Jessica Liu
4th Hour
3-7-16
The Philippines and the United States: A Comparison
Have you ever heard of the Philippines? If not, the Philippines is a country comprised of
7,107 islands. This may seem like a lot, but most of the population lives on eleven main islands.
It is located in Asia, the islands spread out near Taiwan and Malaysia. The people of the
Philippines have a rich culture, passed down for eight centuries through many generations. In
some areas, you can see signs of Western influence, proving that the Filipino are learning to
adapt to the rapidly changing world around them. Comparing and contrasting the culture of the
Philippines and the culture of the United States is an interesting topic to explore.
First, housing in the Philippines has some similarities and differences to the housing in
the United states. In the Philippines, urban housing is a mix of Western and traditional styles.
Some houses are made of partly traditional materials like bamboo, but have Western items like
windows with glass. Some common types of housing are single-family houses, row housing, and
apartment buildings. For rural housing, most people live in nipa huts, which are bamboo
buildings with roofs of dried palm leaves. They usually have outhouses and outdoor kitchens,
and some don’t even have electricity and running water. In the United States, most houses have
landscaping, running water and electricity. Most suburban houses are 1-2 storeys with 3-5 rooms.
Secondly, some aspects of eating in the Philippines are synonymous with eating in the
United States, and some are different. In the Philippines, the standard is three meals a day, with
two snack periods in between, and most use silverware except for large rural gatherings. No one
leaves the table until everyone is done eating, and guests are treated with the utmost respect. For
the United States, the standard is also three meals a day. Almost all people eat with silverware on
most occasions. In restaurants, it is common to leave a tip of at least fift...
