Are The People Of The Philippines Becoming Less Friendly?

[Mr Lee]

As time goes on my wife and I have noticed a change in the way people respond to foreigners. In the past the women were all smiles almost all the time and it was almost annoying when in department stores where the women would always greet me with good and whatever part of the day it was and then finish off with sir, but as time has gone on, I notice less and less of it in the places within the Philippines my wife and I travel to. It was common in the malls of Cebu, Manila, and Cagayan de Oro but less common now. I used to say the further south we would go, the friendlier people seemed to get, but now even out in the provinces it does not feel as friendly as before. I believe the land of a million smiles used to be the land of fifty million smiles, and of course there was always some people who would not smile or be friendly no matter what, but lately I think there are many more people who fail to smile even when I am smiling at them. Now before you guys jump on me and say it must be because I am grumpier, while that may be true in some ways, it is not the case in real life, and besides that I have had others we have been with say the same thing. Earlier this year while walking around the malls with Minnesota Johnny, he commented on the same thing and I believe that only two older store clerks were very friendly and greeted us as we were walking around the malls in CDO and a few in Cebu. Maybe they were old school and still there from past years but Johnny himself said there was a big change from the last time he was in CDO. BTW CDO is considered the city of golden friendship but to us the gold seems to have tarnished a bit as years have passed. I wonder if anyone else who have seen the Philippines over the years could comment on what they observed and why they think it is? Could it be we are no longer a novelty or could it be that so many foreigners treat the locals like trash, that they are now leery or more cautious? I know that I have had many more Filipinos say to me that I am different than many other kanos they have met and they meant it in a good way because I always asked them to explain what they meant. So are others noticing the same thing?

Edited December 16, 2011 by Mr. Lee

[Dave Hounddriver]

Its just that foreigners are not a novelty any more. Too many of us here. I remember the days in Northern Canada when a visiting black person would get smiles and friendly conversation because there were so few of them that they were a novelty. People wanted to talk to them and find out about them. Now there are lots and they are ignored, or not, just like anyone else.Same thing has happened here with white people.

[Garpo]

I don't think it is just something in the Philippines. It is a something that I see as happening all over the world. I can not think of a single country that is more friendly now than it was five or ten years ago. I don't know why, or how, this is happening and I wish it were not true, but the world as a whole is becoming less friendly.Just my own opinion that combined with a couple of dollars might get you a cup of coffee somewhere.

[ekimswish]

I don't think it is just something in the Philippines. It is a something that I see as happening all over the world. I can not think of a single country that is more friendly now than it was five or ten years ago. I don't know why, or how, this is happening and I wish it were not true, but the world as a whole is becoming less friendly.Just my own opinion that combined with a couple of dollars might get you a cup of coffee somewhere.

Maybe that's just a biproduct of globalization, and in essence, the we're-not-a-novelty reason.Where we live in Leyte, I get a lot of friendly and curious looks as I ride down the road on a scooter or something. If I'm on foot, I often stop and drink with people. Not everyone seems so happy to have me there, however, but over a few drinks, I can usually lighten them up and forge some kind of a "friendship."But in terms of hard looks, I get those, too from time to time. I think it's just some guy who has a bit of pride, and doesn't want to be seen to be lowering himself below some foreigner on the basis of nationality or race. Maybe they think we look down on them, and maybe that's because so much of the time they look down on themselves. Filipinos are always wondering what's wrong with their country that they're so poor and have to leave to attain money and opportunities. I think they resent it, and maybe their guard is up a bit. I know my wife often looks down on herself for having dark skin, and just assumes everyone else is looking down on her, too, so carries her guard really high around foreigners, like Taiwanese or Koreans.Anyways... I think if you want special treatment, you should do something special in the first place. Otherwise, just please don't give me hard looks I didn't earn, either.