Pea walks through ten genuinely strange aspects of daily life in the Philippines that tend to confuse or offend foreigners. She explains the cultural logic behind each one, ranging from how Filipinos express gratitude to why 93% of Filipino men are circumcised — and why that leads to a very specific misconception about birth control.
Filipinos often don't say "thank you" — and it's not rudeness
- Gratitude is implied rather than verbalized; a nod, slight bow, or smile replaces a spoken "thanks"
- When you do something nice for someone, they consider themselves in your debt (utang na loob) and will reciprocate later
- Pea warns: don't be surprised when you give your girlfriend a brand new iPhone and she reacts like you handed her an 8-track player
- Filipinos are more likely to say thank you to foreigners, but among themselves the verbal acknowledgment is often skipped entirely
Unfinished houses are everywhere — and it's because Filipinos are terrible planners
- You'll see half-built structures all over the country, ranging from just a few walls to 90% complete, now covered in weeds
- The reason is simple: they ran out of money
- Filipinos don't realistically estimate construction costs and often start building before they have the full funds
- Some houses eventually get finished, some get sold as-is, and some just sit there permanently
Expect to get sick — repeatedly — when you first arrive
- Not many people warn about this, but Pea has seen it happen to many foreign men
- You'll be fine for about a week, then get hit with a cold that knocks you out for days, and just when you recover, you get sick with something else
- Causes: recycled airplane air from the long flight, plus your body encountering germs it's never faced before
- Street food is another culprit — vendors sometimes use old cooking oil, and the food is greasy and fatty
- Unless you have an iron stomach, stick to restaurants; either way, prepare to spend some days in bed
You can open food and eat it inside the grocery store before paying
- It's perfectly acceptable to grab a Coke off the shelf and drink it while you shop — just save the empty bottle for the cashier
- The irony: Philippine businesses are notoriously untrusting of customers (armed guards everywhere, bag checks, receipt inspections), yet somehow eating unpaid merchandise while shopping is totally fine
The Philippines has a serious trash problem — and Pea doesn't sugarcoat it
- She admits it "breaks her heart" but states plainly: the Philippines is the biggest polluter of plastic in the world's oceans
- It's not just poverty or overpopulation — it's an attitude problem
- Kids drop candy wrappers before they've finished the first bite because they've never been taught any different
- People washing clothes in the river will throw the empty detergent bottle right in the water — out of sight, out of mind
- Pea says the attitude "needs to stop" and says "shame on the Philippines" — she doesn't excuse it
You won't hear a single lawnmower in the entire country
- Most Filipinos don't have lawns — outdoor space is usually just dirt and rock
- Even people who own land just let nature take its course ("why spend time cutting grass when it just keeps growing back?")
- Upper-class homes that want tidy grounds use hand shears instead of mowers — labor is so cheap that people who can afford grass can afford to pay someone to cut it by hand on their knees
- If you go to a store and ask for a lawnmower, they won't know what you're talking about
Filipinos can't say "no" — they'll dance around it instead
- Saying no is seen as a form of confrontation and conflict
- If you invite a Filipino somewhere and they say "maybe I can," "I'll try my best," or "if I have time" — they're not coming
- Even when they give you an enthusiastic "yes," there's still a good chance they won't show up
- Learning to read the non-verbal and indirect cues is essential for avoiding constant frustration
Filipinos take t-shirt logos way too seriously
- Pea wore a Bob Marley shirt and people assumed she was making a political statement; one guy accused her of promoting drug use
- Most Filipinos buy secondhand clothing shipped in bulk from the West, chosen by size and color — they often have no idea what the logos or text mean
- That's why you see Filipinos wearing Metallica shirts and baseball caps for teams they've never heard of
- If you see your Filipino girlfriend wearing a rainbow flag shirt, "it doesn't mean she's a lady boy — it just means she likes all the pretty colors"
Filipinos believe uncircumcised men can't make babies
"Pisot" (uncircumcised) men are widely believed to be unable to father children — only "tete" (circumcised) men can
Since 93% of Filipino males are circumcised and so many women are getting pregnant, the correlation seems to confirm the belief
Pea warns European men specifically: a Filipina may assume you have "built-in birth control" if you're uncircumcised
Her blunt closer: "we don't exactly need any more babies"
The video ends with a comedy bit: a parody of the Apollo 13 "Houston, we have a problem" scene reimagined with a Filipino mission control operator who is unhelpful, bureaucratic, dismissive of complaints about noise, charges a 20-peso cash fee for filing an assistance form, and tells the astronauts to "just relax and enjoy the view — bahala na"