Apple Picking

Having grown up in New York, the idea of Autumn commingles with the memories of apple picking. The trips upstate, driving on lonesome highways, surrounded by mountains in fiery splendor and the caravans of Filipinos, each bringing something good to eat, play in my mind whenever the first sign of chill begins.

When we got to the orchard we'd pile out of the car and examine what kind of "baon" (food brought for journeys or school or the office) everyone else brought. After a quick brunch, huddling on the grass, in thick sweaters or jackets, we'd grab baskets and begin picking.

I don't know why we took so many apples, I didn't even like apples as a kid. We would be plied with apples in our "baon" for school and I'd just end up giving it to friends.

What Are You?

"What are you?" is one of the most common questions I get asked by perfect strangers, after they try a few stabs at what I am.

Line Dancing

What is up with Filipinos and line dancing? It started off easy with the Electric Slide and progressed to the Macarena and eventually the Todo, Todo...

Every year the Filipino community, that I grew up with, would hold an annual Christmas party and for months they would use "practicing" as an excuse to throw a party, and there they would "practice" their repertoire of line dances. Over and over they would practice, pause to eat, practice, pause to sing and practice again, until children were found laying all over, half asleep and their parents were busy laughing it up, practicing.

But no matter how many practices, if you look at the photos from past years, there is always someone getting it wrong! Always "si uncle Jun" or "si uncle Mark" or one year, it was my dad.

P.S. If you do a search for "Filipino Line Dancing" you'll find some pretty hilarious videos on youtube, with karaoke included.

Broom = Walis

I drew the two kinds of "walis" found in my house. The bigger of the two is the walis tambo, which is softer and made from some kind of grass. The other one that I've sketched beside it is the walis ting-ting which is made of coconut leaf rib. Walis ting-ting makes a scratchy sound as you "dust" because it's rough and not very malleable and can get at the more stubborn spots (and children, as evident from the thwacks I've gotten). My parents own a vacuum but prefer to use the walis instead...

Fork and Spoon

Before we were married, I brought my husband home to spend Thanksgiving with me and my family. That was the first time he was at a Filipino home and was surprised when we sat at the table and there wasn't a knife as part of his silverware. I tried to explain to him that part of Filipino culture had you eat with your hands and that most dishes were bite-sized and didn't require a knife to cut meat. He still demanded a knife...

Mani

First let me say that the word "peanuts" in Tagalog seems to have two spellings" mani and mane with a caret over the "e" (it doesn't help that "caret" phonetically has about 5 variations).

Second, "hiya" means shame, therefore "walang hiya" means no shame. "Hiya" I believe, is what fuels Filipinos, I guess it can be equated to the Greeks (mythologically speaking) view of "honor". Pronounced hee-ya, it can be used for peer pressure as well as a morality check.

Growing up I heard a lot of "pahiyain mo kami" from my parents, roughly translated "you want to shame us" or "you bring shame to us". It was a way for them to keep me in line, to let me know that my actions not only make me look bad but also brings embarrassment to my family. With that comes the shyness (also another meaning to hiya) of talking about personal problems. It's difficult to discuss personal problems to a stranger especially when you're brought up that it's a shameful thing to do (better to keep it in) and second that family is first, so any issues should be brought up with the family or not at all.

I know that when you have to explain it, the joke isn't so funny, but I also know that some of my viewers are not intimate with Filipino culture, so just a background...