WEEK 4
THE PHILIPPINES SERIES
Learn about utensils to use, business customs and foods to try.
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TRAFFIC & JEEPNEYS
If you think you've experienced the worst traffic in the world, you haven't been to Manila. A journey of a couple of kilometres can take upwards of an hour in usual traffic.
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I present you with Jeepneys! Since the Manila area is densely populated, locals turn to another option to get from point A to point B. Jeepneys are converted jeeps with benches and rear-exit doors (and also colourfully painted) that offer private-public transportation. Each route is privately operated by a Jeepney owner, but operates for the public along a certain route. At rush hour, the line-up for Jeepneys can wrap around a whole city block.
With all the lurching, braking and constant lane-changing of Manila traffic, at least you're in good company when in a Jeepney!
HALO HALO
I'm going to post separately about eating in the Philippines, but wanted to share a photo of a cool, icy treat on cold, snowy day.
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The signature dessert of the Philippines is halo halo. It's a bed of shaved ice, with various jellied fruits, sweet potato, sweetened beans and a scoop of ube ice cream on top! Our local customers split one halo halo three ways because the serving is quite large, but they insisted I have my own since I was the guest. I was in a sugar coma for the rest of the meetings.
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If you get a chance to visit the Philippines, dig into a bowl of halo halo. The refreshing sugar high will cure your jet lag and power you through an entire day of sightseeing!
FORK AND SPOON
You might wonder what find of food options you will encounter in Manila, and while there are plenty of local dishes to try, you will be surprised by how many fast food chains there are. Jollibee is a Filipino fast food restaurant (with fried chicken and sweet spaghetti!) that should be at the top of your list, but you will be taken aback by how many American fast food chains there are. Forget only ultra-famous chains like McDonalds and KFC...case in point: there is a a Cold Stone Creamery in this photo. You will find Sbarro's, Dunkin Donuts, and countless other fast food places.
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Although many of these options are quick eats, you should still be aware of the utensils custom in the Philippines - no matter what your meal, you will need to eat it with a fork and spoon. Locals are ultra-advanced with their spoon technique and manage to use it to break off pieces of their meal as you would with a knife. It's very impressive! I once witnessed my clients successfully eat bone-in chicken skewers with a plastic fork and spoon (no hands). My foreign colleague snapped his fork in half and cracked his spoon early on in the meal, while I made due with only a couple of missing fork tines by the end of it.
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That said, if you can't quite master the fork and spoon technique...there are plenty of fast food options to save you!
SING YOUR HEART OUT!
Singing and karaoke is a huge part of Filipino culture. When I explained to my taxi driver that I was from Canada, he eagerly asked if I could sing like Celine Dion. The answer was obviously a big no.
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When you walk through stores and malls in the Philippines, you'll hear oddly familiar songs sung by different singers over the speakers. The reason isn't different acoustics, but local bands that cover popular, contemporary English language songs. Cover bands are super popular in the Philippines, and are known for being very good. So good, in fact, that a Filipino cover band singer was selected as the new lead singer of Journey a few years ago. Even if you aren't a very good singer, you can always check out a karaoke place to practice!
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BLESSINGS
Most people are aware that the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, but religion forms a big part of day-to-day life. When I first visited the Philippines, it was early November, and all of the stores had Christmas music and decorations in full swing. In fact, most of December is reserved for Christmas celebrations, and if you're looking to to business in the Philippines, you'd best do so before December comes around.
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The religious culture finds its way into daily business as well. Our customers insisted on having a Catholic priest bless the aircraft when taking delivery (which tends to be a custom for Asian clients of various religions). The priest went to town with the holy water - two whole plastic containers worth - and, thankfully, the aircraft made it home safely.