the Philippines in geography, however they are culturally way more East Asian. Not to mention their economy is much stronger so its citizens have the spending power. Noodles in Taiwan are freshly handmade and their beef soup always has tender chunks of slow cooked beef. Their service was great, too - once a table was vacant, someone would clean and wipe it down within seconds so that the next party could sit. Kids were super behaved, too. A huge contrast from the Philippines. I loved my visit to Taiwan.
I live in Africa. People fish and eat fruits if they cannot afford nothing else and it grows everywhere. After that you get veggies, which are harder to grow than fruits on trees.
That is the option to survive with 1$/day and is doable for foreigner for maybe 4$/day.
All organic and healthy, so it shows that money does not equal good, fresh and organic food.

So, something is really fd up in the Philippines where I lived before but could not cope with the very very bad food. Something with that place is just very off and one just ought to look at the head of state.
 
Filipinos tend to be clannish. Could be a good thing or a bad depending on one's perspective


Intellectual =/= intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence: Philosophy, psychology and theology are often of interest to people with intrapersonal intelligence. They are quintessentially introspective.

Interpersonal intelligence: People with Interpersonal intelligence thrive with social interaction. They are enthusiastic and lively.

Intellectualism is mostly nonexistent here. Interpersonal intelligence is far more honed than anything (Phils being texting capital of the world).

A 145 IQ pinoy would rather crack jokes with you that discuss philosophy. Chances are you've met one, but wasn't able to tell. The so called intellectuals tend to parrot SJW/liberal talking points, not worth the time.

I'm sorry if that has been your experience; I myself have only 1 or 2 people that I can talk about deep stuff... but too much introspection leads to blackpilling which in turn causes me depression so I'd prefer someone I can have a laugh with.

I've been away from this forum for awhile and so I wanted to check in and say hello. I'm still in the Philippines as an American expat with my Filipina. We got a big house that she and my four stepdaughters are in love with. It is three tall stories and looks like a villa you might see in Italy. The house is leased and my expenses are strained now. An extremely wealthy friend of her family made this possible for us. The joke is that if he pulled out all of his money from the local bank, it would fail!

I have been craving good conversation and some intellectual thought since coming here. I developed a friendship with my partner's brother in law, who has a master's in education and is a public school teacher. The guy has worked overseas, speaks fluent English and has lots of fun stories about his misadventures as a "lady's man." He has a young son who often visits us. He and my partner's sister have a strained relationship, but they plan to fairly soon start on building their house. But they must first evict the family that is squatting on the land!

My partner has a small army of cousins, though most of them only have very basic educations and backgrounds. But they are still good men and I admire their bond with each other and their respect for their family. I have developed a good friendship with two of them, one a salesman at Home Depot, and the other a computer repair technician. I don't see them relocating to the west.

Something I've noticed and that they complain about, is that if you are a low or even mid level worker in the Philippines, pay tends to be very low. A blue collar worker in a trade who would do well in America, does not make that much over here. To my surprise, many of my partner's young cousins, though in their late twenties, are still single and childless, rather than married with kids. This seems to be both due to a lack of job earning power, and also because they seem gun-shy about the big responsibilities of family. They seem to enjoy meeting together after work, and drinking soda laced with liquor, as they talk about life or surf the net on their phones. The older and more successful cousins have generally married and have kids.

The cousins said they have a monthly tradition (pre-pandemic) of once a month going on a day hike together. Usually about a dozen guys, and I was invited. I love hiking and so I was delighted and accepted. It only took two years for this invitation to happen! Lol

Our family doctor seems to always enjoy seeing me, and discussed how one of his sister's is now married to an American and that they live in my home state. I'm nobody special but I feel a little bit like a minor celebrity in my area here. But in Manilla I'm just another visitor from America or Europe. My next door neighbor is a wealthy business owner who does not deign to speak with me, but instead looks at me and my family with a certain haughty disapproval. Supposedly, his house has been sold, and in a few months a family from either Taiwan or South Korea will be moving in (my Filipino spy was bad at remembering the details), which should be interesting. I'm rooting for Taiwanese so we can discuss the rising potential threat of China, while my four stepdaughters want Koreans, with basically the boy band BTS moving in! Lol
 
@MovingForward2050
My brother, introverted that he is, is planning to fly back here once he's done with his internship in Japan. Apparently, Japan is too 'introverted' for him... or somewhere along those lines.

I'd trade places with him though.

One of my regrets in life is that I have not yet visited Japan. I would love to not only see Tokyo, but explore the rest of the nation. I also want to visit South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. I have always been very curious about Asia. I have been to mainland China, though it was only Xiamen, a sort of "show city" for travelers.
 

