Lips

Filipinos have the justifiable reputation as being one of the most hospitable people in the world. I've read somewhere that they are especially preoccupied with the notion of pride and self-esteem and that public confrontation, criticism or arguments can lead of uncomfortable situations; therefore they're avoided when possible (I was in a small car accident here once and was shocked when both drivers got out of their cars and smiled and laughed at the situation. No road rage here!) Strong or fixed eye contact between males is considered aggressive and it is impolite to point. It's the pointing part that confused me at first. I'm not talking about pointing at other people, I'm talking about pointing in general. They don't seem to do it. So imagine a situation when you ask a Filipino for directions but they won't use a finger to point you in the direction you need to go. A pointed finger seems to be the most efficient way to give directions; a finger can pin-point you in the correct direction. Without the finger pointing, what do Filipinos do? When giving directions and they need to express "over there" in body language they raise their arm up from their side and wave the hand in the general direction you need to go. The trouble I found with this is it's such a big wave at times that it could translate into several directions at once. When I first arrived here I found myself being lost constantly when following this broad "wave direction thing". It wasn't until I discovered how Filipinos pin-point directions that everything started to make sense. Filipinos point using their lips. Yes, their lips. They press their lips together to the point where it's almost a kiss and use these pressed lips to convey direction. While you're reading this you might want to try this yourself. It's actually a very effective way to show direction. The hand waving helps show you the general direction you need to go. Then you look at the eyes and see where they're looking. Finally, to get the exact direction you need to go following the lips.

The lips will never lead you astray.