Cultural Guide for International Students

The Philippines is basically a country located in the Southeast Asian Region,

composed of thousands of islands which are mainly clustered into three- namely,
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Because of such appraisal, the country is considered
to be linguistically diverse since over 150 languages are spoken all throughout.
Filipino- particularly Tagalog, as the official language of the Philippines, is what the
citizens use together with the English language for official transactions and for
education. Although, in a casual setting, you would hear people speak in their native
language depending on where you are in the country. Sometimes you’d also hear the
languages being mixed up. For instance, people in Baguio are accustomed to
conversing in Ilocano, but they use Tagalog and English words when pertaining to
objects which are commonly named using the latter.
Filipinos are known for being hospitable, hardworking, respectful, and modest.
Having the family as the core of their social life, it is not new that one would see two
generations of family living together and so this is what actually drives them to adapt
the qualities which were stated earlier while growing up. Filial piety is also a huge
deal in the Filipino culture because this is where the sense of “utang na loob” and
bringing honor to your family name come from.