Tapsilog

 Small store that serves food to small prices. You can order rice and a variety of sidings, such as fish, vegetables, beef, pork..

 Motorbike with side wagon and roof. One ride cost 6 peso. It looks like a small transportation; practically many Filipinos can ride with it. The streets are crowded with it. Not allowed on the highways.

Tricycle

Jeepney

 The origin are old troop transportation jeeps from the US Army that where left behind after US gave sovereignty to the Philippines. There are newer models colorful painted and decorated with all thinkable and unthinkable stuffs. Most favorite motives are comic action figures like Spiderman, Batman, aso.. A ride cost 6 Peso per person. They are restricted on some highways but probably the most common public transportation.

 The common bus line here is the Cerresliner. Just a few models are closed and air conditioned. The rest open windowed, overfull and like a sauna when the bus stops. It’s good to cover the bigger distance between villages and to discover the Philippines via backpack. You can simply stop them everywhere and ride for low price. The disadvantage: less space, no air when it stops, many stops.. And if the bus driver makes his lunch break he just parks the bus and the passenger must wait. They drive crazy and super fast.

Bus

Boat/Ship

 To discover the other islands you need to charter either a private pump boat (small fisher boot) for smaller distances or buy a ticket for a ferry. The distances to cover with the slow ferries are often more than 6 hours so most of the ferries have beds instead of chairs. The smaller fast ferry just goes to the nearer islands (2 hours). And everywhere: WATCH YOUR BELONGINGS! Especially when you sleep. Bring a bed sheet.

 A 16-21 day year old egg with grown embryo inside. It’s offered in the streets and will be eaten raw. Careful - the word not to mix up with Baiot! :-)

Balot

Bayot

A Gay. Many many many.. 2 types: 1 acts girlish but dresses like a boy (my favorite) and 2 acts super girly, dresses with girls stuff and some are also operated (boops and removed little man). Not to mix up with Balot! :-)

 Everywhere you can hear (mostly drunken) guys singing with more or less acceptable voices. And it’s hard to resist this family and party fun.

Karaoke

Live
music

 Very famous. No bigger bar that not offers a live band or acoustic. You don’t have to pay entrance, just order your food and drinks and enjoy the music.

 …Are not existent here. The people know only “hot”, “very hot”, “windy” and “rainy”.. No need for thermometers since the temperatures drops rarely below 25 degree.

Thermo-
meter

 Texting

 Almost everybody owns a cell phone. But not for calling. The communication takes place via text. Even your boss or other managers will contacted via text. The provider Globe, Smart and Sun offer “unlimited texting”. If not unlimited 1 text costs 1 Peso.

 Not sweet and full of creamer – not good. Over 90 % of the consumed coffee is instant coffee like Nescafe. It mostly will be served 3 in 1 – means coffee, creamer and sugar. Only sometimes you have the choice what to put to your cup. The alternative are coffee shops like Starbucks, Bo’s Coffee, Mr. Coffee, …

Coffee

Bread

 White and sweet. Rarely will you find it without sugar. For an European-similar taste you must go to the more expansive bake shop French Baker – still it’s super soft and not dark.. In the countless smaller bakeshops like Julie’s you can buy small bread for 1 peso (good for emergencies).

 Everything you see – can be bought on black market. DVD’s for 65 Peso, Adidas shoes 350 Peso, Software (newest) 60-100 Peso, Watches 180 Peso, branded cloth – all price varieties..

Black
market

TV

 Stupid shows are shown all over the world. Also here. But the difference is – no matter where a TV is on – the people group around it and stare on it. Or at home – TV on and stare. It is like most of the people here are brainwashed with the command “stop doing whatever you do and stare with open mouth to the TV as soon it’s turned on and forget what’s around you”. No offense my friends, just what I observed.

 A grilled chicken. Offered at the street in countless little stores that only roasts chicken. Eaten with Puso and soy sauce. Once someone told me that Filipinos eat all parts of a chicken beside the shit.

Lechon
Manok

Lechon
Baboy

 A grilled pig. Offered at the street. A whole suckling pig (spanferkel) costs 3500 Peso. The people say the best part are head and skin (the skin is full of fat - with regards to the cholesterol).

 Or hanging rice. Rice wrapped in coconut leaves and cooked. A specialty. Around 2 Peso.

Puso

Soy
sauce

 As long you can dip something you need to dip it in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi and a few chili’s.

 The Filipinos are crazy for potato chips. No event without it.

Potato
Chips

Dried
Fish

 Dried fish and squid are also specialties. Fried in oil and served hot. Nice is the smell if you are near the sea and people dry their fishes there..

