Images of Philippines in foreigners’ minds
My youngest daughter who is taking up doctoral studies in UP presented a paper to a panel of academic experts on the topic "How Do Foreigners Look At The Philippines As A Second Home?" I was consulted on the matter, having been a diplomat to Malaysia, Taiwan and Kuwait. And so, I was involved in that academic dissertation as an informal consultant.
I am pleased to share the good images as well as the not so good. The sources of these images are foreign nationals who have stayed in our country for at least five years. In answers consisting of a one-word nouns, they answered: Sun, Sand, Sea and Smiles. In verbs, they gave Sing, Text, Eat and Pray.
The Sun, of course, refers to the beautiful weather that we enjoy relative to the gloom and cold that many Scandinavian and other countries in the northern hemisphere suffer from almost the whole year round.
The foreigners love our sun. The sand and sea also represent our hundreds of beaches that offer miles and miles of affordable haven for marine enthusiasts and water sporting generation. That is why Boracay, El Nido and our own beaches in Cebu are paradise to Europeans, Americans, Asians and even Africans. Tourism is going to be a top dollar earner for the country in the next many years, if we only solve the surging crimes and we improve our infrastructures.
We are a smiling people. The image of Filipinos singing shows the joyful spirit of our people. We sing in almost every occasion, and in almost all places. Whether it is a wedding or a funeral, Filipinos are expected to sing. When I worked abroad, I was always asked to sing "Usahay" or "Matud Nila" in such events as birthday parties and assemblies of Filipino communities.
I remember singing a duel of Visayan songs medley with our own Dulce in the Philippine embassy in Kuwait. And the Philippines is decidedly the uncontested text capital in the world. We always use our cell phones sending SMS across the globe on 24/7 basis. And we smile while texting and singing.
The foreigners are amazed at the variety of food in our country. Restaurants, from first class fine dining to street foods, from European menu to oriental concoctions of sweet, sour and combinations of tropical exotic tastes, name it and we have it. The Filipinos are among the best chefs in the world. Give them anything, any time, and they can come up with something that delights and surprises the foreigners' palate.
And of course, we are a very prayerful people. Our religious rituals and festivals, from Sinulog to Dinagyang, Ati-Atihan, Moriones and Kadayawan, have attracted many foreigners. We are a celebrating people. And they simply love us for that.
There are basic things however that we have to address, like our infrastructures, the rising crimes and our worsening traffic problem. Something urgent and decisive should be done to our overcrowded and dirty airports, our stinking toilets, and narrow roads and our lack of traffic discipline, some impolite guards and drivers, and crime-laden police force. We are okay in many things and foreign nationals do love to come and stay in our country.
Most of our people are tourist-friendly and do understand the importance of keeping positive images in the minds of foreign nationals. But if we keep on neglecting the fundamentals, then we shall lose out to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and even to Vietnam and Myanmar. Sayang.
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