What Foreigners Secretly Envy About Filipinos 🇵🇭

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Welcome to our main French Filipino channel.

[00:00:02]What if the loneliness of Europe could be cured by a single Filipino phrase, walang iwanan? In France, we are taught that privacy is sacred and boundaries.

[00:00:12]So, there is an important question. Is your privacy worth your loneliness? So, today let's talk about what foreigners secretly envy about Filipinos.

[00:00:26]There are many things that foreigners secretly envy about Filipinos, even if they do not always admit it. [music] And one of the biggest one is the place of families and community. But hear me well, I'm not saying that all Filipino families are good or perfect. There are problems everywhere, of course. But what really shocked me in the Philippines is that family still seems very present in everyday life. And not only with words, huh, but in the gestures, in the way people speak, in the way they address older people. Po, kuya, ate, tito, tita, lolo, lola. And honestly, for a French person like me, it's quite impressive. Because in France, we talk a lot about respect, but sometimes we do not see it as much anymore in everyday life. We can see young people speaking very badly to adults. And we can also see families completely divided. We see elderly people sometimes forgotten, isolated, or even attacked.

[00:01:24]And when I see some situations in France, I honestly ask myself, in the Philippines, if a young person talks like that to their parents, what happens? I think many Filipinos will answer me, he will not survive. Of course, I'm joking, but you understand the idea, right? And this is exactly what I really envy. Because for Filipinos, family is not just something that you visit sometimes during Christmas or birthdays. The thing is that in Europe, we value independence a lot. And of course, that This thing, huh? But sometimes, independence becomes distance, and distance becomes loneliness. And then you can live in a nice city, in a nice apartment, with everything you need, Netflix, air conditioner, but not even know your neighbors. And this is something I found very different with the Filipinos. In the Philippines, I had that feeling there is still real life around me.

[00:02:19]Neighbors talk, children play outside, people start conversation naturally.

[00:02:24]Families go out together, and sari-sari stores almost become like a small social center. You know, in France, when your neighbors start talking to you too nicely, we sometimes become suspicious.

[00:02:39]Morning, neighbor. Is everything okay?

[00:02:41]Too friendly, suspicious. Nobody is nice for free. There is definitely a problem.

[00:02:47]Yes.

[00:02:49]In the Philippines, someone talk to you 5 minutes, and suddenly, you know their name, you know their barangay, their cousin who works in the UAE or the USA, or their favorite food. And honestly, this is something many foreigners envy.

[00:03:05]And not only because it's friendly, huh?

[00:03:07]But because it makes you feel like that you are not [music] invisible. Maybe one of the best example for me is the sari-sari store. In Europe, if you want to know what's happening in your neighborhood, but most of the time, you should go to Facebook. And even then, you may still collect zero intel. In the Philippines, you just go to the sari-sari store. You just wanted to buy something, and 3 minutes later, you know all the news from the neighborhood. Who came back from abroad, who bought a new motorcycle, who's preparing a birthday, who's singing too loudly at karaoke. The sari-sari store is not only a store, it is a real life social media. And after that, you know all the chismis. This is what many foreigners secretly envy. The feeling that life is still collective.

[00:03:55]The people do not just live next to each other. They still live a little bit together. Because today, the real luxury uh is not only money. The real luxury is not feeling alone. And maybe sometimes even you Filipinos, you do not realize how precious it is. [music] But many foreigners see it. And yes, we envy you for that. But most of us, we never accept that reality. And this is why the Filipinos seem to protect joy so well.

[00:04:24]Because when family and community are still alive, happiness does not only depend on money, comfort, or perfect conditions. And that brings me to the second thing that foreigners secretly envy about Filipinos, your ability to stay joyful even when life is not perfect.

[00:04:46]What many foreigners envy about Filipinos is not that they smile a lot.

[00:04:52]No, it's way deeper than that. It is this ability to keep a form of joy, warmth, and lightness even when life is not perfect. The first time I started spending time around Filipinos, it was not even in the Philippines. It was in the UAE. And one thing that I noticed straight away, I almost never saw a Filipino in a bad mood, or at least much less than other people from many other nationalities around me, and I met a lot. And some of them, some of them were living in conditions that were very far from ideal. Small apartments, sometimes with plumbing problems, air conditioning problems, difficult jobs, long working hours, sometimes 9 to 10 hours a day, managers who were not always very nice, salaries that were not amazing. And despite all of that, all of them still keep smiling. But I'm not saying that hardship is good, not at all. But I admire this ability to not let all problems steal all the joy from the day.

[00:05:58]In France, we have a different energy.

[00:06:00]We are known for complaining. And honestly, it's not totally wrong. You can do anything in France, and there will always be someone ready to criticize.

[00:06:12]Hey look, I bought a new t-shirt. What do you think? Black t-shirt again?

