Filipinskie zwyczaje – 3 / Filipino Customs

Ten post jak i kilka nastepnych, to kontynuacja rozdzialu: “ABC dla przyjezdzajacych na Filipiny.” Chcialem sie w nim podzielic moimi spostrzezeniami z pobytu w tym ciekawym, ale bardzo roznym od Polski kraju. Juz prawie 10 lat minelo jak przyjechalem na Filipiny. To co jest opisane ponizej pochodzi z mojego wlasnego doswiadczenia i obserwacji. Wiekszosc jest napisana w nutce humoru i zartu. Mimo ze, nie wszystko bylo takie radosne w momencie nauki, to pozostawilo wiele madrosci i milych wspomnien. Nauka nowego jezyka, jak i obcej kultury rozwija i uczy szacunku dla czlowieka. To wspaniala lekcja zycia i inspiracja do bycia lepszym.

This post, and a few others, tells about customs and some elements of Filipino culture. The topics include behavior, greetings and expressions of the local people in the Philippines, and their ways of doing things in ordinary life and feasts…all of it is very interesting and sometimes is completely very different in comparison my Polish culture. What is written below is a fruit of my observation and experience in this exotic country that I have lived and learned for almost 10 years. It is written with a sense of humor. Although, sometimes it was painful to learn things by mistakes, yet now, it reminds me pleasant memories and much wisdom. Learning a new culture and a language helped me to respect others and their diversity. It is a good encouragement to become more human

Dlugi nos / Long nose

Filipinczycy maja trzy duze kompleksy: wzrost, kolor skory i plaski nos. Uwazaja sie za gorszych i brzydkich, mimo ze wcale tak nie jest. Dla nich lepszy i piekniejszy jest wyzszy, bielszy i z dlugim nosem. Nie moga tez zrozumiec, dlaczego ludzie biali spedzaja godziny “smarzac sie na plazy,” aby byc ciemniejszym!? Oni wrecz przeciwnie, wydaja fortune na mydla i mleczka wybielajace… Kilka razy zdarzylo mi sie, ze przyszla do mnie kobieta w ciazy z prosba: “czy moge potrzymac twojego nosa?” Odp: “tak nie ma sprawy, ale dlaczego?”Jak ja bym chciala, zeby moje dziecko mialo taki dlugi nos…”

Filipinos have three complexes about their appearance: their small stature, brown color of skin and flat nose. They think about themselves as worse looking in comparison to “Americans,” because they are smaller, darker and with a short and flat nose. In fact, they are cute and good looking people, very attractive and charming girls. They just think that whiter, taller and with long nose are more beautiful?! They also cannot understand why sometimes “white people” spend so many hours sunbathing on the beach under hot sun in order to become darker. Filipinos, in contrary, spend much money to buy whitening creams or soups to become whiter. It happened to me a few times, that a pregnant woman approached me with a request, to hold my nose for a while. I answered: “sure, no problem but why?” She answered:”How I wish that my baby will have such long nose…”

Gruby to bogaty / Fat means Rich

Szczegolnie ludzie z wiosek uwazaja, ze ten kto jest gruby to ma powodzenie i jest bogaty. Wynika to z faktu, ze wielu z nich nie je regularnie. Czesto ich jedzenie jest bardzo proste i nie ma dla wszystkich pod dostatkiem. Zwykle to zmielona kukurydza i warzywa. Tylko bogatsi ludzie w miescie jedza ryz trzy razy na dzien, i maja do tego rybe, lub kawalek miesa. Daltego na tych przytylych patrzy sie z nutka zazdrosci.
Czesto centralnym punktem w dyskusji na przygotowaniu fiesty lub spotkania, nie jest to co bedziemy swietowac, o czym bedziemy mowic, jakie problem poruszyc, ale raczej: “ile i co bedziemy jesc… oraz jak to jedzenie zdobyc?
Kazde spotkanie powinno miec przywidziany czas na tzw. snack (mirienda). Wystarczy, ze jest to maly kawalek chleba lub ciastko, cos malego, byleby tylko o tym nie zapominac.
 
In the Philippines people think that an overweight person is rich. “Fatter one is even richer.” This idea came from a fact that people (especially in villages or mountains) don’t eat enough and regularly. They don’t eat well and often they eat just once or twice per day. Their food is very simple. That’s way, they are very slim. They eat corn and vegetables only. The rich, instead, can afford daily rice with meat and fish. People look at the rich with respect and a bit of envy.
Every meeting, celebration or even a simple invitation should end with a meal or at least with a snack (mirienda). It can be a piece of bread, cookies or a fruit as long as it is not forgotten in the schedule.
People love to eat. When we have a preparation for a fiesta or other celebration, the main topic is about food: what to eat, how to collect it and prepare. And the main point of fiesta is eating, of course.