15 WEIRD FACTS / (About Life In The Philippines)

Pea runs through a collection of Filipino customs, traditions, and everyday behaviors that would surprise or confuse Westerners. She covers everything from death rituals and circumcision to public urination etiquette and gestures that mean the opposite of what foreigners think. The video is a mix of cultural education, dry humor, and honest observation about the contradictions within Filipino life.

What's Covered ​

• Death rituals and honoring the dead

  • Filipinos are very concerned with not forgetting the dead and paying respect over long periods
  • Many different rituals vary from island to island
  • In parts of Luzon: bodies are buried underground for one year, then exhumed, dressed in clothing and jewelry, and brought back to the village to "attend" a local tribal dance — Pea compares it to Weekend at Bernie's
  • After the dance, the body stays in the family home for an entire year — "if you're dating a woman from this area, you could go to meet her family and be introduced to a dead person"
  • After the home year, the body is carried to a cave for final rest alongside other villagers
  • Pea uses this to illustrate how literal Filipino family closeness can be
  • The modern side: cemeteries charge families a yearly fee for mausoleum box storage; if the family can't pay, bones of relatives are combined into one box; if they still can't pay, remains are tossed into an unmarked mass grave — "so the concept of honoring the bones of the dead only goes so far"

• Circumcision (tuli)

  • Every summer, the government offers free circumcisions using modern medical procedures
  • But many families insist on the traditional method called albularyo
  • Traditional method: boys aged 8–12 visit a local circumciser, chew guava leaves before the procedure, which is performed with a sharp curved blade of wood
  • The chewed guava leaves are then applied to the wound as the healing agent
  • 93% of Filipino males are circumcised
  • Two of Pea's three younger brothers had the traditional method — she jokes "I guess that means they're men now and can start supporting the family"

• Extreme Good Friday practices

  • Good Friday commemorates Jesus's crucifixion — supposed to be a day of sorrow and penance
  • In some Filipino communities, residents are literally nailed to crosses by others dressed in Roman costumes to prove religious vows called panata, with thousands watching
  • On the same day, people may flagellate themselves with whips or blades while parading through town
  • Pea's dry commentary: "You'd think life was tough enough here without adding infection and blood loss"

• Public urination

  • Extremely common — taxi drivers pulling over on the way from the airport to relieve themselves is a normal occurrence
  • Technically illegal with a 500-peso fine, but not enforced as long as you find a tree or bush and "don't go waving it around at people"
  • No one stares — "you never look, it's a thing"
  • Contrast with Western countries: you'd get arrested, jailed, and put on a sex offender list — "which means you can never visit the Philippines, so ironically doing it in your country means you'll never make it to my country where you see lots of people doing it"

• Swimming fully dressed and the rain contradiction

  • Most Filipinos swim at beaches and public pools fully clothed — jeans and all
  • Two reasons: (1) to keep the sun off so they don't get too dark "and unattractive," and (2) to preserve modesty
  • Pea notes the irony: modesty in swimwear but widespread public urination — "kind of strange, but whatever"
  • The further irony: at the first drop of rain, Filipinos get out of the water and seek shelter "so we don't get wet" — they'll swim fully clothed but refuse to stand in the rain

• Filipino gestures and communication quirks

  • Lip-pointing: Filipinos use their lips to point with because pointing with fingers is considered rude or aggressive
  • Eyebrow raise means "yes" — Pea warns foreign men: "if you encounter a pretty Filipina who does this, it is not an invitation for hanky-panky — we're just saying yes"
  • Filipinos hate saying "no" — they'll say yes to anything regardless of intent
    • Ask to borrow money: they'll say yes while getting up and moving away as fast as possible
    • Ask if they've been inside the TARDIS: "you'll be amazed at the number of people who claim to be time travelers"
    • This inability to say no "could also explain our population explosion"
  • The head-tilt-up gesture means "please repeat the question" (when they didn't hear or understand you)
  • Counter-intuitive signals:
    • Saying "oo" (sounds like "oh") means yes, not no
    • Saying "o" also means yes, not announcing a problem
    • The "come here" hand gesture (which looks like "go away" to Westerners) means come closer
  • Pea includes a Who's On First–style comedy bit to illustrate the confusion these signals create

• Lack of eye contact

  • Filipinos aren't big on eye contact — if their eyes drift downward during conversation, it's not disinterest or boredom, it's cultural discomfort with direct eye contact
  • This explains why interview subjects on Pea's channel often won't look at the camera — "their eyes and body language seem to suggest they'd rather be anywhere else — which is probably true too"

• No bank accounts or credit cards

  • Most Filipinos don't have bank accounts or credit cards
  • Bills are paid in cash, in person, by standing in line at each utility company (electric, water, etc.) — waits of up to two hours
  • Even if you have a credit card, most utilities won't accept it
  • Option: hire someone to stand in line for you

• Social media and texting dominance

  • The Philippines is the texting capital of the entire world
  • Also the heaviest users of social media on the planet
  • Average Filipino social media user spends 10 hours and 2 minutes per day on sites like Facebook and YouTube
  • That's over half of waking hours — "which means we have way too much time on our hands"
  • Pea jokes about anyone who's dated a Filipina "surgically attached to her phone" not being surprised by this

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