Irritating questions and statements
For those newbies who are planning to visit the Philippines soon I suggest that you prepare yourself to deal with a few irritating questions or statements that almost all filipinas seem to make.
The 3 major irritants for me (in order) are:
1. Do you mind if I ask you a question?
2. I don't know. It's up to you.
3. Did you eat your (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack) yet?
We have dealt with #3 ad nauseum on this site but it still aggravates and I treat it as a rhetorical question and never answer.
#2 is just their way of saying "I have absolutely no idea" but when they say it in reference to how much cash they expect from you they know exactly what they expect.
#1 just plain annoys me. I always answer "why?" It is unexpected, and throws them when they are expecting either a "Yes","No" or "Depends".