By Ahmet Kiran, UB Intern
You see foreigner students everywhere in Baguio City. They are blacks or white and everything in between.
The reasons for their being here are as many as their number.
For me, it all emanated from a caring father. Seeing me growing up and going nowhere—just bumming around with friends of my age in Turkey—my father thought of making me leave my own country so I could be away from the bad company. His first choice was for me to come to the Philippines. It was not out of nowhere. It was because an older brother of mine finished college here, in Davao City.
Naturally, when I arrived I went to Davao but it was hot. I did not like to study there. But when I visited Baguio, I liked the climate. So I decided to study here. It was my second chance to get a better future.
There were about three more Turkish students here in Baguio at that time but they were already in the higher years in college. As expected, they became my friends. But now they are gone, having graduated. So I could not speak my language with anybody. It does not really matter as I am graduating this school year.
Why do foreigner students choose to study in the Philippines or in Baguio in particular? Why not in another country? For one, the Philippines has become a top destination where to learn the English language. Filipinos, by and large, speak the language quite well as a second language and they are also friendly.
For the other foreigner students, the situation is different. Some of them are here because its more fun in the Philippines. I am referring to the Arabs. Most if not all of them come from a very restrictive society. Here? There are cheap bars offering all sorts of alcoholic drinks and women without any fear of being caught by religious policemen who can arrest those engaging in vices.
Many of the Arabs, the Africans and Koreans are of course here to seriously acquire a good college education, and this includes learning English as a second language, at a much cheaper price. For instance, studying in Korea would cost about P144,000.00 each semester. Here just about P25,000.00 for tuition and other fees. According to Hyun Seuk Im, studying in the Philippines is easier and cheaper than in Korea. Many Koreans (including other foreigners) are here to improve their English skills. For English is now used almost everywhere. The Filipinos’ English skills which is a lot better than those of other nationalities, has made the country an important destination as English can be a vital factor in getting hired.
According to Abdullah Fetvih from Ethiopia (Africa), studying in his country will cost him about P70,000.00 each semester. So he is here for the better and cheaper education. Likewise, he loves it here because there are many things that are legal which are illegal in his country—drinking, hanging out with girls, etc. The Philippines was suggested by his cousin who came to know of this country through a friend.
I have interviewed many other foreigner students and they echoed the same reasons. For emphasis, the Philippines provides almost same quality of education at a fraction of the cost. Everything else is also cheaper such as rents, food, vices, including having an active social life.**
