Filipinos love it when foreigners can speak their language, which is probably why two new videos posted on Monday showing a Saudi Arabian man speaking Filipino have been making their rounds online.
Glen Colinares, an overseas Filipino worker in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, met the man in the restaurant where he works and was shocked to find out how fluent he was in Filipino.
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“Unexpected encounter a (SAUDI Man) who fluently speak in (TAGALOG language) even bicol dialect,” Colinares said in his Facebook caption. “It’s an honor for our countrymen here in the Middle East and all over the world.”
The Saudi Arabian was inquiring about the restaurant’s menu but instead of talking to Colinares in English, the man spoke in fluent Filipino almost the entire time.
“Kamusta na kayo? (How are you?)” the Saudi Arabian man says at the beginning of the first video. Colinares compliments him on his language skills and the two proceeded to talk about the restaurant’s best sellers.
And it’s not just Tagalog the man can speak. He also knows a few words in Bicolano, which is spoken where Colinares is from. According to the man, he has visited various provinces in Bicol including Albay and Camarines Sur.
The man also said that whenever he meets a Filipino, he makes it a point to talk to them in the language so he does not forget how to speak it.
“I salute you too, I salute all the kababayans (countrymen), all the Filipinos,” the man says towards the end of the video.
The Facebook post now has more than 40,000 shares, more than 3,000 reactions, and an overwhelming number of positive comments.
“Mabuti pa yoong Arabo, di nahihiya magsalita ng Tagalog. Ang iba kong kakilala, hindi pa tumatagal sa abroad, Ingles na ng Ingles. (At least the Arab is not ashamed to speak in Tagalog. Some of the people I know, who haven’t even been abroad for long just keep on speaking in English)” Facebook user Nancy Luz Obrero said in Bicolano.
In a Facebook message to Coconuts Manila, Colinares said the man also complimented Filipinos and described them as good and polite.
“I decided to post this video not just to be a popular (sic) but to inspire to all the Filipino people in the world that even in just a small way, other people look up to our kindness,” he said in English and Filipino.
Colinares also practiced his Arabic when he said masalam (goodbye) to the man before going back to work.
Relations between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia have not been good since reports of domestic worker abuse came to light last week, but here’s an example of how genuine interest in other cultures can bring some good and joy to others.
