Cultureshock! Philippines (Cultureshock Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette) [Paperback]

Alfredo Roces (Author), Grace Roces (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cultureshock Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette | Publication Date: January 2007

CultureShock! Philippines is a survival guide for anyone living, working, or wanting to discover life in the Philippines. Settling into a foreign land is never easy but with this book, you will learn to understand the importance of amor-propio, appreciate the Filipino ways, and learn about the history and culture of this diverse country. Find out the importance of family to the FIlipinos, how to communicate with the locals, and learn the appropriate business etiquette. Packed with a resource guide, glossary, contact numbers, and useful advice, CultureShock! Philippines is essential for anyone wanting to fit in and enjoy life in the Philippines.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is the most up to date and comprehensive guide I have ever seen for traveling to the Philippines....

There is much humor in this guide and reading it along with my Filipina wife, we found that there are many details, quotes, and suggestions as well as analysis of the culture which are truly entertaining to us....

I can wholeheartedly recommend CultureShock! Philippines to anyone planning to travel there, in fact I recommend you re-read it after you return - you'll be surprised at how helpful and accurate this guide was for your journey - and this guide will definitely be with me when I return again, lest there were any details I'd forgotten over time. --San Francisco Book Review, October 2009 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Marshall Cavendish is a Marshall Cavendish author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corporation (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761425055
• ISBN-13: 978-0761425052
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Travel > Asia > Philippines

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extemely valuable for anyone interested in the Philippines, October 28, 2007

By 

C. Kesler (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cultureshock! Philippines (Cultureshock Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette) (Paperback)

I found this book to be extremely informative. It is centered on western ex-pats living in the Philippines, but it is highly useful for anyone traveling there. It is nicely written and also includes some Tagalog phrases/translations that are not well known among non-Filipino. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a general overview of Filipino culture, society, and history.

This book is an excellent reference if you are going to visit the Philippines and a MUST read if you are going to live there.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Resource, November 24, 2008

By 

VideoPhile "j_cole" (Central Coast, California United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cultureshock! Philippines (Cultureshock Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette) (Paperback)

A necessary resource for anyone traveling to the Philippines, intending on interacting with the people there. As other reviews have stated, it is intended primarily as a business traveler or ex-pats guide. However, there is enough detail to help any traveler. The book is well organized and presents the topics in short, related and relevant ways.

The book states, and rightly so, that the West is a 'goal oriented' culture, while the Philippines is a 'people oriented' culture. As such, there are many traditions and expectations. Their violation may be forgiven a first time traveler. However, there is only one chance to make a first impression. This book makes that much easier. It explains expectations in most social and business settings.

The only area found lacking is the section on Dating. If one is on business, a single ex-pat, or tourist there is an opportunity to date. The book's section on dating covers some key points in an abstract way. For example, the book explains that at some point in time one must 'meet the parents'. But, one learns elsewhere in the book when meeting anyone for the first time, a gift is expected. Showing up at a female date's house to meet her parents without a gift is a BAD thing.

Speaking of gifts. The book does mention gift giving as a cultural expectation. It also makes some suggestions as to appropriate gifts. The gifts mentioned are for business settings with peers or superiors. Casual/social settings do not require such elaborate or expensive gifts.

Overall this book delivers a great deal of insight and information to the Philippine visitor - be it business or pleasure or both.

Like every culture visited, attempting to respect national/regional culture goes very far in being welcomed. This book does allow one to do that.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comparing Four Books About the Philippines, June 22, 2009

By 

Howp "Howp" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cultureshock! Philippines (Cultureshock Philippines: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette) (Paperback)

I hope to visit the Philippines in the near future with an eye towards possible retirement in the Philippines. To educate myself I have ordered and read four books about the Philippines, namely:

Philippines Travel Guide - by Jen Peters
Culture Shock Philippines - by Alfredo Roces
A Long Way to go for a Date - By Henry Makow
A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines - By Larry Elterman

"Philippines Travel Guide" is just that, a Travel Guide, pure and simple, and an excellent one at that. It will tell you about all the places to go, where to eat, where to stay, where to have fun. However it does not offer a lot of insight or practical information about what it would be like to live or retire in the Philippines.

"Culture Shock Philippines" is a book written by a Filipino, from a Filipino's point of view, describing Filipino culture, customs and history. If this is what you are looking for it is an excellent book. However, it is written from a Filipino's point of view, not a Westerner's point of view. It does not offer a lot of practical advice about what it would be like to live or retire in the Philippines.

"A Long Way to go for a Date" is a short and light weight book about a man's quest to find the perfect Filipina bride to bring back to his home country of Canada. It describes his visit to the Philippines to meet and date his potential bride and his experiences in bringing back and living with his Filipina wife in Canada. Ultimately it describes how it all went wrong and turned into a nightmare. This book is written in the first person by the author, Henry Makow, and although Henry sometimes comes across a bit pompous and selfish, I never-the-less like what he did, which was to "put himself out there". It is a very personal account in which Henry is not afraid to say who he is and what he wants, even if you don't agree with it. This book is very light on practical information, but it will give you some nice insight into the process of finding a Filipina wife. However, it was Henry's goal to find a wife to bring back to Canada, not to live in the Philippines, so it did not correlate perfectly with what I was looking for.

"A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines" like "A Long Way to go for a Date" is also written in the first person, but unlike "A long Way" the author does not "put himself out there". He describes things from more of a distance, so that you never really get to know who the author is. This is my only criticism of the book. Perhaps it would have been a bit more entertaining if it was a bit more personal. That being said, the book never advertises itself to be a book about the experiences of the author, it claims to be a "Guide" about life and love in the Philippines, and on that level I think it succeeds very well. It contains a great amount of information both about what it's like to live in the Philippines and about the practical side of making a life for yourself in the Philippines. It also describes in much detail the process of how to go about finding a Filipina girl friend or wife. In this regard it is interesting how he doesn't just lump all Filipina together as homogenous. He describes a number of different types of Filipina women and what each of them is like and what they are looking for. In terms of my goal of possibly living and retiring in the Philippines this book was by far the best match.