 Very famous. Very delicious. Offered at the streets for around 10 peso (dependent on the size). There are also fried chicken heads and feeds – which I didn’t try yet..

Fried
Chicken

Rice

 One cup for breakfast, one cup for lunch, one cup for dinner.

 Breakfast after arrival in the morning. Instant coffee. Lunch. 3 o’clock snack. Dinner. Probably snack after arriving at home.. ;-)

Office
meals

Basketball

 The national sport. It’s played everywhere. The kids with no money for baskets improvise with self-made creations. They play mostly just with slippers on a rough courtyard and grass. Very dirty but they have fun. Only a few courts are on cement.

 Most of the company supports its employees with providing soccer, basketball or tennis courts that are free to use and place for several tournaments between departments and other companies.

Company
Sport

Airsoft

 Big boys playing with realistic looking toy-weapons. The ammunition are 0.2g plastic bullets. Equipped with specific safety gear they don’t do damage to the players. Good opportunity to create a team, makes exercise, have fun and meet your friends. Several tournaments take place over the year where the teams have the chance to test their strategy against others. Played in Halls, Jungle – anywhere where it’s safe for the environment. Allowed by the government.

 A place with clean air. Air conditioned big malls offer everything from fashion to the daily need. Personally I think that are the only places here to stroll with a baby. Not hot and clean air. The most famous here in Cebu are SM (our favorite), Ayala (more into fashion), Gaisano and Robinsons. But don't expect help from the numerous sales personal. They just block your way, stay and chatter and ask "what size siiirrrr". Plus they are often maked up like dolls.. phew..

Shopping
Malls

Disco

 Many small and the 2 big: Sunflower City (many foreigners and expensive) and Nasa (normal people, normal prices). Nice to go on weekends and drink a couple of San Mig..

 There are several. For me only the better ones are the good ones. Just sitting, drinking San Mig and watching the girls dance. Sometimes there is a show but normally the girls just present their selves. There are some kinds of clubs where the girls sneak around touch you trying to get your attention. I hate it. And if you invite them and let them sit by your side you have to pay big amounts. Of course you can buy them. I am not sure about the prices I heard from 2000-5000 Peso. The gay bar I’ve seen offers (for me ugly) men but with nice bodies and real nice show compared to the girls. Check it out!

Night
Clubs

Beer

 San Miguel (San Mig) is the most common beer in the different styles: Red Horse (strong), Light, Pilsen. But also there are some other brands like Colt 45 or Lonestar. My suggestion San Mig Light. If you go in a group they will order one ice and some bottles of beer. Then some ice in the glass (unbelievable) and it will be emptied and given to the next.

 Super famous because they are so sweet. Coke, Sprite and some local brands will be drunk from young and old.

Soft
Drinks

Siomai

 A … ahmmm… meatsquidball, whatever.. steamed and served with a spicy sticky oily soy sauce, calamansi and puso. Very delicious.

 No idea what it is exactly, but for me it looks like a Hefeklos with meat inside. Also steamed.

Siopao

Cheese
Bread

 A normal (reminder: normal=white and sweet) bread with a piece of cheese on top.

 A blackout. Very often due to the overloaded electric system and the adventurous way of fixing the cables along the streets..

Brown
Out

Beaches

 Here on Mactan only accessible with payment. Either pay to enter the beach from a resort or rent a cottage at private beaches. The entrance/rent starts with around 50 Peso (public beach) and goes up to several hundred Peso in the resorts. With the entrance fee of beach resorts the use of the pool and a buffet is mostly included.

 People will say there is summer and the rainy season. It varies from person to person when it starts and ends.. For me rainy season starts in July and ends in January. Others will say different. And for clarification: the “rainy season” doesn’t mean rain all days. No. But it means that there are sudden rain showers or sometimes rain (heavy or light) non stop for a few days. Then the streets are flooded because of a very bad canalization. But after the bad days (sometimes one week) certainly the sun will shine also non stop for days.

Weather

Barbeque
Sticks

 As snack or siding to your rice you can avail a variety of barbequed stuff. Little pieces of meat, sausages, gut (Darm) , … will be put on a stick and grilled for you. One of those things caused my food poisoning last year..

 Fried squid rings. A specialty and one of my favors.

Calamares

Foreigners

 Mostly there are just 3 types of foreigners: the old American type (grey hair, big, tattoos), that comes here to purchase cheap young girls in the night clubs and 2nd the young American type (muscles, tattoos), that comes here to purchase cheap young girls in the night clubs. Both types are also successful out of night bars because the willing young girls fly around them like flies. Late at night those types of visitors are drunk and on their way home. The 3rd group are Koreans. Seen everywhere. The come only in groups and are noisy. Of course there are minor other groups, like the Lear employed expats or family visitors here.