[00:06:15][music] You never change. Always the same thing. And that's exactly the problem. Look, I bought a new t-shirt.

[00:06:22]What do you think?

[00:06:24]Why you didn't buy a black t-shirt?

[00:06:26]Sometimes in France, we do not talk to share positive energy. We talk to complain together. I knew someone like that. Someone who spent all his time saying that everything was bad, everything was terrible, people were stupid, and nothing was ever going well.

[00:06:45]And you know, I think this is exactly the reason why everything was always going wrong in his life. Because he never saw the things in a positive way.

[00:06:55]But you know, at first I thought it was normal. Because in France, we are used to that kind of atmosphere. But over time, I started to realize that every conversation was draining me. Even before seeing him, huh? I already knew I would leave mentally exhausted. And one day, I just stopped spending time with him. And honestly, but I feel better since then. This is not a joke. I really think that spending times around Filipinos really helped me to change the way I see some things. [music] For example, I stopped watching too much negative news. In fact, I started removing all the little negative things from my daily life. Of course, I'm not closing my eyes to what's happening around the world, but I just stopped feeding my mind with useless negative things. And in a certain way, this is you Filipino who taught me that. And today, I feel much more at peace with myself. I feel happier, even though fundamentally my life hasn't changed that much, huh? Yes, my YouTube channel has been doing very better recently. And I really feel like I'm entering a phase where the growth is becoming real and will probably become stronger and stronger. And by the way, I really want to thank you for [music] that. Merci beaucoup. But beyond YouTube, the biggest change is the way I see life.

[00:08:24]And I know that this is something else that many foreigners envy about Filipinos, >> [music] >> especially French people, but very few of them will be able to admit it.

[00:08:35]Because sometimes we have more comfort, help [music] from the government, better organization, but not necessarily this ability to enjoy the present moment. In Europe, many people wait for life to be perfect before they start being happy.

[00:08:53]But with many Filipino, I saw the exact opposite. Of course, life is not perfect, but joy still exists. The happiness is here, just in front of you.

[00:09:02]Take it because nobody will do it for you. And I think this is why Filipinos do something very interesting. They do not just keep joy inside, they express it. They share it. They turn it into moments. And sometimes, even the smallest moments can become a reason to gather. And that brings me to the next thing that foreigners secretly envy about Filipinos, the way they celebrate.

[00:09:33]Celebration is not just an event.

[00:09:35][music] It's a way of life. As European, we really envy that crazy capability to celebrate that only Filipino have the secret. But I'm not talking only about big celebrations. Of course, there is a Christmas, fiesta, birthdays, big meals, karaoke, family gatherings. But Filipinos do not always need a huge event to create a moment. Sometimes the reason is simple. In France, we often need a real occasion. Yeah, in France, this is very different. We even have that famous expression metro boulot dodo, which means metro, [music] work, sleep. And if someone starts singing too loudly in France, it's not a party. It's a neighbor complaint. And this is a very different energy feeling.

[00:10:23]In the Philippines, you can have a small meal, a few people, one mic, two songs, and suddenly it becomes a memory. In France, if you do that too often, someone will always find an excuse.

[00:10:35]>> Scenario number one.

[00:10:37]>> Come on, let's celebrate. No, no, no, no, no, today it's raining. But the party is inside.

[00:10:42]>> Scenario number two.

[00:10:44]>> Come on, let's celebrate. Ah, no, sorry, my car is broken. [music] But you live 2 minutes away on foot.

[00:10:49]>> Scenario number three.

[00:10:51]>> Come on, let's celebrate. No, I can't. I already told my cat I would stay home.

[00:10:56]You don't even have cats.

[00:10:58]Once again, I'm not saying that everything is perfect. I know life can be very difficult in the Philippines. I know many people work hard. I know not everyone [music] has an easy life. But that is exactly the point. What I admire is that despite all of that, many Filipinos still find a way to create joy. And for me, celebrating in the Philippines is not only about partying.

[00:11:21]It is a way to keep connections alive.

[00:11:24]This is why many foreigners envy [music] you. Because in many countries, we have more comfort, more organization, but sometimes we also have a fewer moments that truly make us feel like we belong to something. So, yes, maybe sometimes karaoke is a bit too loud. Maybe the parties last too long. Maybe Christmas starts a bit too early. But deep down, I think many foreigners look at that and [music] secretly think, "I wish we still had this kind of energy." One more time, remember that all the things that I'm saying in the video are only based on my own experience and my own point of view.

[00:12:04]Now, I am really curious. What do you think foreigners secretly envy about Filipinos? Tell me in the comments.

[00:12:11]Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, subscribe to support the channel and stay around because more videos are coming very soon. And thank you again for everything because I observed that recently I'm getting more comments, followers, views than ever.

[00:12:29]So, thank you again for all of that. Ako si Tomas, ang inyong paboritong French kuya.

[00:12:44]>> [music]