For Foreign Students
Shopping
Shopping should not be a problem with Robinson’s Place, a large shopping mall, 5 minutes away from the campus by foot. Big Ben, another mall, is well within sight. The convenience store 7-11 is on the ground floor of Big Ben. South Supermarket is 5 minutes away by car, while Fiesta Mall is another ten minutes further north. Many more shops are available in the city proper, along with several grocery stores close to the public market.
Outdoors
Those interested in swimming may find it of interest that there are pool resorts such as the Bluroze Resort and Katigbak Swimming Pools within the boundaries of Lipa City. Geothermal spring resorts are an hour away in the municipalities of Pansol and Los Baños in Laguna. Scuba diving resorts abound in Mabini, still in Batangas but an hour south of Lipa City. The resort town of Puerto Galera is an hour away by boat from nearby Batangas City, a haven for both Filipino and foreign diving enthusiasts. Mountaineering enthusiasts may find Mt. Makulot interesting, or perhaps a hike up Taal Volcano may be more challenging. Horseback riding is also available up in Tagaytay City, an hour and a half away by car.
Currency
The Philippine Peso (PhP) is the national currency. Paper bills are available for PhP 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20 and 10. Coins are available for PhP 10, 5, 1, .10 and .05. Exchange rates for foreign currencies are available at the official web site of the Central Bank of the Philippines.
Language
Tagalog is the dialect of the province of Batangas, although spoken with a distinct accent and an assortment of colorful words not elsewhere used, some at least not with the same meaning, in the rest of the Southern Tagalog Region of the country. English is also widely spoken as it is, along with Filipino – the national language – used as medium of instruction in schools.
Religion
Majority of the people in Lipa are Roman Catholics, although other Christian and non-Christian congregations and sects are also present in the city. The city earned fame in the late forties because of alleged apparitions by the Blessed Virgin Mary to a visionary in the Carmelite Convent, just outside the city proper.
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