What I Like About Living in the Philippines

Basic HTML view

By  Melinor Estacio

Being born and raised almost my entire life in the Philippines, here are the things that have endeared my home country to my heart:

1.     Wonderful People –Filipinos are warm, hospitable and caring. Big family gatherings are normal for almost any occasion you can think of. In some cultures, they serve guests to their utmost, even offering their own beds for the guests to use while they sleep on a mattress in the living room floor! Neighbors watch over each other’s houses and things and cheerfully help anyway they can in times of distress.

Filipinos are also cheerful, adaptable and resourceful. They have a bright outlook in life. They are still able to smile and laugh regardless the circumstances.  Maybe that’s why they are able to find benefit in seeming common or useless things and situations. Maybe that’s why they thrive wherever they may be.

2.     Great Place – The Philippines has a lot, and I really mean a lot, of awesome places to see (considering its size). Here are just a few:

·       Plenty of delightful beaches (Especially for the kids)

·       Lush mountains to hike through

·       Beautiful corals and marine life (Made my husband want to make diving a regular family habit)

·       Exquisite yet challenging cave systems (Taught our son the meaning of the word courage)

·       Gigantic Hershey’s Kisses (a.k.a. the Chocolate Hills)

·       Majestic waterfalls

·       Exciting rapids

·       The world famous underground river

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more to see!

3.     Fun Events – Filipinos love festivals! The number ranges from 3 to 70 in a month all over the entire archipelago, sometimes simultaneously! Although most of these are religious festivals by our Catholic friends, I take it as another way to get together and bond with family and friends, see other places, or just take a day off of work and relax at home.

4.     Accessibility and Communications – I’m so thankful that everything you need is relatively easy to get around here. Roads are good and there are numerous means of transportation. A foreigner won’t be afraid to visit or reside in the Philippines because almost every Filipino understands and speaks a little English.

5.     Freedom – What else can we ask for? We can basically do everything we want. We can choose what to believe in, go to church whenever we want to, share our faith anytime and live our lives to honor God without fear from authorities.

Displaying What I Like About Living in the Philippines.docx.