ATTITUDES AND CHARACTERISTICS

Philippines The Filipino people (Filipino: Mamamayang Pilipino) or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 104 million Filipinos in the Philippines,[31] and about 11 million living outside the Philippines.[32] There are around 180 languages spoken in the Philippines, most of them belonging to the Austronesian language family, with Tagalog and Cebuano having the greatest number of native speakers.[33] The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and English and most Filipinos are bilingual or trilingual.[34][35] Most Filipinos refer to themselves colloquially as "Pinoy" (feminine: "Pinay"), which is a slang word formed by taking the last four letters of "Pilipino" and adding the diminutive suffix "-y". The lack of the letter "F" in the pre-1987 Philippine alphabet, Abakada, had caused the letter "F" to be substituted with "P". This is why, when the 28-letter modern Filipino alphabet was made official in 1987, the name Filipino was preferred over Pilipino. The name Filipino was chosen by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lpez de Villalobos, who named the islands "las Islas Filipinas" ("the Philippine Islands") after Philip II of Spain. Filipino values are, for the most part, centered at maintaining social harmony, motivated primarily by the desire to be accepted within a group. The main sanction against diverging from these values are the concepts of "Hiya", roughly translated as 'a sense of shame', and "Amor propio" or 'self-esteem'.[2] Social approval, acceptance by a group, and belonging to a group are major concerns. Caring about what others will think, say or do, are strong influences on social behavior among Filipinos.[3] According to the anthropologist Leonardo Mercado, the Filipino worldview is basically 'nondualistic'. Based on his linguistic analyses of Filipino value terms like loob (Cebuano buot), he concludes that Filipinos desire harmony, not only in interpersonal relationships, but also with nature and religion, while still remaining nondichotomous. China China is a great countrywith a long history. With the passage of over 5000 years, Chinese gradually have developed their own characteristics. When it comes to the characteristics of Chinese people, we cant skip the one of the greatest educators and philosophers, Confucius. He put forward the idea that people should be merciful, tolerant, and humble. The thought of Confucius has had a great impact on Chinese people. The Chinese put much importance on personal relationships. They pay attention to the skills of speaking, try to make others feel at home, and they enjoy a congenial atmosphere. However, when there is a conflict between two groups, usually Chinese in their respective groups will only strive for their own group, which makes the whole divided. And members in one group will be really nice to each other others. There are some differences between Chinese and Americans. Often, Chinese tend to be modest, while Americans tend to be more straightforward. And in China, things can be shared among close people, but in America, privacy is so important that even the closest friends like to keep a slight distance. Singapore When the esplande was finally constructed, there were spades of Singaporeans unhappily exclaiming "London has its Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, America has its Statue of Liberty and Australis has its

Sydney Opera house as globally recognisable icons, and all we have is this...this...this durian?". When comparing this iconic building to the icons of the world cities, many felt ashamed to be Singaporean, many felt ashamed to know their little home would never quite measure up to other cities in terms of grandeur, history or aplomb. What makes a Singaporean a Singapore? In the same way the Esplanade did not have years of history behind it, or size or grandeur to recommend it against other iconic buildings in the world, Singaporean society does not posess a native history, language or culture that makes Singapores unique in any special way. We don't posess Saris like the Indians or a guzzle down native pasta like the Italians do, so its often difficult for most to pinpoint what exactly makes a Singaporean a singaporean. The multicultural and migrant nature of the Singapore population has resulted in a culture that most would simply call "Rojak" or mixed up. The funny thing, is that when we try to examine and identify when it is that makes Singapore so unique, it is also the self-same multicultural mix. The mingling of races and cultures has produced a globalised city that differs from all the rest, because of the very fact that each culture has adopted a bit of other cultures practices, deviating from the original practices of their ancestors home-countries, and producing a unique culture of its own. Being Singaporen isn't about the pink IC that you carry around, or being able to identify with the icons of the nation, such as the Merlion and the Esplanade. It isn't about having a rich and long history of conquerors, castles and civilisations. Thailand Thais are strange people their values, their needs, their outlook on life. There are many Thai traits which the farang find irritating, but often cant really explain why. Of course, there are good and bad points to every nationality, and Thais are certainly a very helpful people. For example, you can always rely on a Thai to give up his Sunday off to help you move apartment, or drive you to the airport. They are in general a fun-loving lot, who enjoy a joke as long as its not aimed at them. There are however times to have fun, and there are times when a little more decorum and seriousness are perhaps required, in the workplace for instance. I consider the Thais greatest characteristic to be that of tolerance. Often we foreigners come over here and strut around as though we own the place. We gamble, screw, and get pissed, and they tolerate it and just smile. There arent that many countries where this would happen. Vietnam The beautiful people of Vietnam trace their history back over two thousand years to the ng Sn culture, who occupied the Red River basin for several hundred years B.C. During this lengthy history they fought many wars, overcame several foreign invasions, and have developed a unique cultural identity unlike any other. Part of this identity is being people that are extremely resolute and perseverant. These people have some thick skin and at their core are quite tough. They have not been pampered or had an easy history. The ability to kick the French out in 1954, defeat the Americans in 1973, and several other battles along the way testifies to their endurance. When I moved here one of the first things I noticed was the people seem to be quite stern. At first glance they come off as quite serious and somewhat unfriendly. I guess it does not help that my country killed 2-

3 million of their citizens within the last half century, but it seems to go beyond that. Even among the Vietnamese there is a certain attitude that seems a bit more rigid. Thank you, excuse me, please, your welcome, etc., are not as common here. People are blunt and are not afraid of telling you that your outfit is ugly, you are getting fat, or that pimple on your forehead is enormous. The interesting part is these things are not considered offensive; it is just the culture. My perception of the Vietnamese people has changed somewhat now that I have developed friendships with many of them. My Vietnamese friends are extremely kind and friendly. Once getting past the stern exterior, they are some of the most genuine people I know. It is rare for them to allow me to pay when going out and they have helped me avoid being ripped off on several occasions. The friendships may take a little longer to cultivate, but once established they could last forever. Japan 1. They adapted to catering to authority and to harmonize with others. 2. They tend to place themselves in their own exclusive and closed communities. Accordingly, they have introverted personalities and they pay serious attention to harmony and cooperativeness in the group. They feel comfortable with familiar people in the communities they belong to. They developed their sense of allegiance in the group consequent to be exclusive. The behavior of competition and appealing themselves is observed only within their own community. On the other hand, they are enthusiastic in absorbing or imitating other cultures. 3. Consequently, they have more interest in human feelings and emotions than scientific or logical concerns. In terms of book read, literary books rate more highly than scientific books, comparied with westerners. 4. Japan has a population of about half of the United States with a land area about 90% of the state of California. Therefore, roads, parks, houses, etc. are designed in miniature size. This environment influences largely their lives. They tend to pay attention to precise details rather than the big picture. They are better at developping transistors than space development projects. Minicomponent audio systems are essential in their narrow houses often referred to "rabbit hutches". 5. Japan is a country poor in natural resources but rich in hard-working and diligent people. Africa Some aspects of traditional African cultures have become less practiced in recent years as a result of years of neglect and suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalue African traditional cultures, under such movements as the African Renaissance, led by Thabo Mbeki, Afrocentrism, led by a group of scholars, including Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of Vodou and other forms of spirituality. In recent years, traditional African culture has become synonymous with rural poverty and subsistence farming.