Are you aware that many countries didnt even know Philippines existed...

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

2 Jun 12

I know why, we are both in Southeast Asia and some of our Tv shows were dubbed in your language by some of your local TV networks.

ryanong

@ryanong (9665)

• Vietnam

5 Jun 12

I know Philippines well and i have some Filipino friends in here also...There are many storms every year and i always follow it....sometime it passed through your country and went to Vietnam.

getrichinfo

@getrichinfo (24)

• Australia

2 Jun 12

Know quite a bit about Philippines. Last time, many Filipinos used friendster, so know some of them. The country quite competitive, many uni grads can't find jobs in their own country.

carol2532001

@carol2532001 (467)

• Jamaica

1 Jun 12

I can share with your disgust in the lack of knowledge that some people have when it comes down to simple geography. Sometimes I wonder what on earth they were doing in school when the information was being taught. I was in England for a few years and heard that Jamaica was in Africa, in America, and that we lived in trees and didn't speak English! I couldn't believe that people could be so ignorant! And what was annoying and surprising at the time, was that I knew about their country, sometimes more than they did! Mind you this was before Usain Bolt, Bob Marley, Merlene Ottey and Asapha Powell. Did you know that the war in Croatia was halted for three days to allow people to go and view Bob Marley's artifacts that were going around the world at that time?

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jamaica

phillipines

usemyname

@usemyname (640)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

Really CAROL? That't an interesting trivia you got there! Now that's one way paying tribute to legend.

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

Jamaica is in the Carribean and yes it is in North America along with Canada,USA and Mexico...LOL I think those are the people who didnt pay attention on their geography and History class most likely. I think those people assume Its in Africa because of the locals who are of African descent. Well the people of my country have dark skin and big eyes so yeah people who have no knowledge of my country's existence mistakes as for Mexicans.

carol2532001

@carol2532001 (467)

• Jamaica

2 Jun 12

When I read of it in our news paper I was so proud! It still amazes me.

jazel_juan

@jazel_juan (15746)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

Mostly you are right probably because our country is small, if we have achievements it is mostly in fields of sports ( HI Pacman!)- boxing or entertainment - singing ( Hello charisse!)which are quite limited i believe.. If i were to visit a country where they do not know Filipinos exists, well i would still be me, i would he friendly, hospitable and respectful. If i would also be given the chance to cook, i will also let them try our dishes as well..

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jazel_juan

@jazel_juan (15746)

• Philippines

4 Jun 12

Right,,but she is trying to hard lol i really do not like her now..

Jane

@jaiho2009 (39141)

• Philippines

1 Jun 12

hello Capt, Not exactly that they don't know- they just don't know where is Philippines and from what Continent. Well, who knows every country aside from those who participates with beauty pageant and Olympics? -raise a hand

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countries

angel107

@angel107 (307)

• Germany

3 Jun 12

Eritea and Chad are both African countries right? Azerbaijan and San Marino are in Europe if my memory about Geography does not fail me. ;)

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

Thanks for playing the little fun challenge I added in this discussion.

Yup all of your answers are correct. SZtill though I have no idea about the cultures of those countries.

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

I talk to some europeans when i was in Peru, and they thought this country is in Latin America...

I read an African messageboard (OI got curious to lurk there cos our TV shows are dubbed in english and aired on their country) They thought we were Europeans, cos mestizo actors can pass as white,

I have a challenge..... without peeking to wikipedia...... what are your Knowledge of these Countries: 1.Azerbaijan 2.San Marino 3.Eritrea 4.Chad LOL I only heard of the first 2 because Eurovision

jeanneyvonne

@jeanneyvonne (5501)

• Philippines

1 Jun 12

I'm not surprised,e specially if it was an American or a European guy. I hate to say it but some countries only think when it comes if they have the same stature. If you belong to the world's richest countries, you're probably aware of people who live in countries which are also categorized as rich. Of course, it is a general assumption but not too many people have the time to think of other people nor culture if they are too much nestled in their ow (I don't know if that is a good thing for their sense of nationalism). Anyways, I think it will be hard to introduce a culture (especially a minority one) into another dominant culture. but I guess even in normal actions, there will be some things that can be disgusted as Filipino. the way to do is gradually so that people will not thick weird and get bad ideas i the first place. besides, people will be curious and ask questions. it will be a good way to introduce the culture slowly.

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opinion

Jane

@jaiho2009 (39141)

• Philippines

1 Jun 12

USA is a rich Country but it has a high poverty rate. Exactly- with homeless kids still increasing in numbers.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

Poor countries like Cambodia or Zimbabwe are actually mainstremely known just because of they were used for charity campaigns. We are a 3rd world country but not the poorest. also there are rich countries that other rich countries dont even know exist. I don't think someone from a small town in The US will know what Luxembourg is and Luxembourg is one of the riches countries, i think Americans are aware of the Filipinos now cos Filipinos are everywhere in the Internet. I think people with the least awareness of our existence would be Eastern Europeans, Africans Latinos. USA is a rich Country but it has a high poverty rate.