GWYW2015

 
Banned
Orthodox
Filipinos tend to be clannish. Could be a good thing or a bad depending on one's perspective


Intellectual =/= intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence: Philosophy, psychology and theology are often of interest to people with intrapersonal intelligence. They are quintessentially introspective.

Interpersonal intelligence: People with Interpersonal intelligence thrive with social interaction. They are enthusiastic and lively.

Intellectualism is mostly nonexistent here. Interpersonal intelligence is far more honed than anything (Phils being texting capital of the world).

A 145 IQ pinoy would rather crack jokes with you that discuss philosophy. Chances are you've met one, but wasn't able to tell. The so called intellectuals tend to parrot SJW/liberal talking points, not worth the time.

I'm sorry if that has been your experience; I myself have only 1 or 2 people that I can talk about deep stuff... but too much introspection leads to blackpilling which in turn causes me depression so I'd prefer someone I can have a laugh with.
My Filipina wife is one of those types and I am the other. I focus on meeting her needs and have never been concerned about having deep discussions although some times I'd like to. I can try to teach her things she doesn't know but I will not force her to learn; only the biblical things will I say are a must to know.

We get along very well. I didn't know much about before we quickly got married. Someone told me once, "If both of you are the same, then one of you isn't needed!"
 

alchemical

Sparrow
Catholic
One of my regrets in life is that I have not yet visited Japan. I would love to not only see Tokyo, but explore the rest of the nation. I also want to visit South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. I have always been very curious about Asia. I have been to mainland China, though it was only Xiamen, a sort of "show city" for travelers.
Was about to with some relatives to Osaka where my brother is staying, in the process of applying for visa but then the 'rona happened. He's now in ice cold Siberia--I mean Sapporo lol
 

Gremlin

Robin
Non-Christian
Filipinos tend to be clannish. Could be a good thing or a bad depending on one's perspective


Intellectual =/= intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence: Philosophy, psychology and theology are often of interest to people with intrapersonal intelligence. They are quintessentially introspective.

Interpersonal intelligence: People with Interpersonal intelligence thrive with social interaction. They are enthusiastic and lively.

Intellectualism is mostly nonexistent here. Interpersonal intelligence is far more honed than anything (Phils being texting capital of the world).

A 145 IQ pinoy would rather crack jokes with you that discuss philosophy. Chances are you've met one, but wasn't able to tell. The so called intellectuals tend to parrot SJW/liberal talking points, not worth the time.

I'm sorry if that has been your experience; I myself have only 1 or 2 people that I can talk about deep stuff... but too much introspection leads to blackpilling which in turn causes me depression so I'd prefer someone I can have a laugh with.
Intrapersonal intelligence is rare and doesn't pay off in SE Asian countries for a couple of reasons.

1. 99.8% of any given SE Asian population is incapable of it. I've long noticed that they have short attention spans that extends far into adulthood. If there isn't a quick payoff, then they're not interested and proceed to babble small talk amongst themselves and get fidgety.

2. The noisy environment doesn't really allow people to delve into intellectual pursuits. Honking, endless chatter. munching on food, loud music and karaoke, constant drinking and partying, and 50 cafes and restaurants on every street make for constant distraction. I'm convinced precious silence makes them nervous. They all love noise pollution.
 

alchemical

Sparrow
Catholic
The noisy environment doesn't really allow people to delve into intellectual pursuits. Honking, endless chatter. munching on food, loud music and karaoke, constant drinking and partying, and 50 cafes and restaurants on every street make for constant distraction. I'm convinced precious silence makes them nervous. They all love noise pollution.
You're onto something here. Though I wouldn't say it's noise per se, just the chatter and lively music. I guess it somehow reinforces the feeling of being part of a group, that you are not alone.

Maybe because the region doesn't have winter so no one experienced prolonged isolation in their homes. A few days of silence (no texting included) can be downright agonizing for some.
 

Seeker79

Kingfisher
You're onto something here. Though I wouldn't say it's noise per se, just the chatter and lively music. I guess it somehow reinforces the feeling of being part of a group, that you are not alone.

Maybe because the region doesn't have winter so no one experienced prolonged isolation in their homes. A few days of silence (no texting included) can be downright agonizing for some.
Adding onto this, life in SEA and many developing countries affords very little privacy. Sure, the rich and well to do lives that are more Western but the general population grows up with no privacy. This means they have very different understanding of personal space, intrusion into private activities, and ultimately level of sharing expected. It's not better or worse, just different.
 
Top