Culture Shock Moments In The Philippines

Here are the biggest culture shocks expats experience when they arrive. 👀

Try not to freak out.

Everyone calls you Sir / Ma’am

The love for rice…and spaghetti

Filipino Time

The weather mood swings.

The ‘Yes’ that isn’t really YES.

And, some additional items…

1. Time… does not exist.

“Filipino time” is not a meme. It’s a lifestyle, a spiritual practice, and an unspoken social contract to never arrive when you said you would.

If you’re the type who thinks 4:00pm means 4:00pm, congratulations—you’ll be permanently angry.

2. Everyone smiles at you. Constantly.

Not because they like you.

Not because they want something.

It’s just what they do.

It confuses expats who mistake friendliness for flirting and then embarrass themselves instantly.

3. The bureaucracy is a final boss fight.

Government offices here are like escape rooms—except the only escape is insanity.

Forms for your forms, stamps for your stamps, signatures from people who went to lunch at 10am and never came back.

4. The weather is your new abusive partner.

You’ll sweat in places you didn’t know produced moisture.

Every day is “hot,” “hotter,” or “typhoon incoming.”

If you brought jeans, throw them away. You won’t need them unless you enjoy suffering.

5. Karaoke is a blood sport.

You will hear middle-aged men tearfully belting “My Way” at 2am with the emotional intensity of an Oscar monologue.

Refusing to participate is considered a war crime socially.

6. Personal space? Never heard of it.

Lines are more like sketches of where people might stand.

If someone stands two inches behind you, don’t freak out—they’re not attacking you. They’re just… there.

7. “Yes” does not mean yes.

It can mean:

• Yes

• No

• Maybe

• I don’t know

• I didn’t understand you

• I want this conversation to end

Your guess is as good as theirs.

8. The food is good… and confusing.

You will see spaghetti with hotdogs.

Cheese that isn’t cheese but “cheese-flavored.”

Meat that is somehow both sweet and savory and probably has bones where you didn’t expect them.

9. Customer service is painfully polite.

Even when they tell you “sorry sir, out of stock,” it’s delivered with such kindness that you almost feel bad you wanted the thing in the first place.

10. Family means EVERYONE.

Filipinos don’t have “extended family.”

They have infinite family.

Prepare to meet cousins, cousins’ cousins, neighbors upgraded to “cousins,” and people who swear they’re related to you now.

11. English is spoken… creatively.

You’ll understand them.

They’ll understand you.

And yet somehow, the conversation still goes nowhere.

12. The malls are cities.

You came for toothpaste.

You leave 5 hours later with a haircut, a massage, a full meal, and two shirts you didn’t plan on buying. So, it’s kind of like going to Target in America.

13. Traffic is a religion.

You don’t “travel.”

You “survive.”

A 10-km trip might take 45 minutes or 4 hours—depends on the cosmic alignment that day.

Thinking of Moving to the Philippines? Get Reliable Guidance.

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