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RaiRaiRae

@RaiRaiRae (93)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

i agree. a lot of people, indeed, know nothing about the philippines. well, if someone asks me where philippines is or who we are, then i'd say "manny pacquiao".. haha..

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manny pacquiao

obe212003

@obe212003 (2299)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

Good thing Manny Paquiao is very well known, a legend in the sports of boxing, and him carrying the flag at each fight brings pride to our country. The likes of Charice, Jessica Sanchez, and all other internationally acclaimed filipino talent help awareness of our country's existence. Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

2 Jun 12

Speaking of Manny pacquiao, I remember Floyd Mayweather saying we "eat Sushi rolls" How ignorant he can be.

Lore2009

@Lore2009 (7378)

• United States

1 Jun 12

Living in the US, my Korean-American friend was surprised that some guy here didn't even know where Korea was. So, our fellow countrymen do not know many countries... when there are A LOT of people from many different countries here. In public high school, we don't learn about other countries except countries from Europe. I was very ashamed of that so I read a book on every single country and almost memorized all their flags and capitals.

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country

ignorance

knowledge

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

Korea is like one of the most mainstream countries,

Oh well, Some Americans thought All Asians are Chinese and All of them speaks Chinese. On the other hand, people around the world who lives in those small villages dont even know other countries exist.

Lore2009

@Lore2009 (7378)

• United States

5 Jun 12

I'm of Asian heritage so I was also surprised when my classmate asked me :"what's the difference of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Asian?"

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ybong007

@ybong007 (6643)

• Philippines

5 Jun 12

That woudn't surprise me. I once spoke to a foreigner who married a Filipina and he's seems to be very amazed a how good my command in the english language is despite the filipino accent. that time I was almost tempted to say if he's expecting filipinos to still live in trees, which of course I didn't. The internet made the world smaller but it reality it's still big enough for people not to know of our existence and the other way around. I really like to look at maps and I am surprised myself that there are still places in the philippines that i haven't heard of or have known to exist, how much more the world?

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

to think of it, there are 149 countries and our country is like consisting of 7000 islands. For sure there are places in our country we are not aware of and so as the world. I met Foreigners who cant even pronounce our country's name.

i think these are the reasons why our country is obscure in some people's vocabulary: 1.Our country is not economically rich enough to be a relevant superpower 2.Our Country is not poor enough to get sympathy 3.Our country's name is hard to spell 4.We have more resemblance to pacific islanders,Hispanics and Native Americans than Asian. 5.their Geography teachers forgot to teach about us.

angel107

@angel107 (307)

• Germany

1 Jun 12

Fully aware. In fact somebody asked me if the Philippines belong to Thailand.

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lynpreety

@lynboobsy11 (11343)

• Philippines

3 Jun 12

Maybe because some of our word are came from the Spaniard. And we used it only we thought that is a Filipino word since when used it before we are born

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

well someone ask me if Phillippines is near Mexico and if I speak Spanish (I do know how tospeak Spanish) so it gives this person an assumption we are in Latin America.

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visavis

@visavis (5934)

• Philippines

1 Jun 12

May be your right because those countries in the 3rd world countries which for sure no OFW they don't know the Philippines is.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

and our country's name is also hard to spell and remember for some other country's. I think a Lot of Latin countries (except Mexico) doesn't know our country's existence. Our soap opera's are aired in African countries and they thought the actors are white...(due to the over use of Eurasian actors)

visavis

@visavis (5934)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

May be some, but I heard that every country has a Filipino OFW. It is minority or few but I think around the world there is. Only problem is not being active to promote Philippines may be because they are few only

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bluespygirl

@bluespygirl (2112)

• Philippines

5 Jun 12

Hello there! I am sorry for those who didn't know our country. Don't they have school subjects that tackles countries of the world? LOLz. I don't know what exactly the subject that I learned the different continents and countries around the globe. I would like to give impression that the Filipinos are hospitable just like what our cultures says. Our country is also rich in good tourist places to visit.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

sorry for the late response, I have so many responsibility in the last few days. You know in our own history and curriculum we never discussed a lot of countries in our books. The history of United states is not even though in school. But we know they exist due to Hollywood. I think most of us Filipinos are not Familiar with eastern European countries and African countries.

aubrey

@averygirl72 (37845)

• Philippines

6 Jun 12

I believe as compared to other asian nations, Philippines is the most popular next to China. We are also the most westernized nation in Asia, as you see if westerners go to other asian countries they may find it hard to understand the culture at first but here in the Philippines they can see, our culture is a great fusion of all cultures around the world. What you said is very true, one filipino's achievement is seen as achievement of the nation and one filipino's shame is the shame of the whole nation. Life is hard in the Philippines but I guess I love the spirit of Filipino culture.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

Not really... Most western countries thinks of the east Asian countries(Japan,China,Korea) when it comes to thinking about Asian countries.Some of them dont even see us as Asians, they think we were pacific Islanders just like the Hawaiians,Samoans and Tahitians. We are already making a mark but its a long way to go but we will get there. Most Latin countries (except Mexico) are not even aware of our existence. Most African countries are also not aware of us...but it has something to do with the poverty they were going through.

