Compiled short intro to the Philippines
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2004
1
15
Trip End
Jun 27, 2007
Metamora,
Michigan,
United States
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The PI is located in the South Pacific Ocean northwest from Malaysia. They consist of over 7,100 islands of which only about 2,000 are inhabited and 2,500 of them have no name! As you probably already guessed the Philippines is a tropical and mostly hot and humid climate with temperatures averaging 27C (80.6F). I've heard that mid-day it is so hot that no one is even in the sun (I don't expect to get much of a tan). Maybe that is another reason for the siesta (break/nap) at this time. They get every tropical natural disaster imaginable including typhoons (Pacific Ocean hurricanes), volcanoes, flash floods, mudslides, and earthquakes. The end of November a huge typhoon hit the islands and caused pretty much all of the natural disasters listed above. For more information on these recent developments see: www.cnn.com
Culture
The official languages are English and Tagalog, yet only about 30% speak Tagalog as the first language. There are over 87 native languages and dialects spoken throughout the islands all belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family. The people are mostly Malay and a minority of Chinese decent. It is a credit to ones social status to be mestizo (of mixed ethnicity). They eat lots of rice with pork, chicken, or more often fish. Bread, potatoes, and noodles are available in larger towns. Some American food is also available. Native fruits include mangos, bananas, papayas and other tropical delights. Travel is mostly by jeepneys (old large jeeps used like a bus to haul just about anything).
History
Before the Spanish arrived in the Philippines there was no cohesion amongst the over 7,100 islands. The Philippines was inhabited by Spanish settlers from 1565 until the Spanish American War in . When the U.S. took control and ruled as oppressively as the Spanish. The Philippines gained independence from the U.S. in ........ Oddly enough, the Philippines still love their previous ruler (U.S) due to the ongoing economic and military support we provided.
Government
The Filipino government is similar to the U.S. government in that it is constitutional based and consists of a bicameral legislature of 24 senators and 250 representatives. The big difference is that the president is elected for a six-year term rather than a 4-year term.
