Cultural Differences between Filipino and Americans

1. Respect for elders. In the Philippines even older sisters and brothers,
aunts, uncles, etc. are respected and obeyed. Any person older than
you is to be spoken to respectfully. Shocking for Americans but I like it.

2. Extended family living together. In the Phil., families are not so

independent like in the U.S. They take care of one another and still feel
“tied” to their adult family members. Many Filipinos work abroad and
send back money to support extended family. Family ties are much
closer in the Phil. This creates other big differences: In the States
almost everybody works, husband and wife and even teenagers. In the
Phil, there are many adults who do not work. There is seldom a house
with no one at home. And older people retire much earlier in the
Philippines, and the next generation takes care of them. Maybe that’s
why they have many children- (also because birth control is forbidden
in this strong Catholic nation.)

3. Americans are very busy and have a fast paced agenda. Even children
have a busy schedule with sports and lessons of various kinds. The
Philippines is a much slower pace for many people. Even in the malls
or any supermarket, the Filipinos walk so slow. Everything seems to
move slowly in the Philippines, including cashiers or any business
transaction. The business and government systems and processes are
not streamlined nor seem to be concerned with the time. Most
paperwork is done by hand. Filipinos are very good at waiting
patiently, sometimes for hours.

4. Filipino culture is very sharing, especially more among the poorer

people. I have even seen someone take the shoes off a neighbor’s porch
without asking, because they needed to borrow them to go somewhere.
If you walk by anyone, even strangers, who are eating, they will usually
invite you to eat with them. People are not shy to borrow something,
and people often feel obligated to share their resources. It’s not that
Americans are not sharing, but there is such a difference in the culture.
Americans are all so independent. Being independent and being
responsible for yourself is really stressed in America- it is in the
culture. Americans often believe in the ‘tough love principle’ which
means not helping someone, even a family member, so that they will
learn to be responsible. Americans raise their children from a young
age to be responsible and independent. Not so in the Philippines.
5. Rules are often not followed in the Phil. I believe this stems from
corruption, which permeates many city and Gov’t officials, even the
police. Nothing is effective in enforcing laws consistently, so many do
not follow them anyway. And because many do not follow, it is
overwhelming to enforce. This is so prevalent - for example if the
police would pull someone over for some traffic infraction, there are
many others doing it at the same time - so they just got 1 or 2 out of
thousands doing it. There is a tolerance and often bending of the rules
in all areas of life in the Phil. While in America, the laws are strictly
and consistently enforced so this affects the culture in many other
areas, in which people know and expect rules to be followed. In
America you would automatically know you are expected to get in line
and wait your turn and be fair. In the Philippines, it is common for
people to not have a line or cut in the front of the line, and nothing is
said by anyone. Even if it bothers them, they are still very tolerant to
let it go.

6. In the Philippines the culture is very subtle, gracious, polite, pleasant,

and non-confrontive. If anyone would speak a small hint of something
negative about someone or something…it would speak volumes and
would be heard loudly. Americans would generally miss the hint. In
America people speak very directly and confrontative (and complain a
lot) , which is perceived by many Asian cultures to often be rude. Also
the culture in the Phil. is mostly very light-hearted and up-beat. You
will see people smiling everywhere and being very friendly. They may
have big problems or hardships, but they appear to be very happy. It’s
part of the culture.

7. Personal boundaries and privacy are very different. Filipino strangers

will ask you where you are going, where’s your husband, and the most
popular question always is how much did that cost? It’s usually only
curiosity which Americans would consider them just being ‘nosey’. But
its normal conversation here. Just like Americans talk about the
weather which Filipinos don’t know what to say about that because
there’s nothing we can do about it anyway. Physical boundaries are
strong in America. People keep their distance and very seldom bump
or brush against someone- Americans are trained as a child to be
considerate of others about such things. Filipinos will do some funny
things and not think anything about it… like a group will get off an
escalator and after one step. stand there talking and they are blocking
others behind them. Also in traffic, someone will pass you and then
stop right in front of you in the middle of the street (if there’s no
parking ) for some reason - like they are letting someone out of the car
or they are waiting for someone. The spatial boundaries are just
different. Filipinos like to be close together while Americans like to
have space. When I first moved in a different house, I had children
looking in my living room windows watching me. They wanted to look
at the foreigner. It really bothered me. I had to tell them to leave but
they didn't. Also money and bodily functions are not polite to talk
about in America. But here it is normal conversation. Some even
specifically mention whether they need to pee or poop.
8. Filipinos are an emotional people and go more by their feelings than
Americans. I attribute this as probably stemming from the 400 years of
Spanish rule, because other Asian countries don’t have this ‘Latin
temperament’. Sometimes they seem childish with jealousy or having
hurt feelings over a small thing or holding a grudge. They seem
extremely sensitive or into much drama. While Americans normally
make decisions solely by logic. Talking about logic reminds me of the
educational system… Asians are taught to study by memorization of
facts. I have seen this in other Asian countries too. They may not
understand the topic but they memorized it all word-for-word for the
exam. I even heard a student tell a teacher that she didn’t understand the
material and the teacher replied “You don’t need to understand it, just
memorize it”. While Americans are always encouraged to think for
themselves and to gain understanding. Also in job training, Filipinos are
trained to memorize what to say to the customer and to do step 1, then
step 2, etc., but they often are not helpful or logical if your question or
situation doesn't fit into what they memorized. They often don’t see the
bigger overall picture of the situation. For example I have repeatedly
seen one worker, like on a construction job, damage another’s previous
work because he is just focused with doing ‘his’ job.

9. Filipinos are a festive people and love to celebrate anything, always

with food and sometimes outdoor videoke and sometimes fireworks.
People love to sing and dance, everything from cha-cha-cha to ballroom
dance to hip-hop and many are very good at it. So there are many
celebrations and sometimes the neighborhood is noisy, even through the
night, which they have no sense of ‘boundaries’ about, but nobody
complains. Again, very tolerant. (Americans would call the police to
report “disturbing the peace”.) Filipinos are not shy to perform; in fact I
think most love it. Children are trained to perform in school from a
young age, as there are many programs with dancing and singing and
also speech-giving training and contests, starting in Kindergarten level.
Americans are weak in this area and are often shy to perform. Only an
outgoing talented American would be comfortable performing publicly.

10. Filipinos are often ordering the same t-shirt that the whole group will
wear just for a friend group outing for the day to a special place or for a
dance performance at an event or school or a team doing a medical
mission, etc. They wear uniforms in their place of employment, such as
teachers, bank tellers, supermarket employees, Government workers, etc.
They like belonging to a group or being identified as a group, while
Americans prefer the independent look.

11. Of course all these things are not true for everyone or in every place.
These are just some general main cultural differences.