1. Especially in emergencies, us Filipinos have that "bayanihan" character in which we help together as one for the sake of resolving one's need or problem from paying your jeepney fare up to carrying a huge luggage. 100% charity work! Mostly, its for free and the best things in life come for it, right? The "Bayanihan Spirit"

2. Ever went to a road trip and all of a sudden, your brain's GPS forgot which way to go? Forgot what street are you going so you can get to your friend's house? Ask someone on the way, they know where to go and will also give you a very detailed instruction, too! Me: How can i get to Kopong-Kopong Ave? Stranger: Go straight until you see an intersection, go west. When you reach Aling Inday's store, turn right. Go forward until you see a yellow trash can. There, you will see Kopong-Kopong Ave. Me: Oh, okay! Thanks. Giving detailed landmarks when asking for directions 3. No one's perfect, especially when it comes to following schedules. We all have various excuses like family problems, flat tires, runaway pet or even falling asleep while your finger's wounded whether its real or not! Its a habit for us Filipinos to arrive at a venue for several minutes and still looking fresh and fine for ourselves and to some of your friends like there's no delay and the worst/best is, some of people in the group are not yet there! Its a habit for Filipinos, ever since the Spanish era, to do that. Just make sure it won't ruin your reputation especially in school and at work. The "Filipino Time" 4. If you ever have been downed by the world in your point of view, catching up time to pass a project or approaching a beautiful lady, all it takes is just 2 magic words: "Bahala na! or Bahala na si Batman! Its also a habit for Filipinos to say it especially when they don't have any choice left to gain that ego boost to do something that you need, and most times it is effective, although results are too-to- somewhat mediocre. "Bahala Na 5. I absolutely believe that this is the reason why most foreigners love to stay here. Hosts providing food, beverages, karaoke, a tour around the town and sometimes, they might let you sleep over especially if you're a relative. Filipinos are well known for being hospitable hosts, making sure a guest is well pampered at the moment they visit. Filipino Hospitality 6. Giving pasalubong is the Filipino habit of travellers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home. Pasalubong can be any gift or souvenir brought for family or friends after being away for a period of time. It can also be any gift given by someone arriving from a distant place. Pasalubong 7. This is a gesture of holding a parent's or an elderly's hand and putting it on our foreheads while bowing down our heads, more like the gentlemanly "hand-kiss" of the West. This has been done by most Filipinos ever since the Spanish Era because this was done to the Catholic friars to show politeness and a sign of respect to their holy status. "Mano Po" 8. This is the most treasure Filipino values that we have. As a Filipino we are known as very polite person especially in how we treating the elders. Filipinos value family loyalty and treat their elders with respect and deference. Among the Tagalog community, saying "Po" and "Opo" when talking to the elderly is taught to the very young. Respect for elders is embedded in the Tagalog language. Saying Po & Opo 9. Filipinos are very polite when it comes to elderly. It has been a habit/culture to address names as a sign of respect. Filipinos have many ways of calling elderly. Ate and kuya for their brothers, sisters or cousins. While tito and tita for their auntie or uncle. And lolo and lola for their grandparents. Being polite 10. Misa de Gallo in Spanish, Simbang Gabi in Tagalog and 9 Mornings or Mass at Dawn in English is a very popular It has been a habit for Filipino during the Christmas Season. Ideally, Catholic Churches celebrates mass at around 4:00 in the morning for 9 days until the day before Christmas day. It starts every morning starting December 16th. Simbang Gabi 11. It is also said that when you finish the 9 mornings, a wish would be granted to you. Unfortunately, these are not scientifically proven but faithful believes and hopes that their hearts desire would be true. I always believe in that too. I know that somehow, even if my wish is not 100% granted I would be able to get it in another form. Besides the celebration of the mass, people look forward to the cool breeze of December since its at dawn and of course the yummy puto bumbongs and bibingkas being sold in front of the Church that will serve as your breakfast for the day! 12. Many Filipinos actually prefer using a tabo rather than toilet paper since toilet paper is considered to be inadequate or even dirty. The tabo could most commonly be found in the provinces though it is also widely used in the cities. The plastic tabo is an almost indispensable fixture in the Filipino home. Filipinos living overseas will bring their own tabo or even ask their relatives to send one over if ever they forget. Using tabo 13. Most Filipino households treat their stuff like family, they keep them and maintain them up to the point of no return or until they realized that they are not following the latest trends anymore. The good thing is: this really proves that Filipinos are good in survival, improvising, perseverance, and handling expenses. Keeping and fixing things until its beyond repair 14. Where else can we buy one tablespoon of Star margarine, peanut butter, or matamis na bao? Or a 10 ml shampoo and a five gram toothpaste in a sachet? Filipinos have a penchant for tingi, or buying in sachets. It has been a habit for Filipinos to buy tingi-tingi in a sari-sari store or variety store. Buying Tingi-tingi 15. The Filipino term for cock derby or cock fight, sabong is a favourite Pinoy past time, especially in the rural communities. It has its own mechanics and rules which make the game more exciting. Sabong 16. 17. Aside from usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we have morning snacks or Segundo Almuerzo (second breakfast) which is normally done around 10 to 10:30 in the morning and merienda (mid- afternoon snack time) between 3 to 4pm. We eat more than three times a day 18. Others have pica-pica and pulutan moments too. This tradition can be credited back to the people who live in the rural areas where the day usually starts at 4am and the need to grab a bite several times during the day is essential. 19. Filipinos love rice very much that we have 7 different words for rice: palay (unmilled rice), bigas (milled rice), kanin (cooked rice), lugaw(rice porridge), tutong (burned rice), bahaw (left over rice) and sinangag (fried rice). Rice is also used heavily in desserts and wines. We love rice 20. Rice is a staple in every meal. Those who are used to bread or potatoes for their daily dose of carbohydrates will have to specifically ask some from their hosts because they are often only available in specialised restaurants, during breakfast, merienda or snack time or as an ingredient in a dish. While we also eat burgers and pizza, a meal eaten without rice is not considered a full meal and is only counted as merienda no matter how large the helping. Many Filipinos also do not feel full nor satisfied when their meal is without rice. 21. We are fond of dipping on or pairing anything with our dishes. Soy sauce (with lemon or calamansi juice), fish sauce (patis), catsup and bagoong or alamang (shrimp paste). Some even maximize the use of gravy (in KFC) and turn it into sabaw (soup) poured on rice! We like condiments 22. Ever heard of the saying You are not a true Filipino unless you learn how to eat with your hands? It has already been part of our culture and stems back to the early times when we could not afford to buy spoon and fork. Now, it comes out of tradition especially if local cuisine is served or if the meal is presented in banana leaves. We eat with our hands 23. Each city or barrio has at least one fiesta to celebrate. If you live in the Philippines, you can not stay in a place for at least a year without attending a fiesta or two. Pinoys usually stack as much as they can on one plate Menudo, Embutido, Fruit Salad and Leche Flan. We also love meat during these times. We are great advocates of fiestas 24. ~End of our presentation~