Yeah! We're back! Seriously, I have never fely more stressed than I did today. The amount of notifications I recieve everyday after I uploaded this book is beyond ridiculous. This is the first time this has happened to me and I am so grateful once again for your continuous support.

I would just like to ask. If one day I do ran out of questions, I want to keep this book going somehow. So, I decided the 1st part of this book is all question related. The 2nd part of this book will be a debate section. However that might come in 2021 or something. Let me know if you have any ideas for part 3.

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Welcome to Chapter 3 : Countries!

I'm actually really excited for this one. There are so many endless possibilities of questions. I hope your fingers will be okay by the end of this 🤣

Again, if you feel uncomfortable, you can skip certain questions.

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1 ▪︎ What country do you currently live in or had lived in?

I currently live in the Philippines but I was raised in Vietnam.

2 ▪︎ What countries have you visited?

I have visited the Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.

3 ▪︎ What country do you want to visit to the most? It has to be a country you never been to yet.

I really want to visit New Zealand the most. I'm just so curious about what it's like there. Of course, I would want to travel a lot more but New Zealand is 1st in my bucket list.

4 ▪︎ What is your most favorite country? It can be based on experience or based on stories.

I really love New Zealand. I just love the mix of nature and city. It's my ideal community.

5 ▪︎ What is your least favorite country?
It can be based on experience or based on stories.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I'm just so against North Korean laws and government. I'm pretty sure most of us would have the same answer as entering and leaving the country is dangerous in itself.

6 ▪︎ What is your country's greeting culture?

Since our country really values politeness, we usually greet our elders with mano or pagmamano. It's where you ask blessings from an elder by bowing and placing their hand on our forehead. It's really hard to explain but I'm sure other Filipinos can explain in the comments. However, between friends or younger people, we usually just wave or hug. We don't usually shake hands, only during job interviews and political shtuff.

7 ▪︎ What do you like the most about your country?

I love the people and their attitude towards life. I don't know if it's true but in my area, there are rarely cases of suicidal teens. Yes, there is stress but we can cope in different ways.

I also love the food, it may be unhealthy and not originally ours but rice is just so good with every meal especially Lechon or Lechon Manok.

I love our malls too, their very convenient. I can just visit one mall and have everything I need. Our malls here are a combination of grocery stores, clothing stores, arcades, restaurants, cinemas and just a lot more.

I also like our music. It's not over the top and it's simple and easy to sing along to. It's nothing mainstream, but I love the singer's voices. When Filipino singers say they're good, they are good.

8 ▪︎ What do you like the least about your country?

I don't like how we are still too narrow-minded and attatched to the past. We are getting better and elders are slowly accepting the new generation but there is still prejudice about mental illnesses, the LGBTQ+ community, religion and all that.

I also hate how poverty is still a prominent thing here. This problem should have been solved a long time ago but the situation is just getting worse.

What I absolutely hate the most is how "proud" we are. I know that being recognized is a good feeling but some Filipinos need to stop saying "proud to be Filipino" or "only the Philippines is the best" and bla bla bla. Nothing is originally ours. Our language, our clothes, our food, and even the name of our country. The only exception is our personalities anf culture but that can also be debunked because it's mostly influenced by the Spanish and the US.

9 ▪︎ Is your country a developing country or a developed country?

I definitely think the Philippines is a developing country. We need better healthcare and education systems. Our GPD is low and our infant mortality rate is high.

10 ▪︎ What are the languages that are most commonly spoken in your country?

Tagalog is our main language and English is the country's second language. Almost all schools and signages uses English. If I had to pick a third, it might be Spanish since our language is mostly based from Spain. We have a ton of dialects and mine is Cebuano, however English is my first language since I grew up in Vietnam.

11 ▪︎ What is the usual weather in your country?

Since our country is tropical, we mostly get rain and summer. We don't have spring, autumn nor winter. It's usually either really hot or really cold because of rain. The only exception is in the evening, it can get really cold at night. Wind is also quite strong from time to time. It gets really hot in the afternoon so it's best advised to go out early in the morning or in the evening.

12 ▪︎ What do you think is the most common trait that the people have in your country?

I think positivity and outgoing are the common traits. I'm not as outgoing but Filipinos like to hang out in groups and we usually greet people we just randomly see in the street, though not always. It's mostly the teens that are like this. I say postitvity as well because we easily get over our problems. We don't like it when problems drag so we sometimes easily forgive.

I forgot to add boastful. I notice how much attention Filipinos like recieveing. They intentionally act nice or show off in the face of foreigners. We always seek foreigner's approval because of our colonial mentality.

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1 ▪︎ What is "hello" in your native language?

Kamusta, but we mostly just use magandang araw or maayong adlaw in my dialect. However, most of us Filipinos just say hello or hello po.

