10 Cultural Differences Between America vs. The Philippines
Summary
TLDRThis video explores 10 cultural differences between America and the Philippines, based on the personal experiences of an expat. The list covers various topics, including communication styles, use of language, social behaviors, pace of life, respect for elders, and tipping practices. The video highlights the contrasts between the two cultures, such as Filipinos' polite and non-confrontational nature versus Americans' directness, and how cultural norms shape everyday interactions. The host emphasizes that these observations are generalizations and shares them to provide insight into the cultural nuances of both countries.
Takeaways
- 🌍 Cultural differences between America and the Philippines are diverse, particularly in expressions and daily habits.
- 👄 Filipinos often point with their lips, while Americans use their fingers.
- 🌞 In the Philippines, people avoid the sun and use umbrellas for shade, while in the U.S., being tan is seen as attractive.
- 🗣️ Language differences include terms like 'soft drinks' in the Philippines vs. 'soda' in the U.S., and 'aircon' vs. 'AC'.
- 🙏 Politeness and sensitivity are key in Filipino culture, with a non-confrontational approach, unlike the more direct American style.
- 🏃♂️ The pace of life in the U.S. is fast, while Filipinos have a more laid-back, slower approach.
- 🍲 Sharing is a strong cultural norm in the Philippines, especially when it comes to food, while Americans tend to emphasize independence.
- 🚶♂️ Americans value personal space, while Filipinos are more comfortable being close to others in public spaces.
- 👵 Respect for elders is deeply ingrained in Filipino culture, with special terms and gestures, while in the U.S., it's more casual.
- 🍽️ Meal structures differ, with Filipinos often eating five to six smaller meals a day, compared to three larger meals in the U.S.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the video?
-The video discusses 10 cultural differences between America and the Philippines, based on the personal experiences of someone who was raised in the U.S. and currently lives in the Philippines.
How do Filipinos and Americans differ in non-verbal expressions?
-Filipinos often point with their lips and raise their eyebrows to indicate 'yes,' while Americans point with their fingers, nod their heads, give a thumbs up, or use an 'OK' gesture to indicate agreement.
What is the significance of using umbrellas in the Philippines compared to the U.S.?
-In the Philippines, umbrellas are used not only for rain but also to protect from the sun, as being dark-skinned can be seen as lower class or frowned upon. In contrast, Americans generally use umbrellas only for rain and often seek to tan under the sun.
Can you give examples of word differences between American and Filipino English?
-Yes, some examples include: 'soft drinks' in the Philippines vs. 'soda' in the U.S.; 'aircon' in the Philippines vs. 'AC' or 'air conditioning' in the U.S.; 'tissue' in the Philippines vs. 'napkins' in the U.S.; and 'slippers' in the Philippines vs. 'flip-flops' in the U.S.
How do Americans and Filipinos differ in terms of politeness and sensitivity?
-Filipinos tend to be polite, subtle, sensitive, and non-confrontational, while Americans are more assertive, direct, and confrontational. In the Philippines, even a small negative comment can be impactful, whereas in the U.S., such comments might go unnoticed.
What are the differences in the pace of life between the U.S. and the Philippines?
-Americans generally have a fast-paced lifestyle, focusing on punctuality and efficiency. In contrast, Filipinos tend to have a more relaxed and laid-back approach to life, often arriving late to events and moving at a slower pace.
How is the concept of sharing different between Filipinos and Americans?
-Sharing is very common in Filipino culture, with people often willing to share personal items and food generously, even with strangers. In American culture, there is a stronger emphasis on independence, and sharing is less common.
What is the American perspective on personal space compared to the Filipino perspective?
-Americans value personal space highly and typically maintain physical boundaries, especially with strangers. In contrast, Filipinos are more comfortable being close to others, even in public spaces, and may not adhere as strictly to personal space norms.
How do Filipinos show respect for their elders?
-Filipinos address older individuals with terms like 'Ate,' 'Kuya,' 'Tito,' and 'Lola,' and they practice 'mano,' where they place an elder's hand on their forehead as a sign of respect. This shows deep respect for elders, which is more pronounced than in the U.S.
What is the difference in meal structures between the Philippines and the U.S.?
-Filipinos often eat five to six meals a day, including several 'marienda' (snacks), while Americans typically have three larger meals per day. The total amount of food consumed may be similar, but the structure and frequency of meals differ.
