In no particular order:
- If you see it, buy it
Inventory management is beyond the Philippines. I don't know if it is a function of the shipping logistics of seven thousand plus islands, or if it is a function of Philippine culture, or both. I suspect culture plays at least as large a role as cumbersome logistics. If it is consumable, buy more than one; in fact, buy all they have. It may be a while before you see it again. And you may never see it again. - Electricity is expensive
I cannot speak for everywhere in the Philippines, but we pay roughly double the rate we were paying in North Carolina. - The power goes out routinely
And because electricity is so expensive, most Filipinos use very little. Consequently, when the power goes out, you will notice, but the Filipinos around you will not. - No traffic law enforcement
The traffic laws in the Philippines are basically identical to those in the United States. They are just not seriously enforced. - Chaos reigns supreme
So the roads are chaos just like everything else. Chaos is a life style choice here. And yes, it is a choice. I notice places where this does not apply: High end shopping malls and high end hotels. But that's the extent of it. Chaos everywhere else. - There are no addresses
Well there are some, but most buildings are not marked. Everyone walks around with a smartphone, but they make no attempt to use modern mapping apps available to overcome this problem. See entry on smartphones below. - There is no mail
Bills are delivered by hand, and now by email. There are post offices, but you must go to them because they will not come to you. - Lack of seriousness
No mail is a great example of the lack of seriousness that you find here. Filipinos are just not serious people. About anything. Traffic, education, medical care, agriculture, just pick any topic and you find something that they are not serious about. - There are no landfills
Well I am sure there are, but there is no sanitation infrastructure. This is why the primary landfill for the entire nation is the Pacific Ocean. - Smartphones and smartphone zombies are everywhere
It is difficult to describe this phenomenon. The smartphones are toys, and never tools. And the last thing the Philippines needs is a ubiquitous gadget that fosters a lack of seriousness. I would say that the introduction of smartphones has been a cultural disaster for the Philippines. Most people use their toys everywhere and without headphones. Quiet dinner with the wife in a fancy restaurant? No chance. - Noise
Smartphone use brings me to noise in general. The Philippines is the loudest place I have ever visited. Noise is everywhere. And in the Philippines there are only two volume levels: Off and as high as it goes. If you are looking for peace and quiet, I urge you to not come here. One other note about the noise: Crisp amplification is limited by the quality of the speakers. And all speakers have a limit to their clarity. That is, there is a point at which, it is so loud, that you cannot understand what is being amplified, the voice or the music, etc. In the Philippines, you can rarely understand the voices because the volume levels are too high. And it never crosses their minds to turn it down a bit. Ultimately the noise just amplifies the chaos. - There is little appreciation and little consideration
This takes a while to notice. But once you do, you see it often and everywhere. The noise is the first thing you will notice. - Karaoke
The noise and consideration warnings absolutely apply to the primary Filipino pastime of karaoke. I have never understood why karaoke has to be amplified at all, much less at full volume. But if you cannot hear it a half mile away, evidently there's no fun in it. - Breadwinner culture
You will find many families with one breadwinner. And that gives others in the family an excuse to not work or be under-employed. - Bifurcated culture
There are people in the Philippines, millions of them, who are serious and motivated and ambitious. Of course there are. And many of these people end up leaving to work overseas. Leaving the people behind who are less serious, less motivated, and less ambitious. So if you are impressed with the Filipinos you have met in your own country, like I was, just understand that you will not often find that when you get here. - Bahala na culture
Before coming to the Philippines, one needs to learn the cultural term bahala na. - Scam culture
I will tell you my first experience with this, but it never ends. So we cook with propane, and propane trucks drive around all day, and they only take cash. The first time they came to us, I gave the driver cash, but I needed change. Response: No sorry, I don't have change. He was just hoping to put a few extra pesos in his pocket. - Limited customer service
If you are used to United States levels of customer service, you will be disappointed in the limited customer service you find here. But it is really just a question of adjusting your expectations. - Low trust society
Limited customer service is a function, one of many, of a low trust society. If you cannot trust people, you sure cannot accept their merchandise returns. This attitude spreads to every nook and cranny of society. And coming from a high trust society, it takes some getting used to. - Pervasive fickleness
I do not know how else to label this. But it is a cultural phenomenon here that applies to everything. Filipinos are flighty people. Very little can be agreed on in advance, because one or more parties will change their minds, often without informing the others. Dangerous last second lane changes on the highway, usually to make a turn, are epidemic. I think it goes back to the lack of seriousness. This leads to a lack of dependability and a lack of predictability. Get used to it. - Beware questions
It is worth knowing that in the Philippines there is a cultural aversion to questions. Both asking questions and receiving questions. At first I thought this was a function of there being something to hide or something shady. And it is certainly true that some Filipinos will interpret any question as an accusation. But I now realize that this has more to do with sheer lack of interest. They have no interest in asking you and they also have no interest in answering you. This is not universal, but it is common enough that you will notice it. - Silverware
Let me end with silverware. Many Filipinos will eat with their hands at home. But I have never seen this in restaurants. They will use silverware. But just know in advance, that it is only the high end restaurants that will give you a knife. Low and mid-range restaurants will not give you a knife and if you ask, they do not even have knives available. So order accordingly.