There was a time when I was not proud of my heritage. It is something that I am still ashamed to say. The Canadian Cultural Mosaic was not always something I celebrated. I suffered greatly with identity issues during my primary school years. As an individual of mixed culture, internally I struggled with my identity, as my cultural differences wrestled each other, fighting to make themselves more special than the other. It was very frustrating, as I felt my identity was directly tied to my 'race'.
I am a proud Filipino Canadian who knows my heritage runs deep and that I come from hardy stock. Since I found myself, these type of lists really make me laugh. I love to laugh and I do not to take myself too seriously. The list amused me, realizing that if all these things apply exclusively to Pinoys, I am just that much more unique:
- You own a barrel man from Baguio - if you do not know what it is, you just have to see this guy for yourself
- You point with your mouth/eyes
- You pronounce your f's with p's
- You own a rice cooker
- You have karaoke at every family party
- You own a magic mike
- You have an Uncle or Aunt that everyone knows as "Tito Boy" or "Tita Baby"
- Your parents say "open/close" the lights instead of turn "on/off" the lights
- You are always late (Filipino time)
- Your parents complain how much you are always out
- Your parents ask questions regarding who, where and why - EVERY TIME you go out
- You have a picture of the "last supper" in your kitchen
- Your parents compare life here and their life in the Philippines
- You know who Manny Pacquio is
- You go somewhere and you see another Filipino, you ask yourself if you know that person
- You have an insanely huge wooden fork and spoon hanging in your home
- You have seen the movie "DEBUT"
- You try to get someone's attention by saying "sssssssst" or "hoy"
- Your parents over exaggerate (ex:" hoy gising na ! It's almost 12 o clock," when it is really 11:15am)
- Your parents have one or more altars in their home devoted to mini statues of Mother Mary and holy water...
- You have dyed your hair (gold, blonde, red, brown)
- You gamble with your relatives (Mahjong)
- Your middle name is your mother's maiden name
- You have uncles and aunts named "Boy," "Girlie," or "Baby"
- You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables like "Jun-Jun," "Bobot", "May-May", and "Ling-Ling"
- You call the parents of your friends and your own parents' friends "Tito" and "Tita" or Auntie & Uncle. - This is a sign of respect and shows the significance of friends in the Filipino culture, they are family. Being raised by the village is a common concept for us.
- You greet your elders by touching their hands to your forehead - another sign of respect, and a dying tradition, sadly.
- You always kiss your relatives on the cheek whenever you enter or leave the room. Another sign of respect and affection
- You follow your parents' house rules even if you are over 18.
- You make your children sing and dance to amuse your friends and relatives.
- You have a tabo in your bathroom - Tabo is the little bucket kept in the bathroom for washing up, in lieu of a bidet since we're not French
- You think a meal is not a meal without rice, and you use your finger to measure the correct amount of water to cook rice with
- You always cook too much and you feed all your visitors. - Just shows the hospitality we are famous for. The usual greeting is "have you eaten yet?" And did I tell you we also love food?
- Kid's parties are attended by more adults than kids
- You like your fish with head and tail and bones...
- You think the best way to eat is by using your hands
- All the desserts are sticky, especially made out of rice.
- All the snacks are salty
