Foreigners Who Made Philippines Their Home
Kulas On Becoming Filipino
Canadian YouTuber named Kyle Jennermann who goes by the Filipino nickname “Kulas”, launched his channel titled #BecomingFilipino six years ago and hopes to explore and share the different aspects of Filipino culture which he has fallen deeply in love with by gathering ideas and suggestions of “what makes a Filipino” from any Pinoys all over the world.
He first came to Cebu after being invited by some of his Filipino coworkers in Hong Kong to visit the country. During his first visit, he stayed for three weeks and came back to the country after working to finance his travel. He traveled around by himself even in places in Mindanao which was deemed unsafe to travel after doing a lot of research and taking precautions — using a lot of common sense. He says that you’ll be surprised to see people treating you well if you show a positive attitude of genuinely wanting to learn from them.
He says what made him love the country is the natural beauty of its environment — the beaches, the mountains, waterfalls and rivers. He has also come to love the culture where despite experiencing a lot of hardships, people can still smile and be friendly.
With the aftermath of the Typhoon Haiyan, he together with his Filipino friends from the outdoor community set up OneTacloban to help out in the relief efforts with “no red tape, no politics and no bs…”. He documented the damages and sat outside the UN for internet connection so he can upload his video footage for his friends and family to see how much help is needed.
Right now, he has made Cagayan De Oro his home base where a lot of the beaches, mountains and rivers are only an hour drive away from his place. He has applied for visa extension twice and is looking for a way to officially apply for citizenship.