Only in Da Philippines

My new friend asked me to write more about the Philippines. (I think she was too polite to ask, "Where on planet Earth is the Philippines?")

Well, there are so many things I can say about my country but just for starters:

...the Philippines is an archipelago so it consists of thousands of islands. The running joke is when asked how many islands are there in the Philippines? The answer is "high tide or low tide?"

...one of the strange things that we Filipinos love to eat is "balut" which is the embryo of duck so for some foreigners it's yuck, for others it is heavenly

...a queer fruit is durian because it tastes like heaven but smells like hell!

...try our leche flan because that is a sweet custard made of egg yolk but if someone says "leche!" that person is actually cursing

...we have only two seasons: wet (rainy) and dry...so unless we travel/go to places where there are four seasons, we don't get to experience winter, spring and autumn

...Filipinos are a fun-loving, cheerful people with an incredible, oftentimes warped sense of humor...in the midst of crises, we can still spread jokes around. And we just love to sing, dance and simply have a good time

...we are the texting capital of the world! Almost everyone, including janitors and maids, have celphones

...we have a mountain/volcano which is perfectly shaped like a cone - it's called Mayon Volcano

...almost every province in the country has a festival of some sort...to attract tourists, yes, but there is always a historical reason for such festivals (to honor a saint mostly)

...in Filipino homes, you will almost always find an altar, a picture of the Last Supper, a pair of huge spoon and fork or a rosary on the wall

...we have a type of public transportation called jeepney which is a very colorful "jeep" which can seat an average of 18 people; btw, if you like roller-coasters, stay in the front seat of a jeepney and you will have the thrill of your life!

...whenever drivers or passengers pass by a Catholic Church, they make the sign of the cross

I could go on and on. But that's enough for now.

All in all, I would not want to live anywhere else in the world...only in the Philippines!