Philippines, the blacksheep of Asia?

Last Saturday, Fernando and I were invited by a Taiwanese family for dinner. It was my first time to eat homemade Taiwanese food. They were such a lovely and hospitable family. Their niece happens to be my former classmate in Spanish class. The food was vegetarian, but not vegan as they eat eggs and drink milk: ) We talked about many things and I learned a lot from their culture. I have not visited Taiwan but I have been to a number of places around Asia. I am from Asia but seeing these places and meeting different kinds of people, I can say Filipinos is quite different from the rest of Eastern and Southeast Asia.

So my husband and I were discussing about the previous night and he said that the Philippines is the black sheep of Eastern and Southeast Asia. Is Philippines really a black sheep? Well, you can make your conclusion after reading the rest of this but, all I can say is that we are quite different from the rest of them. However each country in Asia has its own ways, but there are factors and ways that are common among them that is not so evident in the Philippines.

I shall name a few things that make us the black sheep as my husband says:

The barako coffee beans which is grown in Batangas, Philippines

First of all, when people think of Asians, they assume that we drink tea, lots of tea. That is true; the rest of Asia does but not Philippines. No matter how hot our country is, we are really big coffee drinkers. No wonder why Starbucks is making so much money on us, but then again it is not only Starbucks, we have our local Figaro and other Coffee places!!! But these are the high end coffee, in the common household we have the dependable Nescafe, Great Taste and some other brands that I don’t know.  I am not saying that none of us drink tea because we do drink that as well, but most of us prefer coffee.

The Philippines was colonized by Spain for 300 years and we have acquired a lot of ways from them, from food, beliefs and behaviors. We were also under the Americans and the Japanese. So Filipino’s are a mix of Malay, Spanish, Chinese and American!!! Our ways indeed is a melting pot of different cultures. The Spanish and American are the most dominant of the foreign cultures.  One of the most important thing that the Spanish has left us, is the most practiced religion in our country, which is Roman Catholic. While the rest is into Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, Philippines on the other hand, has the largest followers for Roman Catholicism. There are other religions too in the country, but the major one is Catholic.

Due to our great faith in our religion we have a lot of festivals related to that. For every place, there will always be a fiesta in honor of the Saint that is the Patron for each place. WE LOVE OUR FIESTAS, AND WE LOVE TO EAT!!! This is the day where you don’t have a specific number of guests, such day is open to as many guests as you can accommodate. So a huge preparation is done the day before and on the day itself: ) You can indeed undergo a lot of stress if you don’t have enough food to serve your guests. In a place called Bohol. The whole month is a fiesta, since every town celebrates their patron one after another. If you find yourself in Bohol on the month of May, you can actually eat in their homes. They invite people even if they are strangers.

Bohol Philippines!! The land of the fiesta!!: )

So apart from eating, what happens during the fiesta? Certainly there would always be a beauty pageant on this day, as well as a parade, a big dance and parties everywhere , but the most common for the rest of the household would the karaoke session!!!You don’t know Filipinos if you haven’t took part in a Karaoke session. I swear they are masters in singing!!! A lot of them have great voices too and even if they don’t, they will sing like there is no tomorrow!!! They would fight over the microphone and know the lyrics by heart: ) I know a lot of lyrics too but I don’t fight over the microphone because at home we neither have a microphone or karaoke!!!

Jollibee and Ronald Mc Donald. I find Jollibee really cute, unfortunately clowns freak me out!!

Another thing that is greatly Filipino is the love for Spaghetti and Fried Chicken. I have been to Mc Donald’s, from Asia to Europe and now in Argentina, but they do not serve  Spaghetti nor Fried Chicken. Yes, there is Chicken Nuggets but not Fried Chicken. In almost all food establishments in the Philippines you must have Spaghetti or Fried Chicken on the menu. That is staple on your menu if want people to come. This also very important for the kids who are quite difficult to feed, but give them Spaghetti or Fried Chicken and you can eat in a restaurant in peace: )  So yes, our Mc Donald’s and Kentucky fried chicken serves Spaghetti, but not just any Spaghetti, we want the sweet Filipino way and even better if it has hotdogs!!! The one with the hotdogs is served in Jollibee, a major team player in the food industry and is the competitor of Mc Donald’s. God I’m craving for Spaghetti now!!!

