There was a Greek philosopher who lived long before Facebook or Twitter called Epicurus. It is from his name we get the term ‘epicurean’. Something to do with enjoying food and the finer things of life, I believe. The reality was Epicurus lived in a large house with several friends and actually enjoyed the simple… Continue reading The Simple Life in the Philippines
A word you may come across when interacting with Filipinos is ‘hiya’, pronounced hee-ya. It translates literally as ‘a sense of shame’. A common interpretation is to use hiya as ‘face’, as in ‘losing face’, although this is not strictly accurate. What is accurate is that it is vital that when you are interacting with… Continue reading Hiya! That’s Hee-Ya, Not High-ya!
How do you lead without controlling? As we read in Part 1 of ‘Leadership, Not Control’, the Filipina respects her man if he leads her, but will only suffer and be unhappy if he controls her. Let’s look at control first. Control is often subtle as much as it is blatant. I have known Aussie… Continue reading Leadership, not control – in Australian Filipina marriages (Part 2)
There is a stereotype out there that Asian women are subservient to their husbands. They treat him like a king and do everything for him, are great mothers, loyal partners and hot in the cot. Stereotypes, good or bad, have to come from somewhere and there is a lot of truth in that opening sentence.… Continue reading Leadership, not control – in Australian Filipina marriages (Part 1)