Female: black and straight, only a few have a hairdo
Male: black and short (mostly)

Hair

Shower

 Take a shower only in the morning! I don’t have the exact cause for it. But it’s connected with the hotness of the sun. Anyhow, since I follow it I not only look great in the morning, smell good – but I am also less sick. So I don’t ask further.

 Crowded, bad and dirty at daytime
bad and dirty during night

Streets

Cars

 No TÜV, you can drive as long your car is rolling. You can tape sun protection foils everywhere you want, also in the windscreen. Air con is advisable..

 CRAZY!!! They drive reckless, dangerous and being a passenger as a threat to your life. The cars are old and sound weird. They are all metered but some taxi driver trying to convince you for an extra bonus. This is just to refuse or search another one. Basic fee is 30 Peso, then it counts in 2,5 Peso steps. Don’t expect a taxi driver to stop if you cross the street with your baby. They only stop if they think you will ride them.

Taxi

Buko
Juice

 At some stores at the street you can buy a coconut. They will open it, remove the meat and juice. And that’s super refreshing!!! The taste is very different from the Coconuts that we can buy in German shops.

 Of course. McDonald’s, Jollybee, PizaHut, Shakey’s and many more offer an alternative to rice. But also there you find different meals with rice. It’s expensive compared to other food prices here but hey, 1 McDonalds Meal with big fries, burger and big coke for less than 2 Euro is not so bad.. ;-)

Fast
Food

Fish

 National dish. Excellent quality. Different types, different ways of cooking makes it a big delicious food source… My favorite: LapuLapu, steamed, with soy sauce and rice

Mostly everything comes from America. The electric plugs, basketball, English language, house building style, …
A little Chinese influence I noted in some cloth..

Influence
of other Countries

Filipino
Style

 Always happy and smiling, very religious, eat with folk and spoon (no knife), always friendly, sharing food, don’t go somewhere alone, drink and party in large groups, burping while eating, use hands to eat, spit anytime and anywhere, eat potato chips, watch TV, sing karaoke, drink beer from one glass and with ice, act without thinking (ok, only some), pee anywhere, wash hands BEOFRE going to pee but not after (not all), brush teeth after lunch in the office’s CR, ----- and I must finally say, I adopted some of it.. hehe. But not the hand washing thing!

More than 90% are Roman Catholic!

Religion

The Sun

 Shines hot like Hell.. You should not expose yourself longer than necessary unprotected the sun. At the beach or if you want to barbeque yourself a high spf (sun protection factor) is recommended. I prefer spf 10-12 but just short sun-time. A few minutes are enough to get a brown touch. With every minute the skin cancer risk increases. The Philippines are near the equator so than cancer risk is naturally high.

 In the office it seems to me that it is a fashion to wear white socks to black or blue pants. The good old tennis socks are the favorites.. Also the girls wear colored socks (sometimes with motives) in ther shoes. Looks so weird for me..

Socks

T-Shirts with Mickey Mouse or other comic figures are very common. Beside this the style for male is loose fit and long. I must say it's not the worst for this climate. The girls with tight tshirts (mickey mouse) that reveal nothing, jeans up to the belly button so that nobody can see the butt and the worst: super tight jeans or pants plus panties!!! Woa how more can you hurt mens eyes when watching the back view of a girl??? In the evening in bars most of the girls are dressed very nice (eyecatcher).

Slippers

 The common brand is Tanduay Rum. It comes in different styles and ages. The faster method to get drunk. Consumed in the usual Filipino style: in a group, 1 glass with ice, from person to person. Only on the rock. But I preffer rum coke (with calamansi).

 On sundays many people go to the cokfights. Mostly in big arenas (where I have seen it) but probably also on many courtyards. Valuable cocks are equipped with a razor sharp blad at the one foot. Then 2 cocks fight against each other until death. The loosers will be cooked. The people spend much money to feed their cocks and cure them after the fight. If they survived.. The fun for the people is to bet for the winner. They spent big amounts at such fights. Sometimes it's a bit bloody..

Cock
fight 

 Or "Big Brother" and "Big Sister" are respectfull people called that are older than yourself. But not to the real old people. Those the younger people greet respectfull with taking the old womans/mans hand and bring it to the forehead.

 A game from China. 4 players at at square table. Widely played, mostly of drunk people. They play for some small money. Nice game.

Mahjong

 A bicycle with a side wagon. Small but good for two people. The driver of those vehicle are mostly children and I feel always pity when a child half of my size (or less) must drive us an ascending road. Some of the bikes don't have brakes and the driver only uses their feets - a bit scary if you roll down a hill.. The price is depenent on the length of the way.

Filipino Time