Spanish

Spanish used to be a subject taught in high schools and colleges in the Philippines but was abolished decades ago because of its uselessness. It was a difficult subject and there were not that many teachers who could teach it well. However, there are still many half-bred Filipinos who can speak the language fluently.

Indeed, we were under Spanish rule for almost 400 years so that most of our cultural influences came from them----Christianity, gambling, food preferences, how to use spoon and fork, part of our language, physical appearance, etc.

A great bulk of our language are of hispanic origin like chinelas, tinedor, kutsara, uno, dos, tres, etc.

Then came the Americans in 1898 along with another breed of culture . From them we learned the value of education, we learned English for the first time, that there is such a thing as time,jeans, and burgers.

None of you mentioned China. The whole while time during Spanish occupation, Chinese traders would come by to barter goods---they brought silk and porcelain and we gave them spices. The Chinese actually had been doing "business" with Filipinos (barter system) long before Spanish occupation. They, however, never thought this country was habitable---what with all the trees and the monkeys clinging on them. It was only the Spanish conquestadors who decided to settle and conquer the islands.