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The last day of training was a long one. It was based on any queries; mainly about the host homes as it's the thing we're most nervous about!
One section was based on pets. Filipinos only have dogs to protect them; they do not have dogs as 'pets'. The trainer was telling me about how she does not give her dog love, it's locked up in a cage. I found this really interesting. Cats are seen as nothing to the Filipinos. The cats here are dirty, so I never touch them - however if my host home has a dog, it has been vaccinated but I am still encouraged not to touch it. But it's weird how dogs are sort of accepted in the Filipino culture, whereas cats are completely rejected.
Filipinos are happy people. Their national anthem is translated to the 'land of happiness' - that's truth all over! However, it can be a struggle when Filipinos do not tell you when they are feeling down, or when you're doing something wrong. They will always accept it, say that they're happy and always respect people. I was amazed - they were taught to accept and be happy, whereas in the UK, we are taught to stand up for ourselves. We have rights. The deaf community in the Philippines don't have rights at all, and we can't ask them how they feel about that because 1) they wouldn't know what it was like to have rights and 2) they would say they are happy anyway!
It takes a lot out of a Filipino to say if something's up. For example, I'm British and obviously I want air conditioning because it's so hot and humid here, so I ask my roommate if it's okay if I can turn it on. She smiles happily and says it's okay. Few hours later, I ask if she's okay and she says she's cold because of air conditioning and feels ill. This can be a struggle, I do encourage my roommate to tell me if there is something I do that she doesn't like, but it seems to be part of their culture!
Tomorrow we find out our work placements, who our counterparts are and meet our families. Should be interesting!
Goodnight
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