Philippines – Manila Davao Borocay – Travel Food Entertainment

1.    Philippines has 7101 Islands that are rich in natural resources, from lovely high mountains, beautiful beaches, hot and cool spring resorts, and even mineral deposits. Wherever you go within the country, you’ll ever find tourist destinations that will set your mood to affections and will have an amorous affair with the nature.
2.    Cheapest country to live. Philippines have a low cost of living. Foreigners really love to go shopping in the Philippines because it is much cheaper compared to their countries. In fact, many investors are putting their investment in the Philippines because aside from the fact that purchasing manpower in the Philippines is very low, they could also hire skillful, competitive and hard working Filipinos who are willing to work under pressure. Cosmetics and medical surgeries are very affordable but ensures high standard.
3.    Distinctive characteristics of Filipinos. Filipinos is known for being hospitable, charming and very friendly to their visitors. They are family oriented and develop a close family ties even up to fifth generation. They are also passionate, caring and most especially have a good disposition in life. Despite of the adversities in their life, their hopes still rising up to the stars thinking that there is always a better way of making up things and remain jolly. They are known to be a cheerful people. They could still make jokes out of their misery.
4.    Restaurants in the Philippines offered a varied menu from local cuisine to international cuisine. You’ll never be homesick because it feels that you are at home when you eat foods that are cooked by Filipinos chef. It is more affordable yet offers a 100% guaranteed satisfaction.
5.    Filipinos are English literate, so it’s easy for the foreigners to deal with Filipinos. It is merely because English is part of their education curriculum since grade school. Even grade school pupils know how to speak English in simple sentence.

The Philippines has been influenced by many nations. They have been occupied for a long time by Spain and then the Americans by a few decades. The Japanese came and then the Americans again. Filipinos themselves like to be influenced and perhaps a little too much. Theytake pride on the fact that they can copy other cultures and perhaps make their practices even better than the original.

1)    Spain- For more than 300 years, the Philippines was under Spanish rule. On march 16, 1521, the great explorer Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal landed in Masao Island and thus stated the conquest of Spain on the Philippines. Magellan proved that the world was round and also proved that primitive weapons hurt and can kill as well. Spain’s main influence can be seen in religion as the Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia. Spain also used religion to rule over the land and enslave a lot of Filipinos. These days, Spain’s influence other than Catholicism can be seen in the food, language and foul language.

2)    United States- The US were only here for a long time and for a lot of historians, their conquest of the Philippines was a fluke. History shows that the Philippines was ready to take over Intramuros, the seat of Power at that time when Spain sold the Philippines to the US via the Treaty of Paris. Nevertheless, the influence is much greater after World War II when the Americans basically made the country look like a mini-US. Today, the Philippines is very much “westernized” or Americanized. For the longest time, products would sell better if it were called “stateside” and “imported”. Filipinos love a lot of things about American culture such as fast food, sitcoms and music. Furthermore, most Filipinos can speak a little bit of English making it very easy to communicate even for foreigners. Almost anything American can be a hit in the country. Hollywood movies are flocked, Starbucks is always filled to the brim and the latest fashion is followed or replicated.

3)    China- Unlike the other three countries in this list, China never conquered the country by way of military might. Instead, China got into Philippine culture by way of mercantilism. Since time immemorial, the Philippines has been trading with the Philippines and Chinese immigrants who decided to live here brought along their culture. In terms of food, Filipinos love Chinese food such as siopao, siomai, taho and hopia. Filipinos also follow some aspects of Chinese culture such as feng shui, dragon dances and even Chinese New Year. Lately, Chinese movies by way of Hong Kong has also been vey popular as well as some TV soap operas

4)    Japan- Japan conquered the Philippines for only a few years and was never truly embraced by the country. Historians point to the fact that unlike Spain they were only here for a few years and unlike the Americans, they were very harsh on the Filipinos. As a result, people did not want to be like them and their influence has been minimal.