For a typical Filipina lady, family comes first and this is something you have to instill in your system to better understand her and her culture. This factor could contribute to the success or failure of your relationship or marriage. The family is considered as the basic unit of society in the Philippines and for a Filipina, faithfulness to her family take first priority. You may not believe that there are cases when a choice has to be made, the Filipina lady will choose her parents or family over you. When the children are still small, the parents do all they can to meet hardships and sacrifice to give them a better future. Thus, when the children are all grown up and are working, they are committed to their parents and they have one desire, and that is to work and make the life of their parents easier. The children are hesitant to leave home even when they are married and have kids of their own.

Frequently they would build an extension wing to the original house and the grandmother is once again taking care of kids – this time her grand children. They eat meals together, or in cases where families cook separately, they still knock on each other’s door and share their meals. Mealtimes, especially dinner is very rarely a formal setting. In fact, it s a pleasant get-together for the whole family as they swap stories about the day’s events. In a typical Filipino family, the women are brought up with the tradition that when they marry, their husbands will take care of them and they will stay as housewives and take care of the family and the children. Times are changing though as more women found independence and satisfaction in working and earning their own money.

Filipino families have high regard for integrity, dignity, honor. They show high respect for the their parents and the elderly. Children do not call their parents by their first names like western countries because for them, this shows lack of respect. Fathers are commonly called Daddy, Papa, Tatang, and Tatay while mothers are called Mommy, Mama, Nanang and Nanay. Probably nine out of 10 Filipinos would not think of sending their aged parents or even grandparents to any institution to be cared for by strangers. You must know that you have more fingers in your hands than there are homes for the aged in the Philippines. The moment you say the heavily loaded words “I do” in front of the judge or the priest, you must understand that you are not marrying only the “perfect Filipina bride” for you but you are taking a whole package for life. Do not be surprised that right after your wedding you have earned yourself 2,000 new relatives whom you do not know. Strange children will kiss your hand and call you uncle, while adults may shake your hand or pat your arm and welcome you into the family.

The country has a history of more than a hundred years of external influences which is the countries who colonized the Philippines. Filipinos are known in the world as a group of people who sees food as a very significant element in their everyday lives especially in their culture. Filipino food is considered as one of the Philippine culture highlights. You will also observe that the Filipinos’ favorite place in the house is the kitchen. The exotic Filipino foods are known in the whole world because they are all delicious and really look unusual dish to eat. Dishes like “bagoong” and “dinuguan” do look really exotic and unusual for many people, specially for those who don’t have Filipino blood in them. But, one thing is for sure, the looks and smell of this exotic foods will be covered up by the unique taste and blend of spices the said dishes has to offer. Once you have tasted it and captured its distinctive taste, you will surely crave for more.

Some of the reality shows have featured these exotic foods as part of their challenge in the show. One example is the “balut” which was featured in the show Fear Factor. For those who don’t know, “balut” is a fertilized egg with a nearly developed embryo inside. This egg will be boiled and eaten in shell alongside with either salt or vinegar with chili mixture to season their egg. It may not look or sound good at all, but the taste of it will surely captivate every taste buds that will try this food. Of course, many Filipinos does not find these foods as exotic and unlikely to be eaten especially “balut” which are sold every night on streets.

As one travels in the provinces of the country, one will see that the delicacies become more and more exotic. This is not a surprise since Filipino will try to eat and cook every living thing in their surroundings or backyards. We could say that Filipinos does not care that much what the physical looks or attributes of a thing as long as they could eat them. Whether it’s crunchy or slimy, Filipino delicacies are sure to be tasty and healthy. Many Filipinos will try to use every part of an animal as a source of their food. The resourcefulness of the Filipinos can be seen in this way.