Outlines
🇺🇸🇵🇭 Exploring Cultural Expressions Between America and the Philippines
This paragraph introduces the topic of cultural differences between America and the Philippines, focusing on expressions and non-verbal communication. It highlights specific examples such as Filipinos pointing with their lips, using hand gestures to indicate something is gone, and raising eyebrows to mean 'yes.' In contrast, Americans use finger pointing, nodding, and thumbs up to communicate. The paragraph also touches on cultural attitudes toward sun exposure, with Filipinos avoiding the sun to stay light-skinned, while Americans often seek to tan.
🗣️ Differences in Language and Slang
This paragraph discusses various linguistic differences between Filipinos and Americans, especially in terms of slang and common phrases. For example, Filipinos use 'soft drinks' for what Americans call 'soda,' and 'aircon' for 'AC.' The paragraph provides multiple examples of these differences, including a personal anecdote where the author misunderstood 'alcohol' to mean a beverage instead of hand sanitizer. Other differences include terms like 'CR' versus 'restroom' and 'ball pen' versus 'pen.'
🤝 Politeness and Sensitivity in Philippine Culture
This paragraph contrasts the polite, sensitive, and non-confrontational nature of Filipino culture with the more direct and assertive American culture. It explains that in the Philippines, even subtle negative comments can be impactful, whereas in the U.S., bluntness and directness are more common, even in joking. The paragraph also describes how Filipinos show respect through gestures like lowering their heads or using polite language, which contrasts with the more straightforward communication style in the U.S.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cultural Differences
💡Expressions
💡Politeness
💡Personal Space
💡Pace of Life
💡Meal Structure
💡Respect for Elders
💡Sharing
💡Use of Slang
💡Tipping
Highlights
The video discusses 10 cultural differences between America and the Philippines, emphasizing that these are generalizations and not applicable to all individuals.
Filipinos and Americans have different ways of expressing themselves, such as pointing with their lips versus fingers, and unique hand gestures for indicating 'no more' or 'closed'.
In the Philippines, raising eyebrows can signify agreement, unlike in the U.S. where non-verbal affirmations include nodding, thumbs up, or an 'okay' hand gesture.
Filipinos tend to avoid the sun to maintain lighter skin, while Americans often seek tanning, reflecting different beauty standards in each country.
The use of words and slang differs between the two cultures, such as 'soft drinks' in the Philippines versus 'soda' or 'pop' in the U.S.
Filipinos are described as polite, subtle, sensitive, and non-confrontational in their interactions, contrasting with the more assertive and direct communication style common in the U.S.
The pace of life in the Philippines is slower and more laid back compared to the fast-paced and busy lifestyle typical in the U.S.
Sharing is a common practice in the Philippines, with people often lending personal items and always being generous with food, even to strangers.
Americans place a high value on personal space and physical boundaries, especially with strangers, which is less emphasized in the Philippines.
Filipinos show deep respect for their elders, using honorifics and gestures like 'mano' to demonstrate this respect.
Rules and laws in the Philippines are often not strictly followed, unlike in the U.S. where adherence to rules is more common and expected.
Filipino meal structure includes multiple small meals throughout the day, including a snack time called 'merienda', differing from the three main meals typical in the U.S.
Tipping is a significant part of American culture, with a general expectation to tip service providers, whereas tipping is less common in the Philippines.
The video creator emphasizes their love for both America and the Philippines and aims to share honest experiences rather than idealized portrayals.
The video is a personal account of the creator's experience living in the Philippines after being raised in the U.S., providing a unique perspective on cultural differences.
The creator invites viewers to like the video if they enjoyed it, indicating an interest in viewer engagement and feedback.
