The Best And Worst Foreigner Traits - Which One Are You?

Pea takes to the streets to ask Filipinas what they love and hate about foreigners. The answers range from confidence and chivalry to bragging about their home countries and being obsessively organized — plus a fistfight on the boulevard over a Filipina.

Best foreigner traits — what Filipinas said ​

• Confidence and directness: Filipinas love that foreigners will walk up and directly say "I think you're pretty, I want to go on a date with you" — they describe it as bold, manly, and giving off security; Filipina women are too shy to make the first move, so a confident man who approaches them feels like "oh, we're perfect together"
  • One woman says her confident foreigner ex was "really tall" with "big feet" — Pea asks "do you know what that means?" and the woman confirms "in all ways, yes"
• Sense of humor: one Filipina declares "if he can make me laugh, I'm yours" and calls a smart, funny guy "the new sexy"; Pea affirms that humor is a key to a Filipina's heart
  • Same woman adds that if he tells her about books he's read and places he's gone, "please take me home"
• Being a gentleman: one woman describes a foreigner opening a coffee shop door for her — Filipino men don't typically do that, "except for the guards that work in the establishment"
• Loyalty and commitment: a woman says her friends and neighbors married to foreigners are still sweet and loving even after many years — "the love and sweetness is still the same from the very first time they met"
• Intelligence and open-mindedness about education: a Filipina married to a European for 4 years says foreigners are "very smart and clever" and attributes it partly to their education system; she notes they don't care about the specific degree the way Filipinos do — her Australian employers hired her even though she didn't graduate in the field their business needed
• Happy-go-lucky energy and random kindness: one woman tells a story about a foreigner at a mall on Valentine's Day who handed out Kisses chocolates to strangers, including her — "we're too easy in that department" (Pea clarifies: "not the other department")
• Being on time and disciplined: a woman says foreigners are very particular about punctuality — "no Filipino time" — and she wishes Filipinos would learn from them
• Independence: noted that Western students work and provide for themselves while studying, unlike many Filipino young people who depend on parents; at 18 they're on their own
• Open-mindedness: you can talk about anything without judgment
• Generosity without strings: a half-Filipino, half-American woman says her father and his friends give things freely without expecting anything in return; she also notes the downside of being half-American in the Philippines — other kids assume you have money and try to take advantage of you
• Friendliness: a woman describes a complete stranger foreigner greeting her with "good morning, hi, hello, how are you" while walking to school — Filipinos are friendly but typically don't do that unless they know you
• Passionate in bed: one woman reports her friend, who's been dating a foreigner for about 2 years, says he's "very passionate" in bed; Pea asks if they always discuss this and the woman confirms that's basically all they talk about when they get together

Worst foreigner traits — what Filipinas said ​

• Insensitivity about service standards: foreigners expect the same restaurant service quality as abroad and will aggressively question Filipino workers ("why isn't my order ready?"), leaving the mild-mannered staff stunned and unable to respond
• Workaholic culture / inability to relax: a Filipina married to a European says he works on weekdays and personal projects on weekends — "go go go go go"; she tells him to chill but he thinks personal projects ARE a break; Pea explains the siesta concept: Filipinos wake early, work, nap in the afternoon because of the heat, then work again when it cools down — "we know how to chillax"
• Bragging about their home country: a call center worker who handles Amazon accounts says foreigners constantly compare the Philippines unfavorably to their country — complaining about traffic, bureaucracy, and technology gaps; "in the US we don't have traffic because we have fast lanes"
• Being too organized: one woman's friend's husband yelled at his wife for not putting her brush back in the drawer; another's auntie got scolded for not washing a plate immediately — foreigners want everything back in its exact original place and get annoyed when Filipinos forget
• Not liking Filipino food: foreigners tend to avoid fried foods and street food due to hygiene concerns, preferring restaurants; they also don't like sweet foods, particularly the famous sweet spaghetti from Jollibee (Pea agrees: "I don't like that either because it's too sweet")
• Brutal honesty / insensitivity: being very frank is both a positive and a negative; foreigners don't care about reading the emotional atmosphere — "as long as it's the truth they're going to tell you," and sometimes it hurts; one woman says "break it to me gently, baby"
• Talking too loudly in public: foreigners get excited about food and laugh loudly in restaurants
• Hot temper: a half-American woman says her father gets annoyed when people cut in line at the supermarket — "they really just want to follow the rules"; she also witnessed a fistfight between two foreigners on the boulevard in Dumaguete (at a bar she calls "Bogur" or something on the boulevard) — the fight was over a Filipina; her parents said "let's just go"

Pea's closing take ​

• On the whole, the feedback was "pretty complimentary" — keep being yourself, but if you find yourself getting angry in public, "just take a siesta from your feelings and chill out for a minute — trust me, it's the only way to survive the Philippines"

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