This is a crash course in cultural competency from a wanna-be know-it-all trying-hard physical therapist trying to make his mark in the world. Now, whatever I am gonna say would purely be based on my observation and may not entirely reflect the truth. While it is impossible to paint a complete picture of what is America and what makes America America, especially one who is not really into the science of sociology and more into the informal art of people-watching, it does not hurt to at least try as seen through the eyes of a full-blooded Filipino.
Let me give you a little background about myself then so you can pass judgment on my judgment. I haven't been here very long in the US, and there are still a lot of things I am trying to get around to. I am based in the State of Virginia, first from Chester, somewhere south of Richmond and then I moved up to the northern part of VA near Washington, D.C. when my former facility decided to go in-house. My experience is limited to skilled nursing and long-term care rehabilitation, at least for now. I am now working in a wonderful nursing home with a racially diverse staff and residents. In the rehab department (speech, OT and PT), we have four Indians, two Filipinos, three Caucasians and one Hispanic. Interesting to note, too, that the four Indians have different religions: Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Roman Catholicism. In the entire nursing home, we have a healthy mix of races from Asians to Africans to Latinos to Middle Easterns to Europeans for the staff. The cultural diversity in this facility opens up your mind more to different cultures and beliefs that encourage acceptance and tolerance. I hope that what I will be sharing will give you a little bit of insight about the most culturally-diverse country in the world.
Hablo español. Americans, of course, speak English but Spanish is gaining a strong ground all over the US as Hispanics are the fastest growing minority here. At first, when I think of Hispanic, I only think of Mexicans. I was wrong. I found out that everything south of the US, from Mexico all the way down to the tip of South America, they all speak Spanish. Except for Brazil, which speaks Portuguese. So although, speaking Spanish is not a pre-requisite, it can give you an advantage in dealing with Spanish-speaking patients. The good thing is, as some Filipino words are the same or close to Spanish, we can understand a little bit here and there about that particular language. Also, if you affectionately address your patient as dad/father in Spanish, don't use papa as it can be mistaken for potato (also patata in Spanish). Use papi instead.
Weather. I found it odd at first that people talk about the weather quite frequently around here. Initially, I thought it was just some ploy for small talk. But, no, people take the weather seriously around here. In the Philippines, people don't talk about the weather very much, not unless a very dangerous storm is coming. Back home, when you wake up in the morning and see that it's bright outside, chances are it will be sunny the whole day. If it's gloomy, it will probably rain the whole day. It's simple as that. Maybe now with global warming, Mother Nature can't decide very well what to do with herself, the weather gets a little unpredictable back home but I would still bet on either a sunny day or a rainy day, period. Here, it is quite different. It may be gloomy when you wake up, sunny at around 10 am, cloudy by 3pm and thunderstormy by 5pm and back to humid by 9pm. It matters to know what the weather is because it affects safety on the road during commutes and rush hours. However, you can lay off blaming Pag-asa all the time about inaccuracies in its reporting. Even here in the US, they can't predict weather patterns perfectly all the time, so give the Pag-asa guys some slack.
Umbrellas. Since I started talking about the weather first, let me go to the next topic at hand. People here do NOT use umbrellas unless it rains. We, Asians, are used to carrying our folding umbrellas to combat the scorching heat of the sun and avoid getting soaked in a down pour. Here, umbrellas are only used during rainy days. They do not use an umbrella for shade even during the summer when temperatures can reach a hundred degrees Fahrenheit (that's about 38 degrees C). The umbrella is solely for rain and sleet.
Rice. Americans are actually in bewilderment in how Filipinos can consume so much rice everyday. It is not that they do not eat rice, they do, but only once in a while. Even my Indian co-workers, themselves having rice as a staple, are amazed by how much we actually consume. Indians don't usually eat their rice plain, like us Pinoys. They usually have something mixed in it like some curry dish. So they are surprised that Filipinos actually eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plain rice at that, too. I explain to them that Filipino dishes are designed to be very flavorful, hence bland plain rice is needed to temper the strong, delicious flavors.
Traffic. For us living in large Asian cities, we grew up in traffic and noise with senseless beeping and honking all around us. Eventually, we have gotten immuned to it as it becomes part of our daily lives. Here, traffic is the pet peeve of Americans even though I noticed that they almost never have bumper-to-bumper traffic like what we have back home. If a regular ten-minute commute turns to a twenty-minute commute due to "traffic", they go ballistic. Also, honking is considered rude around here. You don't honk unless it is absolutely necessary. You could trigger road rage by using your horns inappropriately. Having said this, as the general population here drives, a big majority of them are pretty responsible drivers. They really do follow the traffic signs and have a good grasp of road courtesy towards other drivers. Not unlike back home when every driver feels like he is king of the road and you have to get through traffic with jeepneys, and pedicabs, and tricycles weaving in and out of traffic the whole time.