Transcripts
what's up savvy expats so today we're
talking about 10 cultural differences
between america and the philippines and
this goes without saying but this is a
generalized list so not all filipinos
and not all americans do the things that
we're about to talk about and i'm
speaking from personal experience being
that i was raised in the us but am
currently living in the philippines all
right enough talk let's get into our
list so at number one on our list of
cultural differences we have quirks and
expressions yes the way that filipinos
express themselves versus americans can
differ in several ways as many of you
may already know filipinos tend to point
with their lips like
that while americans tend to point with
their fingers oh hey where's the cr
so that's a terrible example but you get
the idea or another one i learned here
in the philippines is that this hand
wave
means like voila there's no more or
something's closed so if you're asking a
filipino if there's any more food for
example and they do this that means that
there's no more and actually not too
long ago there was this little boy named
gab and his mom that lived with us they
were from the visayas region of the
philippines and they would actually this
is what they actually taught me is this
so usually when a filipino raises his
eyebrows
that means yes hey gab you want some
spam
well in america there's three ways that
you can say yes non-verbally number one
you're just
not number two just give a thumbs up and
three just do this which means
okay and this is not really an
expression but say you're here in the
philippines and you're out on the street
and it's hot outside if you're waiting
at a stop walk to cross the street it's
pretty common to see filipinos hiding
behind like a sign or a pole to get away
from the sun so when it comes to
avoiding the sun here in the philippines
it can be pretty extreme so in the us
umbrellas are only used for the rain
while here in the philippines it's used
for both the rain and
getting shade from the sun and this is
because being dark skinned here in the
philippines is seen as like
uh lower class or
even like frowned upon here and it's
funny because while filipinos are hiding
from the sun to be as white as possible
americans are out in the sun in the open
to be tan so being tan in the u.s is
considered attractive while in the
philippines it's the opposite now for
cultural difference number two we have a
use of words or slang for example here
in the philippines we say soft drinks
well in the u.s we say soda
or like what we like to call in the
midwest
pop or of course filipinos say aircon
while in the u.s we say ac or air
conditioning or in the philippines they
say tissue while in the u.s we say
napkins or there was also this one time
i go to church here in bgc it's called
every nation and one of my friends asked
me evan do you want some alcohol and
here am i thinking
alcohol this is a christian church we're
all teenagers here why is he offering me
some booze and then he pulls out of his
pocket some hand sanitizer and i'm like
oh that kind of alcohol so that was
actually the first time i heard
hand sanitizer used as alcohol another
one is filipino say ref while americans
say fridge or refrigerator or filipinos
say slippers while americans say
flip-flops filipinos say brownout
americans say blackout americans say
sneakers filipinos say rubber shoes
filipinos say cr or comfort room
americans say restroom filipinos say
open the light or close the light
americans say turn on the light or turn
off the light americans say pen
filipinos say ball pen americans say
mcdonald's filipinos say mcdo americans
say butter filipinos say margarine i
think americans say cracker filipino
safe biscuit or bisquite alright moving
on to cultural difference number three
philippine culture is polite and
sensitive so the best words that i can
muster up to describe how filipinos
interact with each other is polite
subtle
sensitive and non-confrontational
whereas in the us people are more like
assertive direct and confrontational so
in the philippines if someone spoke even
the smallest hint of something negative
about someone that would speak volumes
while in the us that would go unnoticed
and to take that even a step further
even insulting in the us can be a type
of joking and bonding i have an
important announcement
joking around about people's new bad
haircut or how bad they are at sports
that is pretty common in the us and
that's not to say that that is not the
case with filipinos i mean that's just
pretty much a type of joking all over
the world but i see that more common in
the us than it is here in the
philippines and like i said with the
americans they're more direct blunt and
tend to not sugarcoat if there's
something bothering them or the food is
taking long to get served it's not
uncommon to hear a waiter get an earful
so americans usually say what's on their
mind while on the other hand filipinos
are less confrontational and i think
part of it is because a lot of filipinos
are really polite like even when there's
someone walking near or past you on the
street i noticed that filipinos are kind
of like dip down put their hand down
like
like that i don't know how to show you
guys a small camera
and they do that and i think that's a
sign of respect or just like a type of
courtesy or even when it comes to daily
conversing there's a lot of can i have
please sorry and a lot of times that's
not the case in the u.s for example if i
were to say at a restaurant here in the
philippines let me get a cheeseburger
that would not really be a common way to
phrase things in the philippines that
would definitely be uncommon here in the
states that kind of phrasing is
normal let me get two chopped cheese
with everything on it put bacon on it
too salt pepper and vinegar so again
this is a generalization there are
direct filipinos out there and
non-direct americans and for the fourth
cultural difference that is the pace of
life americans are very fast paced and
tend to have a busy agenda as for the
philippines people are more chill laid
back and slower paced and so one thing i
noticed is that people's normal walking
pace here in the philippines is actually
a lot slower than the walking pace in
the us i remember walking in new york
everyone has somewhere to go they're
walking fast and they have to be at
their appointment early or on the dot
while here in the philippines it's
common to see people upwards of an hour
late to an event even when it comes to
checking out or getting the bill or just
