The Philippines Versus America - Where Would A Filipina Rather Live?

After spending three months traveling through six states in the American South, Pea delivers a comprehensive first-person comparison of daily life in the U.S. versus the Philippines. Aimed at Western men considering bringing a Filipina partner to America, the video catalogs everything from water pressure and tipping culture to marijuana smells and the mystery of where all the Americans actually are — plus a final weigh-in to answer whether America will make your Filipina fat.

Things that surprised Pea about America ​

• Americans barely use cash — almost everything requires a credit card, even parking meters; in the Philippines, people buy houses by bringing suitcases of paper currency to the closing
• Pets are treated like family members — pet superstores the size of grocery stores sell things like self-cleaning litter boxes, pet costumes, and DVDs designed to entertain dogs while owners are at work
• Daylight lasted until almost 9 PM, which confused Pea coming from a country where it gets dark around 6 PM year-round; her mother couldn't comprehend why it was still light during an evening phone call; Pea tried to explain the Earth's tilted axis, gave up, and told her "it was magic"
• The smell of marijuana was everywhere — every state, any time of day, around crowds — yet she never actually saw anyone smoking it; "Don't ask me how I know what it smells like. I guess I just read about it in a book somewhere"
• Wildlife was abundant and varied: raccoons, squirrels, alligators, possums, wild turkeys, rabbits, and no-see-ums (tiny biting insects she couldn't even detect until her skin swelled up); in the Philippines, you mostly just see dogs and cats wandering through your yard
• Many elderly Americans still work — a 70-year-old might be behind the counter at a Circle K; in the Philippines, most workers are teenagers and twenty-somethings, and people generally stop working around 50

American automation and conveniences ​

• Everything is highly automated: self-checkouts, dishwashers, clothes washers, trash compactors, automatic doors, leaf blowers, robot vacuums — one person's house had "this little round thing that popped up out of nowhere and vacuumed the floor by itself, then disappeared"
• Filipinos spend far more time on manual chores that Americans breeze through with machines
• Water pressure is "insane" — showering "feels like you're being blasted by a fire hose"; Filipinas will love washing their hair in America because it takes half the time, meaning "more time to be with you"
• Strong water pressure also means toilets flush hard — "so you won't need to use a plunger every couple times to get Mr. Hanky to his final destination"

America feels strangely empty ​

• Stores seemed to have only a couple of shoppers; neighborhoods were vacant despite houses being everywhere
• Pea drove through countryside passing thousands of houses and farms and rarely saw a single person — "but somehow all the huge yards were freshly mowed. So do elves come out at night and do the landscaping?"
• The Philippines always has people walking around in streets or standing outside their doors, so America felt "very beautiful but sometimes a little sterile"

Americans are incredibly friendly ​

• People start conversations at the drop of a hat — Pea was shocked by the casual "Hey, how are you doing? Where you from?" from strangers
• Doing interviews was easy because she had more volunteers than she needed — "You seemed like a nation of extroverts, and even your children want to talk"
• No one asked where she was from; most seemed to assume she was American, showing what a melting pot the country is
• Mexicans frequently started speaking Spanish to her, apparently thinking she was Mexican — "No espanol" was her standard response

Food: amazing variety, dangerous portions ​

• Huge variety of food choices and giant portions — easy to understand the obesity epidemic; "It's like offering drugs on every street corner then wondering why there are so many drug addicts"
• Discovered peach flavor for the first time: "It was like finding out there was a new color I'd never seen before"
• Also tried licorice: "a flavor I wish I could forget — that was horrible"

Things Pea liked about America ​

• Cleanliness: hardly any trash by the road compared to the Philippines; things are in good working order (unlike Filipino ATMs, which are broken half the time)
• Tap water is drinkable; hot water available in every sink
• Products are readily available and can be delivered within 24 hours — she never once heard the phrase "not available" in three months
• Electricity stays on — she went through a typhoon and never lost power
• Internet: fast and cheap ($20/month vs. $60/month in the Philippines) — "lightning fast, and I love it"
• Punctuality: if an American says 1:00, they show up at 1:00, which lets you actually schedule your day
• Customer service is the biggest difference — companies answer by the third ring and actually try to help; businesses have ample parking, fast checkouts, and don't follow you around like a thief or double-check receipts; "They make it obvious that you're important to them instead of being some kind of nuisance"

Things Pea didn't like about America ​

• Housing costs: rent is 4-5x more than comparable places in the Philippines; hotel rooms can easily exceed $200/night for a mediocre three-star room
• Pea's pricing rule: products are cheaper in America, but services (plumber, cab driver, gardener) are much pricier because wages are higher — "If you're buying a TV, America is the place. If you want a haircut, buy your Filipina a good pair of scissors"
• Hidden fees everywhere: $20 for parking, $6 for a baggage cart rental
• Tipping culture is out of control — suggested tip amounts appear on bills even at fast-food restaurants; "I really don't feel like I should have to tip someone for stuffing a burger into a bag and handing it to me"

Things that might confuse your Filipina ​

• Etiquette differences: Pea was invited to eat with an American family and didn't know what to do with an appetizer platter of grapes, crackers, cheese, and toothpicks — were the toothpicks for spearing grapes or for cleaning teeth afterward? Was she supposed to use her hands? She waited until someone else went first and followed their lead; she never did figure out the toothpicks
• No bidets in American bathrooms — no tabo (dipper), no bucket; just toilet paper; "This is one case where they're definitely not a paperless society"
• Public urination is a crime in the U.S. — unlike in the Philippines where it's common; "The US is much more strict about some things and much more lenient about others"

Filipinas who've moved to the U.S. mostly love it ​

• Pea spoke to several women who made the move; most said they loved living in America
• The one woman who preferred the Philippines was young and missed her family

Pea's personal takeaway: Southern hospitality ​

• She shares a story from a hotel in Savannah: a woman was already at the elevator at the end of a long corridor; Pea was too far back to make it in time and slowed her pace; almost a full minute later, when Pea turned the corner, the woman was still there holding the elevator door
• When Pea asked why she waited so long for a total stranger, the woman simply said: "Because I knew you'd be here eventually"
• Pea says she never experienced racism or discrimination in three months — "not once"

Final weigh-in: will America make your Filipina fat? ​

• Pea weighed 112 lbs before the trip
• After three months of airport food, pizza, burgers, candy, Cracker Barrel, Outback Steakhouse, Arby's, and In-N-Out Burger, she weighed 119 lbs — a 7-pound gain
• She's not apologetic: "I ate the food, I drank the drinks, I had some dessert, I gained weight because life is so good. I'm not going to apologize for that, and neither should you"
• Plans to shed the weight within three months of returning to the Philippines

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