Firefly

@cttolledo (5454)

• Legaspi, Philippines

5 Jun 12

I think i'll just simply mention the famous Filipino personalities, the famous world Filipino Boxer ( Pacman), American Idol finalist ( Jessica).. etc.. there's a lot of Filipino who did a great talent in the world, so there is no reason at all not to recognize Philippines.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

Not everyone watches boxing though. The most popular sport on earth is actually soccer and our soccer team havent qualified for the world cup. Jessica is only Filipino by blood but she is all American.

renzonation

@renzonation (254)

• Philippines

4 Jun 12

it is up for them if they do not know our country or so whatever but i think, in the future , our country will be well known in the world because of our many pride filipino athlete and musician.

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pride

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jun 12

Its still a long way to go, But we are almost there, more pushes. Most popular musicians we have though whoa re popular abroad are passing as a different race.,

lynpreety

@lynboobsy11 (11343)

• Philippines

3 Jun 12

I believed like ours sometimes we are not aware in some other countries exist until we heard it on the news or we seen it on TV. Like me I only knew that there is country known as Bhutan until I saw it in a soaps. Maybe the others too who is not fond of learning geographic does not know our country.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

4 Jun 12

well there are 149 countries so yeah its kind of weird that there is too many of them. Travelling the whole world is an ambitious task, imagine visiting 149 countries,

usemyname

@usemyname (640)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

I believe there's this "Why Filipinos are not Asians" video that spread like wildfire on youtube a few years back. It sort of explain the impression of other nations about the Philippines.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

4 Jun 12

Many Filipino Americans identifies as pacific Islander instead of Asian after experiencing discrimination from other Asian groups.

lady Di

@lady1993 (27224)

• Philippines

2 Jun 12

Yeah, our country is so little that some people have no idea where we are located or that we even existed.. I think i will show the otehr how my country is with my attitude. Since it is what we're famous for, being friendly and warm and hospitable..

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

4 Jun 12

Our country is bigger than Timor Leste, Monaco, Vatican City, Palau and Italy... we have a huge ocean territory though.

mikyung

@mikyung (2232)

• Philippines

1 Jun 12

I'm aware that for most of the people, they don't know about our country, it feels like that I'm an alien or simply we does not exist. Maybe for some reasons, hard to spell and pronounce the words or it is not that well spoken or seldom published on books or newspapers. It's good that we have a Charice or a Pacman that put Philippines in the map of the world. I hope the bad things about the Philippines could be removed in circulation - like the political turmoil we are facing. If I will be in a foreign land, I would tell everyone there about the good things about my country - food, and culture. Invite them to visit our place would be a good idea. I think, we need to make our country a "trending" country - it should be in a positive note.

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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

1 Jun 12

sometimes it annoys me when some Foreigners calls as Phillippinese, Phillipinian, Philliphinelandian and Philippino...

But I cant blame them. Others are confused wether we are Asians or not. Floyd Mayweather knows nothing about our country, he thought we eat Sushi rolls. Geez ignorance.

ningjingzhiyuan

@ningjingzhiyuan (8)

• China

4 Jun 12

Hi i know Philippine,there are many bananas,very goods.

countries

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

4 Jun 12

bananas.....what can I say, reminds meof the controversy few months ago.

Sam

@anachroniSaM (191)

• Philippines

6 Jul 12

I am quite surprised to know that there are still some countries which aren't aware about the existence of our country. From what I have been seeing on the news and almost everywhere, every now and then a Filipino name makes way on the international scene in whatever field or area possible. I know that it could happen but I think it would be only rare. No matter, I would still remain proud of my heritage as a citizen of the Philippines. Despite all of the happenings going on lately, I know that there are still a huge lot for me to be proud of what I am, as a Filipino. :)

filipino

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

6 Jul 12

Most of those "international Filipino stars" who is not Charice or Rob Schneider are trying to pass as a different race to get an international career and only mentions their heritage if they were in the Philippine Television. Filipino fans are very possesive and it doesn't help their careers.

@CaptAlbertWhisker (32691)

• Calgary, Alberta

8 Jul 12

Usually Filipinos are known to existed in the US, UK, Middle east and Japan. Most countries not aware of our existence are countries with no ofw's.

Sam

@anachroniSaM (191)

• Philippines

8 Jul 12

I am not actually only referring to the kind you have just mentioned. There really are still who are making their existence known as Filipinos from the very beginning, like the choral groups, the ballet dancers, local singers, etc., and still get known as well as being applauded in the international scene. Besides, I was also able to talk to some Americans and to some Europeans, as well, and they all happen to be aware of our nationality as Filipinos. One even said that she heard there are a lot of beautiful people in the country. :)

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