Dumaguete Info Search


Stupid is as stupid does

Discussion in 'Dumaguete City' started by tis me, Jan 31, 2019.

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  1. Mark K

    Mark K DI Member

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    This "lack of common sense" is a common trait across many Asian countries. It's certainly not exclusive to The Philippines.
    I have encountered the same problems living, working, and running a business in China and Cambodia.
    One must understand though, that a lot of it comes down to their education. In Western countries we are taught to question things, use our imagination, have our own point of view, and "think outside the box". In Asian countries they are taught to copy and remember what they are told and then regurgitate it come exam time. Try asking a typical Chinese teenager to use their imagination and you'll understand what I mean.
    There's no point in letting it get to you or trying to change the system, it ain't gonna work. Just pick the bloody olives or mushrooms off the pizza when it arrives if that's what it takes.

    Having said that, I've met a huge number of expats who are also pretty bloody stupid too :smile:
     
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  2. liannastar

    liannastar DI Member

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    67 years?? It only took me 30 years to realize this lol
     
  3. Liverpool fan

    Liverpool fan DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer

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    WOW you are a fast learner lol
     
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  4. TheDude

    TheDude DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster

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    It wouldn't be common sense if it's not common. In this case, common is a local thing. Common Seattle is different than common in Miami. Common in a tier 1 city is different than common in a smaller city.

    Much of what people are talking about here is a societal knowledge. It takes a community to build good customer service skills of a waitress in a restaurant. There's always individual exceptions. One restaurant might be world class, but we are talking generalities here. The average customer service experience here is less than the average which people are accustomed to elsewhere. Skills and expectations take time to propagate through the local area.

    I feel that if the Philippines were up to the expectations of people from the West, then there would be no Westerners here. We may as well be living in Japan or S. Korea. We made the decision to make a compromise. We take X and leave Y behind. If we chose compromise, then why aren't we compromising? Did we forget?
     
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  5. TheDude

    TheDude DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster

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    What is intelligence?

    To me, it's the ability to survive. Stupid is catastrophic failure. Anything beyond the ability to survive is just virtue signalling. It's boasting about how great you are. The sad truth is that a feeling of greatness is why a lot of foreigners are here. A crap pension in the U.S. with no love can become a dramatic boost in the Philippines. Your Philippines starter kit when you arrive is an upgrade in economic status and a girlfriend. Foreigners may not feel as privileged in Dumaguete as they once did, but they're still in a sort of alternate status reality where they aren't subject to the same rules. You get a hat tip and an exception from being dog**** as is typical of immigrants. If you came to the Philippines to get more bang for your buck, then why rub it in? Just chill and enjoy your blessings.

    Stupid is the brilliant mathematicians, coders and wall street traders who blew up the economy in 2008. Smart is the Filipino polymath who can survive under the roughest conditions. Throw a super computer into the woods and it will immediately die. A stupid wild animal with no frontal lobes is an expert in survival.

    Philippines society serves the Philippines just fine. The businesses which operate here serve to the locals. Foreigners do bring in money, but mostly to a tourist industry. The Philippines will change as the people here demand it. Foreigners won't move the needle on this. So then, we just b*tch and make foreigners look bad.
     
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  6. ShawnM

    ShawnM Living the dream, Plan B ★ No Ads ★ Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer Blood Donor Veteran Air Force

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    Yes, obviously by not adding an ingredient it affected the crust and sauce.

    I agree, the PI is not for everyone; especially those sporting the rose colored glasses.

    Shawn
     
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  7. OP
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    tis me

    tis me DI Member

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    The Philippines is for me and what I see and experience do not get to me as the locals say don,t get high blood. If I did not like it here I sure as hell would not be living here for 15 years and my glasses are not rose colored. Nice to see a thread that created some interest and different opinions. Love ya all.
     
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  8. liannastar

    liannastar DI Member

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    The pizza comment was actually a joke.. sorry I know it's hard to tell on a forum.

    Life is what you make of it. I don't need rose colored glasses to lie to myself that I enjoy something that is not enjoyable. What I do need is to change my attitude with the change in environment/country etc. That's how I stay happy in life. May not work for you or other people, but it has for me :smile:
     
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  9. okiebound

    okiebound DI Forum Adept Showcase Reviewer

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    When I lived in the Philippines, it wasn't stupidity that I saw, rather, an inability to think outside the box. Once, I went to Jollibee, when they introduced their cross-cut fries. They had BBQ and Sour Cream flavors available. Mind you, they sprinkled the powder on, depending on your preference. I asked for plain cross-cut fries. They said they could not do that. I asked if they came flavored and they answered "no, ma'am", and I said, "please, just don't put any powder on mine". The answer was, "no, ma'am, we can't do that". I told them to ring it up as BBQ, just don't put the powder on, but they refused, saying "we can't do that". It was an inability to think outside the box. I never got the plain cross-cut fries.
     
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  10. liannastar

    liannastar DI Member

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    I totally get the frustration.. but I ask you.. think outside of WHO's box? Your's or their's?

    The problem is, Americans and others from outside PI have a hard time understanding that this is a different country with different norms and such. Yes, it is frustrating I know. I been there and have gone through things like this. But we would do good to take a step back and realize that you are not living under the same norms and rules as before. Does it make sense? No, but it is what it is.
     
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