Cultural Differences

[Artisan 138]

One of the more amusing things I notice Michelle does is point with her lips. At first I thought perhaps it was just personal trait but nearly every Filipina I have met does the exact same thing. It doesn't bother me but I do notice it and laugh to myself every time I see it done. The funnier thing is that when I have pointed it out almost none of them realize they are consciously doing it.

[LeeandJoy 0]

After living in the Philippines I find myself doing the lip and eye thingy too. I have started to do it unconsciously. My wife said you are starting to act like a pinoy. I think we start picking up local traits wherever you live.

My wife speaks great English, but still gets the he and her mixed up. There is no word here for that, so that's understandable. Also she likes to use the word "already" on the end of sentences, which is taught in some schools here. At least that is what she tells me. On the other hand her penmanship is wayyyyy better than mine.

[Stevephoto 230]

I love all of those things...yes, sometimes we need to stop and clarify what we are saying, but it is great!

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

I love how my wife does the lip and the eye movement. I have started doing the eye movement a lot now since we have started living together. The biggest thing that gets me is my wife will be thinking of something and I ask her about it and she replies back "I don't know what it is in English". So then we have to google it and find the answer.

I have started teaching my wife how to drive and it was frustrating to me at first. How someone can ride a motorbike but not know how to drive a car is beyond me. But I taught her, but we live in California and she hates driving because of all the traffic.

[pumpkincookie 0]

I studied ESL (Engslish as a Second Language) course in De La Salle 2 years ago, 2 hours per day for 3 months and I learned a lot specially the pronunciation. Before I studied ESL, I pronounced the "outages" as "out ages"

[Artisan 138]

I love how my wife does the lip and the eye movement. I have started doing the eye movement a lot now since we have started living together. The biggest thing that gets me is my wife will be thinking of something and I ask her about it and she replies back "I don't know what it is in English". So then we have to google it and find the answer.

Michelle is fluent in English. She and her sister would practice their English together when they were children outside of school. On the rare occasion she has difficulty with a word or phrase I just ask her to switch to Tagalog and we continue the conversation that way. Afterwards I will help her find the best way to express what she meant in English.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

Michelle is fluent in English. She and her sister would practice their English together when they were children outside of school. On the rare occasion she has difficulty with a word or phrase I just ask her to switch to Tagalog and we continue the conversation that way. Afterwards I will help her find the best way to express what she meant in English.

My wife is fluent in English as well. I have worked with her over the past 3 years to be "American Fluent". She has gotten alot better and people have commented her on her English. It's just small little things that she doesn't understand sometimes. I am learning Tagalog and I am getting ok with it, since when I am at home the majority of the time the tv is on The Filipino Channel.

[Wariza 8]

LOL, I do get tickled all the time when she gets he and she mixed up. She also corrects my Tagalog saying I am using words in the wrong context.

We are learning to drive now. It is amusing to say the least.

[Psoas10 17]

We are surprised how similar our cultures were. We eat a lot of rice here. She has no problem finding Filipino fruits and gulay. It was the same in reverse. Her relatives in PI were shocked how easy I fit in, and acted like was Filipino already.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Just remember, you are the boss, and everything will be fine. Make sure you have a little set aside every month to send to her family, plus all the nieces and nephews you will be sending to school, and all the unexpected medical problems you will be expected to pay for. And get on a good dental plan before she arrives, and be sure to add her as soon as you can. A full front fixed bridge can cost as much as a new economy car.