Culture Shock! Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

My husband John and I had the great pleasure to interview a Filipino writer recently about his newly released book here in the United States titled; Culture Shock Philippines! Alfredo Roces, who co-authored this special reprint with his daughter Grace Roces gives a great primer and understanding of the Filipinos, their customs, traditions and way of life that is a must read for anyone who would like to understand the Philippines in a broader angle. Balikbayans from everywhere will truly enjoy this book as well. This interview also highlights the greatest traits of the pinoys especially during the “Ondoy” calamity. Listen to the interview here

Here is John's Review of the book:

Culture Shock! Philippines is one in a series of guides for travelers and would-be residents, emigrants and the like. This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide I have ever seen for traveling to the Philippines. As an American who is often embarrassed by the behavior of other Americans in foreign lands, I would recommend this guide to all who plan to travel to the Philippines. For that matter, a guide this comprehensive should be required reading for all Americans traveling to any foreign lands, and I might even go so far as to suggest a test for them prior to stamping their passport and allowing them out of the USA.

Culture Shock! Philippines holds countless useful insights into local culture, cuisine, traditions, and more. It gives very valuable advice for those wishing to blend in (as much as that may be possible) to the local environment, and goes as far as detailing the things one might need to consider when planning a longer-term residence in the Philippines, including business considerations. I imagine that many countries’ version of the Culture Shock! guide was easier to produce than the one for the Philippines. After all, the Philippines is a rich, diverse nation comprised of more than 6000 islands with major Islamic, Catholic and Christian religions, dozens of regional dialects, colloquialisms and traditions. The amount of information packed into this volume is truly amazing, and I must say it was written with just the right touch of humor, sensitivity to and respect for the traditions of the people and the nation.

In my opinion the Philippines is a kind of “Asian Melting Pot,” similar to America in that it has been colonized repeatedly over the course of centuries prior to gaining its independence, and an incredible array of folk from all over the world have settled there and call the place home. This guide takes into account much of that history and deals with it in a very respectful way. The politics of the region, and even some of the behaviors there which judgmental Americans might otherwise find objectionable are all treated and explained in a way that allows one to understand the culture at its root and ultimately embrace it. An example is the discussions of a “Querida” system in which Filipino men appear to be empowered to have multiple mistresses and grow multiple families. This behavior is a part of society that is more complex than it appears on its surface, and the guide does a fine job of describing it in both positive and negative terms without judging it. This style of writing tends not to beg the reader to judge the culture too quickly or harshly, a tendency for which we Americans may be unaware. There is much humor in this guide and reading it along with my Filipina wife, we found that there are many details, quotes, and suggestions as well as analysis of the culture which are truly entertaining to each of us. I’m sure much of the stuff we find so entertaining is not intended to be that way to the uninitiated, but having been to the Philippines and now having family there, the guide takes on a whole new light for me and is really worthy of repeated browsing. I can wholeheartedly recommend Culture Shock! Philippines to anyone planning to travel there, in fact I recommend you re-read it after you retu - you’ll be surprised at how helpful and accurate this guide was for your jouey - and this guide will definitely be with me when I retu again, lest there were any details I’d forgotten over time.