The first thing I did when I came to the Philippines was take a Tagalog course (I planned to stay long term and wanted to integrate and adapt to the culture and people as much as possible). After a few weeks, with the help of a dictionary, I could at least roughly understand what people were talking about. Unfortunately, I found out that when Filipinos don't know you understand them, most of them keep saying bad or insulting things about you. In my case (I'm an ugly guy), they constantly make fun of my looks. It's really brutal. What bothers me most is that when they speak to me in English they're always super friendly, often just seconds after insulting me. The gist of the usual gossip about me is 'that guy's an ugly foreigner (> we don't like that), but he has money, so be nice (> he'll probably hand over some cash)' (the bracketed parts are my reading of it). Needless to say, I stopped learning the language. I didn't see the point in trying to integrate into a culture that, in its own words, doesn't want me to be part of it, at least not socially.

It amazes me when people live here for years and never learn it. Usually those of us who've been here a few years speak it, even if only at a beginner level. Most of us have a great teacher at home who's always available.

Same comment as on an earlier post: Not Tagalog, but Bisaya, because I live in Panglao. I've been taking classes for a year now. I intend to retire here, so I think it's respectful, and it helps you stand out and be remembered and appreciated, if you try to speak the local dialect rather than expect everyone to speak English. And I feel locals would be more annoyed if I learned and used Tagalog than if I fell back on English. I try to start EVERY interaction with a local in Bisaya, though of course I fail and slip back into Bisaya-English whenever it goes beyond my small vocabulary bubble. I can understand the gist of some conversations, but I think I've got a long way to go before I'm independent of English.

Nah, Google Translate if I need it.

I'm learning a little Tagalog. Just because I want to understand what people are talking about.