2 ▪︎ What is the meaning behind your flag? I'm genuinely curious

🇵🇭 Our flag has white triangle symbolizing liberty or equality. The blue stripe is for peace and the red stripe is for patriotism. When the red stripe is on top, that means our country is currently in war. The sun and it's 8 rays symbolizes the provinces in the Philippines and the 3 stars on the corners of the triangle represent the 3 main islands in the Philippines — Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

3 ▪︎ How do the people in your country dress in the past?

They used to dress up in a Filipiniana or a Maria Clara for the girls and Barong Tagalog for the boys. They also dress really colorfully and bright.

4 ▪︎ How do they dress now?

Since before, our style was influenced from other countries. Our clothes mostly represent Western culture. We usually now wear a lot of patterned or design tees. Jeans is a go to or shorts because of how hot the country is. We wear slippers or sandals depending on the weather. Dresses are used occasionally and jackets are only worn when it rains or it gets too cold.

5 ▪︎ Do you live in the city or on the countryside?

I live in the city in Cebu and in Leyte, my two current homes. I never had a house in the countryside but I have relatives who do.

6 ▪︎ Give a few things about your culture that you might think be a culture shock to foreigners.

I'm not really 100% sure but correct me if I'm wrong. I think foreigners would be weirded out about how we use umbrellas in the day. This is because the country is that hot so we use it as extra protection.

When we bath, most Filipinos usually reject a working shower and would rather use a dipper (kabo) and a bucket to shower. We rarely take baths, our bathrooms are too small for it.

The way we also always invite someone to eat even though we don't know them or even if they claim they are full. We also don't call people by their names, we sometimes signal people by using our hands or our lips. We sometimes say "che" or point to things with our lips.

Also, every food must have rice, it's a must to have rice in every meal. If given a choice to choose between cereal or eggs with rice for breakfast, almost all Filipinos would choose eggs with rice.

And of course, the number 1 shock factor is our famous Balut. If you don't know what it is, it's a fertilized bird egg that's usually steamed and eaten directly from the shell with vinegar and salt. I love it but even I can't finish eating it because of the feathers that I accidentally ingest.

7 ▪︎ What is your country's / city's most known or recommended tourist spot?

The Philippines is mostly known for our islands and our beaches. We have a ton of them everywhere. The most known tourist spot is Boracay beach and Chocolate Hills in Bohol. There are a lot of mountainous areas and fields too. Our country mainly has museums and churches and nothing really grand. You can correct me if I'm wrong.

8 ▪︎ Have you personally met and befriended a foreigner in your country? If so, what was your first impression of them?

I have met a ton of foreigners in Vietnam seeing as I went to an international school. I met some foreigners in the Philippines because I had attended an international school there too. However, the most prominent was my front door neighbour Sarah. She is German-Filipino and we met when we were really young. We both got along really easily and she introduced me to hee favorite show "Emma's Chatroom" in German. Even though the original was in English, I still preffered the German version and learnt a lot of German from the show and from her.

1 ▪︎ Do you think technology brings countries together?

Of course I do. Because of technology, I was able to communicate with people from other countries. If it weren't for the Internet, I would have never known about all of you right now reading and commenting in this book. I am really grateful that I was born in this generation. However, I sometimes think that it can also start disagreements. Because of technology, it's easier to find fake news and so many people believe them. This can cause some disputes between people from different countries.

2 ▪︎ When people from other countries think about your culture, what do they usually think of?

They always think about the "Filipinos are good singers" quote. What this quote really means is that "If Filipinos claim to be singers, they are good singers". Not all Filipinos can sing.

3 ▪︎ What do you think is important when visiting another country?

I think the most important thing is being respectful and open-minded. You are in a place that is new to you and it already has established rules and laws. Please respect them and don't be like that one guy who visited Japan...you know? I forgot but his name is on the tip of my tongue, it starts with L...🙄😒 (I hope you notice this was sarcasm).

4 ▪︎ Do you think "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is always good advice? Why or why not?

I mean it depends. Like I said before, you have to respect the culture of the place you are visiting or living at and you must understand their culture. However, if it goes against your morals, you have the right to refuse. Learn how to say no but say it in a respectful way and not in a way that will cause misunderstandings.

5 ▪︎ Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you had to "do as the Romans do"?

I was a really young child when I travelled to Vietnam and Hong Kong so I was exempted from a lot of things. I have yet to experience a situation like that.

6 ▪︎ Why do you think culture is important?

I personally think culture is important because it can help shape your values and help shape your personality. They can also be really useful practices. They also make each country unique. It can cause disputes and misunderstandings but I like how different cultures are and I'm always willing to learn them.

This is the longest chapter so far. I got really carried away with the questions. Let me know what you think about the questions this time around. Thank you for participating, please help show me support by:

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- 🥀 Roze