Handsoap. Americans pour soap into their hands first before wetting them unlike us who wet our hands first before applying soap. I found it odd at first not to wet your hands before applying soap but this is how they do it here. Americans are also very particular with toilet hygiene. That may be arguably limited to toilet hygiene, not hygiene in its entirety. They want their toilets flushed after use and people to wash their hands after using the toilet to do number one or number two. They would be repulsed if they found out we wash our bottoms with our hand and soap and water. You could always argue that soap and water beats tissue paper for proper cleansing purposes but it just grosses them out. They would also be grossed out if they found out our men pee anywhere, not wash their hands, sit back on the table to continue drinking with other men sharing a single shot glass for everyone. Yes, I know you like to "strike anywhere" just like I do but hey, in here, you don't want to pee on that tree if you don't want to be called out for indecent exposure.
Handshake. The American handshake is firm and not too brief nor too long. It is firm to signify truth and sincerity. Not too brief because that would indicate disinterest and not too long because that is errr... creepy. Now, we are accustomed to the Filipino handshake, which is relaxed and soft. The Filipino handshake is soft for goodness sake! I don't think it is because we are not sincere when we shake hands with other people but rather we associate soft hands with being elite. Those who give firm handshakes are ruffians with rough dirty hands that are associated with having menial jobs. Giving a soft handshake with soft hands indicate that you are educated and didn't really do a lot of housework for yourself. Alas, not here though. So when someone introduces their name to you and reaches out for a handshake, give him/her a firm and not too brief not too long grip.
Weekend activities. Americans work the whole week. Yes, you might say, well I work the whole week too. Not really. Filipinos work AND play the whole week. It is not uncommon to grab a beer or two with friends after work, or maybe catch a movie with your girlfriend after work, or maybe go shopping with your friends after work, or maybe just hangout. Bottomline is, a Filipino's workday doesn't end with you just going home, unless you are a really really busy mom or dad (which even then every once in a while you get a break). In the US, they work M-F and seldom do stuff after that. They work for the whole week and almost always have plans for the weekend. They would ask one another about what are their plans for the weekend or what happened during the weekend. I don't know about you guys but personally, I don't really like to plan weekends. I'm good with having a very busy weekend or a very lazy one. But as everyone here, again, wants to take the pressure off from working hard during the week, I understand why they want something less drab to do during the weekend. Just a tip, you usually have to drive to get to bars and you gotta be careful if you drink or drive around here, you get yourself into some serious legal mess. Also, you can't get too drunk and decide to go home by foot so as not to be caught drunk driving. That would still land you in legal trouble for public intoxication. So if you plan on getting buzzed and wasted during the weekend, your option is to have a non-drinking friend be the designated driver or to stay at home altogether and get wasted there instead.
Eating shrimp. Americans cannot eat anything that has a head and a face staring back at them. They cannot eat shrimp or squid with their heads on. Heck, some can't even eat anything with bones on them like chicken (boneless chicken like nuggets are okay for them). Squid, if it's too small, is not food for them, it is bait. Shrimp, they can only eat if it's headless. Few of them will try dinuguan unless they are ignorant of what it's really made of and fewer still will brave eating the notorious balut. On the brighter side though, almost all Americans I know who have tasted the world-famous Philippine Adobo have all praises for the dish. And they mention it just out of the blue. Like I have a patient who when she found out I was from the Philippines said: "Well, my grandson just married a woman from Philippine and oooooh that woman from Philippine is so sweet and she makes this wonderful dish..what, it's called..what, it's called...oh! adobow!" Sometimes, I think that adobo will bring the Philippines recognition faster than our now growing economy and our wonderful beaches.
Freedom. Americans value freedom more than anything else and that is why the American president is considered the leader of the free world. Having said that, respecting personal space is something they all exercise here to the limit. That means my business ain't yours and your business ain't mine. Unless I do something illegal, you have no right to interfere with my life, my home, my backyard or whatsoever. It is inappropriate for you to give me advice unless I ask for it, tell me how to do my job unless you are my superior, tell me how to raise my children etc. Back home, if it's someone's birthday, you do your videoke, disturbing the peace of the neighborhood, until midnight or something like that, and the neighbors seldom complain or send the police over as long as it is not too much, knowing that you will give them the same consideration if they will celebrate their birthdays with a bang like you are doing now. Here, you have to take that ruckus down or else the police will be knocking on your door. Though it is true that you have the right to do what you want as long as it is not criminal, your neighbors also have a right to peace and not be disturbed by the uber-energetic party animal that you want to be.
My friends, this is all that I have for now, I'm sure as I discover their culture more I can share more with you. I am very open to corrections and if other people would like to share their experiences and observation, I would welcome it, too. Again, my insight is far from perfect and I tried to generalize everything. In the end, we are all unique and not one quality can define us all. For those of you who are not here yet, I hope this helps you understand the country you want to work in even just for a little bit. For now I bid you all, adieu!
