By doing my trip to the Philippines I am able to experience the people and their daily life, their culture, their behaviour and their religion.

Upon my arrival I noticed that the way I get treated by strangers is very different than in Germany. One reason for that may be my look: my blonde hair, my height and my white skin. When I am walking through the streets everybody is staring at me. I was asking myself what is separating me from them? It might be my wealth. The average BIP per person here is under 3000. And most people are even more poor, since there is a large inequality of wealth in the Philippines. You can see this in the streets.

For Example, there are many fast food restaurants here but many can’t afford the prices even if it is still cheaper than in Germany. One meal there cost around 200 pesos (is equal to 4 euro). But when you walk to the next corner, you can find the eateries where you can buy a full meal for about 30 pesos.

There is also a big difference in the homes here, most of the people live in very simple little houses while others live in big houses or villas side by side.

Another point that is showing the inequality of wealth is the way of transport. You can see a few cars in the streets, but the majority of the population cannot afford it. So most of them take a so called tricycle where one ride costs only 10 pesos per person.

As you can see there are lots of reasons why I am so different here and even after four weeks I feel of course very welcomed but strange. But in the end, if you think about it, we are all just humans, no matter how we look like, how much money we have or what we believe in.

You can also discover a big contrast in food from the beginning. The essential ingredient here is definitely rice. Rice is a side dish for every meal, no matter if it is breakfast, lunch or even dinner. The Filipinos prefer rice over every other side dish like noodles or potatoes. Even fast food restaurants serve rice instead of fries. You eat it here in combination with fish and meat and a lot of things are fried here. So you can say that the food here is unhealthier than in Germany, they do not eat salad and they do not even have any salted bread. The bread in the bakeries is normally sweet as everything here.

Of course also the climate is very different. It is not just hot here but also is the air very wet. This causes a feeling as if you are in a sauna and you have to sweat all the time. Because of that most of the people are moving and working very slowly. So the climate is the reason why things take longer and people are not that productive. This may also be the reason why Filipinos are normally arriving later. You have to add half an hour or more to the time you have told them till they arrive, this is called the “Filipino time”.

Even if the weather is incredible hot, the Filipinos are very sporty. Because of the American influence in the past they play a lot of basketball here. Sports like handball or soccer are not common here. But imagine that: Basketball is that kind of sport you need very tall people for. But the Filipino population is very small, so their play style is completely different.

The people here sometimes have nothing more but the necessary things they need. But they are just grateful for what they have, for their family and friends, for a roof over their head and something to eat. They are happy and enjoy their life as much as possible. That is what impressed me the most and is also a lesson I learned here in this short time: Do not take things for granted and no matter how hard life can get, just go to bed and be grateful for all the things you have.