Surprisingly, there are quite a few countries in the world where English is an official language. Many of these are not predominantly English speaking, but have held onto this vestigial link to a colonial past of some sort, whether it be British or American. As there are dozens of indigenous languages in the Philippines, the two official languages are English, and Tagalog (official Filipino). There are areas of the country where Tagalog is not spoken, and you'd be better off trying your luck with English, however for the most part, people speak Tagalog. While the well educated and older generations who were descendants of the American school system speak English well, most people do not. Most young people here in Puerto couldn't hold a conversation with you in English, however they are more than capable of belting out the most current American and European chart toppers absolutely flawlessly, sometimes to the chagrin of those trying to do work in an internet cafe.
This can be kind of interesting but in other ways it can also be disconcerting. Most younger kids, when they see a foreigner will blurt out, "Hello, what's you're name?" Of course, they are only practicing what they've learned in school, and so its harmless to say hello back and tell them your name. If you ask theirs, even in Tagalog, they go shy and run away giggling. On the other hand, some teenagers I've encountered will give you a, "Hey Man!" with a fair bit of attitude attached, and I've even had a couple walk by and start belting out some pop tune, with their hands up in the air, clearly with something to prove.
The worst, though, is the kids that don't run away but instead follow you for some distance asking for money. I get the impression daily, that because I'm white and western, everyone assumes I have lots of money, which in terms of currency exchange I do, but not relatively speaking. I walked home from the internet cafe on the weekend through a more rural street (to avoid the pollution of the highway) only to have a couple of young girls say "hello" to me as is typical. Only this time, they followed me for about half a kilometer, asking for money the whole way. Now, I know I'm better off than these kids, but they lived in the homes along the way. These weren't homeless kids, and it's a terrible feeling to have people stare at you with these young kids trailing behind you. The whole way I was thinking, everyone must think I'm some kind of pedophile or something. Eventually they went away, but I don't think it's something I'll ever get used to.
This can be kind of interesting but in other ways it can also be disconcerting. Most younger kids, when they see a foreigner will blurt out, "Hello, what's you're name?" Of course, they are only practicing what they've learned in school, and so its harmless to say hello back and tell them your name. If you ask theirs, even in Tagalog, they go shy and run away giggling. On the other hand, some teenagers I've encountered will give you a, "Hey Man!" with a fair bit of attitude attached, and I've even had a couple walk by and start belting out some pop tune, with their hands up in the air, clearly with something to prove.
The worst, though, is the kids that don't run away but instead follow you for some distance asking for money. I get the impression daily, that because I'm white and western, everyone assumes I have lots of money, which in terms of currency exchange I do, but not relatively speaking. I walked home from the internet cafe on the weekend through a more rural street (to avoid the pollution of the highway) only to have a couple of young girls say "hello" to me as is typical. Only this time, they followed me for about half a kilometer, asking for money the whole way. Now, I know I'm better off than these kids, but they lived in the homes along the way. These weren't homeless kids, and it's a terrible feeling to have people stare at you with these young kids trailing behind you. The whole way I was thinking, everyone must think I'm some kind of pedophile or something. Eventually they went away, but I don't think it's something I'll ever get used to.
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