There are many traits that can be attributed to the Filipinos. Perhaps a few knows that there is a subject about this, Filipino Psychology which I thoroughly enjoyed when I was in college. Why I think there is even a Filipino Psychology course.

Filipinos are known for their hospitality when they have guests. They bring out the best linens, silverware, plates and cook the best food. Even if they themselves do not have much money to buy these for themselves.

Filipinos have close family ties. Even with distant relatives, they are treated as close family relatives.They love their family members and they respect them though times have been changing and I have observed that these changes are not positive.

I have written a post about the Balikbayan box which overseas workers send to their relatives here, that one can easily spot a Filipino traveler at any airport because he is the oe with the most number of packages or the one with the biggest box. Familes love to receive these and are happy to have these blessings shared to them. But these boxes of goods can also cause friction among family members.

Filipinos believe in the “power” of fatalism. They do things or go to situations prepared or otherwise and believe that “Bahala na ang Diyos” (God will take care of me) or “Bahala na” (Come what may) will help them survive whatever it is they have to do. Good if they are able to survive the ordeal still intact but what if the results are negative?

Filipinos are also known for their sense of humor. They find ways to still smile or find something positive to laugh about even if they are in dire situations. They can even wear funny t-shirts where the funny message is directed at themselves. finding humor and laughing may be in the form of banter, or loud laughter or smiles and hushed giggles. They can take personal insult with a smile or give out a similar retort and still laugh about it. But beware, there have been numerous incidents that the person from where the pun came from, met his early demise because the recipient was not able to appreciate what has been said in jest

Of course, all these traits can be viewed upon as positive or negative, depending on a person’s experiences and points of views.

There are still a lot of Filipino traits (that can be considered as positive or negative) but that will be for another post.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 9:19 am and is filed under Bits and Pieces, Information, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.