transactions in general
people can be very slow and it's even
common to find employees in the grocery
store just chatting in the middle of an
aisle while in the us people are very
weary about other people's time so it's
considered to be rude if you're late so
that's definitely one area where you see
the island life in filipinos they're
very chill and laid back moving on to
cultural difference number five and that
is sharing is very common in philippine
culture here in the philippines people
are very generous and are willing to
lend personal items whether it be
clothes an umbrella a bike filipinos are
generally willing to share and also it
can be to the point where they feel
obligated to lend their resources and
don't get me started when it comes to
food filipinos are probably the most
hospitable people when it comes to
sharing food whether it be families or
even strangers filipinos insist that you
eat with them and this is regardless of
how much food they have or even their
financial situation they're always
generous with their food even to the
point where it's taken as an insult if
you don't accept the offer to eat i even
remember there was this guy named jeff
here in bgc that would walk around and
sell lumpia and whenever i see him he'd
ask me if i ate and if i hadn't he'd
offered me lumpia free of charge and
that's how generous filipinos are now as
for americans it's not that they don't
like sharing it's just that an
independent culture is more so promoted
it's a get your own food or
do-it-yourself kind of mentality now for
cultural difference number six americans
are very adamant about personal space in
the u.s physical boundaries are very
strong especially when it comes to
strangers so commonly americans have
like a bubble and the only time that
bubble is broken is to shake hands when
conversing with strangers there's space
when walking their space just wherever
you go in general people need their
personal space so that's why there's
very seldom bumping or brushing up
against someone else whereas here in the
philippines there's all this room on the
sidewalk and yet still another person
will walk literally right beside you or
when getting off the escalator someone
will stand right in front of it while
blocking everyone else there was this
one time where i was just standing on
the sidewalk where there's practically
nobody else nearby me it's a big
sidewalk and this lady walks right
beside me pretty much almost bumps into
me and then tells me to social distance
so spatial boundaries in the philippines
is really just different filipinos like
to be close together while americans
need their personal space now for
cultural difference number seven we have
filipinos have respect for their elders
in the philippines older brothers
sisters aunts uncles grandparents are
addressed with respect even if it's with
strangers filipinos will address others
as ate or kuya as a sign of respect same
goes with family
tito lolo lola it's all respect and not
to mention filipinos do mano which is
like putting your grandparents forehand
on your head to show respect when you're
greeting them and so basically anyone
that's older than you is treated with
that kind of respect now in america we
say mr and mrs but nowadays that's not
always the case now as for cultural
difference number eight that is rules
are often not followed here in the
philippines i remember this one time
here in the philippines we saw a sign
that went along the lines of no peeing
here and then you see all these little p
marks on the side of the wall
it's pretty funny but even when it comes
to enforcing laws most people don't
follow them anyway for example littering
is common and road rules are often not
followed or if the police pull someone
over for disobeying traffic laws at the
same time you have hundreds of other
cars doing the same so they only get one
out of hundreds of people doing the same
exact thing while in america laws are
strictly enforced for example if there's
a line you're expected to get in line
and wait your turn while here in the
philippines either there is no line or
someone cuts in line and no one cares
but again this isn't everyone in the
philippines now for cultural difference
number nine we have filipino meal
structure the time and the amount of
meals that filipinos tend to eat is
different than the us it's fairly common
to see filipinos eat five to even six
meals a day because of what's called
marienda which is basically like a snack
so i believe the structure of meals go
breakfast marienda lunch marienda
dinner late night marienda and marienda
can be anything from coffee and crackers
to pandasal
butto and conchita but the way i see it
filipinos may eat several times per day
but it's still probably equivalent to
the amount the average american eats per
day americans usually eat three square
meals per day but usually those three
square meals are larger serving sizes so
by the end of the day the six meals that
a filipino eats is probably equivalent
to the three meals that an american eats
but of course again it varies from
person to person and for the last and
final cultural difference we have
tipping tipping is a big part of
american culture in almost every
situation where someone is of service a
waiter hairdresser cab driver bartender
you name it they get tipped with
americans there's no mandatory amount
for tipping but it's considered rude to
not tip at all most americans tip like
15 to 20 percent of their bill what i
found here in the philippines is that
tipping is still existent but it's
definitely less common i remember
telling my driver that in the us it's
normal to tip 10 or 500 pesos to a
waiter and he was absolutely shocked he
couldn't believe that that was the tip
and that wasn't the price for the entire
meal but it makes sense because i mean
the financial situation of both
countries is different so
what do you expect so there you have it
seven expats 10 cultural differences
between america and the philippines and
everything i said was not intended to
bash i love both america and the
philippines i don't know why but there's
always one person in the comments that
thinks i'm bashing the philippines but
that was my honest experience living
here in the philippines and i'd rather
give you guys my honesty rather than
portray everything as sunshine and
rainbows so if you enjoyed this video
let me know by leaving a like and so
thank you for watching savvy expats and
i'll see you in the next video god bless
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