Maria Hall was the first Filipino I've talked to on the phone when I got here in Brookings. The moment I met her, I could sense she has fully adapted to the American culture. Opps, she still has the character of a true Filipina - very joyful.
Maria works in the payroll department of the university for over five years now. She is married to an American professor named Bob. They're a lovely couple with two lovely kids. Maria has been here in the US for so long and she hasn't been in Pinas for nearly 20 years. She plans to finally go home come 2008 with her family.
I am writing this as a post because just few hours ago, I was with six Filipinos (including two kids), four Filipino-American kids and two Americans mesmerized by Filipino beauties. It was my first Filipino community gathering, sort of.
Finally, I was able to eat 'pansit' and 'menudo' and 'leche flan', food savored with Filipino ingredients and cooked with a Filipino touch. I ended up so full I couldn't even stand upright for a short pose. LOL.
Pinoys love to talk and talk a lot and laugh a lot too. Although I had quite a hard time speaking in Tagalog (not really good at it and would have wanted everyone to speak in Bisaya instead) I managed to insert a few lines here and there and laughed at their stories. Imagine we talked about Wowowee and TFC shows. Chika to the max.
We also chatted about how Filipinos speak up their minds no matter what social entities we are in. We are a bunch of smart people and even if we are surrounded by foreign nationalities, we must let them know what we think. This way, we boost our self-esteem.
The event tonight made me realize the importance of having people who share the same culture as you be within reach. These are the ones who'd give you support when time comes that you are in need of one. These are the people who would make you feel at home with a Mang Tomas sauce, a siningang soup, a bowl of pansit and a slice of leche flan.
Labels: Filipinos in the USA
1 Comments:
Hi! I just relocated here in Sioux Falls last May 7. I would very much like to have fellow filipino friends. Please contact me at lilyalbano@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Lily Baltzer
May 21, 2008 11:14 AM
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