After a big meal during lunch, some of us will rest and take our siesta. This is very Spanish. Siesta is the nap that you take in the afternoon. If not then they will probably watch those telenovelas. Not just any telenovela, but the Mexican ones. Why? We find them handsome and really beautiful!! No matter if the plot has been repeated several times, we don’t really care.

Last but not the least is the fact that we speak English quite well. Our tourism industry may not be as big as Thailand and the rest but, you certainly can’t get lost because someone who speaks in English can happily assist you: ) This is a really big advantage for us. That is why a lot of Filipinos work abroad, because apart from the language efficiency, Filipinos are really hard workers. In school we are taught in English. Most of the newspapers and magazines are in English. Even the television is in English. There are a lot of Tagalog too but the English programs have no Tagalog subtitles unlike the countries!!

So you can say we are quite different, but that is what makes us Filipino. I love being one even if a lot of people don’t really know who we really are and how our country is. We are not as backwards as you think, one must go visit there to see for yourself. Don’t ever judge us just because you met a few Filipinos in your country, go there and see it!!! It’s quite an experience, but it is always an advantage if you know someone there: )

Please mind your manners – Part I

-  Today I was thrilled that I got a comment on this blog!!!I haven’t written so much stuff and that’s the reason why I didn’t ask my friends to look at it yet. However, I am glad that what I wrote was helpful because the idea of this blog is to help others. In connection to my first post on proper table setting, I shall now talk about table manners!!! This topic is very long, I shall discuss the basic rules first.

-  One of the ways to get to know a person is eating out with them. Of course what I have to say maybe a bit discriminating for others, but this is very important to avoid embarrassing situations when dining. Many years ago my brother told me, that the way a certain individual eats is a mirror to his personality. Those words were always a reminder whenever I see someone who eats in a very disturbing manner.
The point of dining etiquette is to make a person comfortable and not uncomfortable. Confidence is essential to personal and professional success.

The NAPKIN

-  As soon as you are seated in a restaurant, you may unfold the napkin and place it on your lap. The waiters will do it for you in other places but it is not rude to do it on your own. In a party, wait for your host to pick up his napkin. This is your signal to do the same.

-  The napkin will remain on your lap until the meal is finish. If you excuse yourself, loosely fold the napkin and place it to the left or right side of the plate.
Do not use the napkin to BLOW your nose!!! Napkins are used to gently blot your mouth.
After the meal, place the napkin semi- folded on the left side of the plate. Do not crumple or twist it. The napkin should not be placed on the chair.

How do you know when to eat?

-  In a restaurant, wait till everyone gets their order.
-  In a party, wait till the host picks up his cutlery. Unless the host tells you to eat first, then it’s fine to go ahead.

Silverware and ways to eat

-  The general rule for a traditional place setting that I discussed in my previous blog is that forks are on the left of the plate and knives and spoons are on the right. The dessert spoon and fork are above the plate or comes with the dessert. The silver is placed in order of use. Use the silverware farthest from your plate first. Remember the rule that you should begin outside and work in.
You must not forget that solids are on the left and liquids are on the right. Any food or dish on your left is yours, and any glass on your right is yours.

There are two methods of using the fork and knife:

-  American Style: The knife is on your right and fork in left hand. After slicing your food, place the knife on the edge of the plates, with blades facing in. Then eat your food by switching your fork to the right.( unless you are left handed).
-  European or Continental Style: The knife is on your right hand and fork in left hand. In this method, the fork remains on the left. There is no switching involved.

Using the soup spoon:

-  This is such a common mistake! I have seen this error so many times .So you dip the spoon into the soup, moving it away from the body, until it is two –thirds full, then sip the liquid without slurping from the side of the spoon. Do not insert the whole spoon inside your mouth!!! And do not dip it towards your body. Remember to dip it outwards. You may tilt the bowl slightly away from the body to get the last drops of the soup.

Rules on the spoon if you are Asian:

-  You may use the spoon for more casual dining, but it’s more appropriate to use fork and knife for formal dining. It may be easier to use the spoon specially if you are eating rice, but to be proper is never easy and quick, one must do things gently and elegantly : )

To signal that you are done with the meal:

-  Rest your fork and knife on top of the plate, in a a five o’clock position. The fork in American Style is tines up, European or Continental Style is tines down. Any unused silverware is simply left on the table.

American Style

European Style

References:

Table manners for dummies
Etiquette with Miss Janice
www.whatscookingamerica.net