Things in the Philippines that are hard to understand.

At every convenience store and somewhat larger shop, there are always beggars by the door, and they open the door for you when you enter. They also open the door for you when you leave. I call them my personal doormen.

I understand why they stand there and open doors. But there are just too many of them. There's at least one or two at every convenience store. Even the Alphamart next to Healing Condo has them. At Alphamart, the doormen are a whole family with a baby, guarding the door.

How much do they earn in a day from this? Where do they live... In this situation, how did they even think of having children... let alone getting married... There are so many questions. Next time I go, I plan to buy the child an ice cream and ask the doorman.

Another thing is how incredibly slow they are. If you moved at that speed in Korea, you'd immediately get cursed at and kicked.

You can experience this at restaurants. It takes about three times longer to get your food than in Korea. You need a lot of patience. If you think by Korean standards, there will be trouble.

There was an incident at the old Cabalen buffet. We paid 1000 pesos for an entrance fee of around 600 pesos. But they didn't seem to be in a hurry to give us our change. When I asked, "Where's my change?", they said they'd bring it. Even after eating two plates, they still didn't bring it. I called them over and showed them a message on my translator: "Why aren't you giving me my change? If I don't ask, are you going to keep it? Stop acting like a beggar!" Only then did they sheepishly bring it within 30 seconds. It's baffling why they wouldn't do it quickly when they can.

And then there are the people who just gather around. If you observe the ubiquitous sari-sari or canteen stores, you'll see people gathered in front of them. They don't seem to be there to buy anything or eat, nor do they look like family, yet one or two people are always there.

If you keep watching, they don't really do anything special. They just sit there, sometimes talking amongst themselves. What is their purpose? Why do they hang out in places that seem to have no reason for them to be there...

Finally, the speed of checkout. If you buy something for 50 pesos and pay with 100 pesos, the change is 50 pesos without needing to calculate. Yet, they use a calculator or write it down on paper to figure it out and give you the change.

Is that something that requires calculation? Do you need to write it down to get the answer? Can't you just automatically get the answer in your head?

Regarding the last point, I tried an experiment at a bar. I offered money to the "babies" if they could solve simple addition and subtraction problems within a set time using a Nintendo brain training game. No one could solve problems like 5+8 instantly in their head within a second; they all had to think, ponder, and write down the answer, leading to failure. That's when I realized it wasn't intentional, but that they genuinely struggle with calculations....