HYGIENE AND THE WAY WE EAT
1. You shower several times a day in summer. ( Humidity is terrible…. skin is so sticky.)
2.You use Vicks Vapor Rub as an insect repellant. ( ???)
3.You have ageless skin, due to high humidity of the tropics.
4. You eat a full meal more than 3 times a day.
5.You think a meal is not a meal without rice.
6.You use your fingers to measure the water you need to cook the rice.
7.You don’t need a knife to cut your food.
8. You think sandwiches are snacks, not a meal
9. You feel compelled to greet anyone who sees you eating with words ,” Let’s eat.” ( and you are compelled to eat too. It’s considered rude to refuse the food being offered to you. My brother once told us he has a co-worker whose little sister ‘s best friend is a Filipina, and everytime his sister attends a party at her best friend’s house, he volunteers to pick her up and sees to it he comes early as he is sure he will be invited in to eat. Also, I used to have birthday parties here , and parents who came to pick up their kids were always invited in to eat, and they usually did. I realize now it’s just Filipino culture. )
9. You always cook too much.
10. You never take the last morsel of food on the table , but offer it to your guests instead.
11. You always leave a room at the dining table for a couple of unexpected or uninvited guests.
12. Your dining table has a lazy susan in the middle.
13. You bring ” lunch ” to work everyday. ( My dad and sister do )
14. You keep your stove covered in aluminum foil when not in use. ( ^_^);;
15. You recycle bottles into water containers and store these in the fridge. (^_^)”
16. You wash and reuse plastic cups, plastic spoons and forks, and aluminum wrappers. You also love recycling paper plates by covering them with wax paper. (^____^)
17.Your pantry is never without cans of Spam, Vienna Sausage, corned beef, Hunt’s Pork and Beans, and sardines. (^_^)
18. You always leave a morsel of food on your plate at a party lest you appear famished.
19. You throw a party, and everyone is fighting to chop the crunchy skin off roasted pig, called ” lechon”.
20. You can’t enjoy a meal without ” patis” < fish sauce>, soy sauce, vinegar with lots of minced garlic, catsup, or sauteed bagoong < shrimp paste > (^__^)
21. Your tablecloths are always stained with soy sauce and other seasoning circles.
22. You love sticky desserts and salty snacks.
23. You eat fried chicken with lots of catsup and eat unripe sour fruits with salt crystals.
24. You eat fried Spam and hotdogs with rice. (^__^)
25. You enjoy chocolate rice porridge called ” champorado” for breakfast. (^__^) < It actually tastes good . It’s rice porridge with chocolate, milk and sugar>
26. You eat purple yam ice cream. ( It’s so yummy)
27. You like sweet spaghetti. (^________^)
28. When dining out, you always fight over who will pay for dinner, with everyone wanting to pay for dinner.
29. You love to eat, yet you manage to stay slim. \(^_^)/
I wonder why the author didn’t add one truly Filipino habit….. that of giving away party food to guests as their ” take away” food. Even our non _ Filipino friends know of this, and they , in fact, already expect something to take home…..
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by dreamsending on November 19, 2010 at 4:45 am
OMG the rice is with everything….
I had a Sandwich there, was full. Then had to eat an hour later a big meal.
When I was there, in the Philippines, people thought I was ill for not eating as much as they did.
( I eat 2-3 meals a day) I was not use to eating 6-10 meals a day…..
Also Ice cream for breakfast, just wow….I don’t think I could start off with strong sweets
Halo Halo is a meal, that for me was a shocker. Something so sweet and good like that…a meal….
And for one Filipino family, French Toast is part of their daily snack.
I SO MISS PHILIPPINES!
THanks for the memories.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 19, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Awww ! Alex ! ( hugs ) I’ll sure let you know when I’ll go back and we go together, okay ?
Hahah ! McDonalds in the Philippines is a totally different animal. Cheap meal, delicious rice and viand. Darn it. I should have taken pictures of the menu ! !
6 to 10 meals a day ! LOL Yeah ! That’s right ! And did you notice all the restaurants were full ? We sometimes had to wait 15 minutes to get seated.
Halo-halo ( mix-mix ) is sooo delicious, and yeah, come to think of it, it’s almost a meal. What’s in it ? Depends on the price, but it has a lot in it, sweet beans, banana, leche flan, purple yam, sweet corn, sweet yam, etc. and 2 scoops of ice cream on top. Those who don’t know, halo-halo is shaved ice with milk and so many sweet stuff added, like the ones I just mentioned. I got fat eating this almost everyday, I swear, 10 lbs ! !
Haha I know the French Toast ! We dip the bread in milk, then egg and fry it. Yes, that’s snacks. We eat that all the time here in the US, lol. (e__e) Are Filipinos the only ones eating that ? Well, the French, too, I guess. lol
Posted by 35andupcynicismonhold on May 14, 2012 at 4:19 am
Ahaha, you like sweet spaghetti, too! 😉