In going with my 'Asian Pacific Heritage Month' theme, here's a funny little thing that the Filipino's that read this will get a good laugh about. I've highlighted all the things that I've answered 'Yes' to, which is quite a lot of them, so I'm not doubtful about my Filipino heritage at all! I've included a little explanation to some of them so you non-Filipinos can learn about our quirky ways.

--------------
You Know You're Filipino When...

Your middle name is your mother's maiden name.

Your parents call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy."

You have uncles and aunts named "Boy," "Girlie," or "Baby."

You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables like "Jun-Jun," "Ling-Ling," and "Mon-Mon." Mine by the way was "Che-Che." [I am known as Tin-Tin, Claudine is Din-Din, Fatima is Tim-Tim. Our aunts and uncles still call us that!]

You call the parents of your friends and your own parents' friends "Tito" and "Tita." [which means uncle and aunt]

You have four or five names.

You greet your elders by touching their hands to your forehead. [This is called 'mano', and it's a form of respect. Watch out for rings on their hands, it hurts your forehead.]

You always kiss your relatives on the cheek whenever you enter or leave the room.

You follow your parents' house rules even if you are over 18. [Hell, I was imposed a 2am curfew when I was 22!]

You live with your parents until and at times even after you're married. [and exactly where were we supposed to live when we were house hunting? On the streets?]

You decorate your dining room wall with a picture of the "Last Supper." [I had one growing up. I'm suspecting we'll probably recieve one as a gift for our new place]

You keep your furniture wrapped in plastic or covered with blankets.

You have a Sto. Nino shrine in your living room.

You have a piano that no one plays. [Used to play it. But the trauma of 10 years of piano lessons has prevented me from doing anything to it lately]

You keep a tabo in your bathroom. [Um, you don't even want to know. Google it!]

You use Vicks Vapor rub as an insect repellant.

You eat with your hands. [I swear, when I got to college, I had to learn how to eat with just a fork.]

You eat more than three times a day. [Wait, doesn't everyone?]

You think a meal is not a meal without rice.

You think sandwiches are snacks, not meals.

Your dining table has a merry-go-round (lazy Susan) in the middle.

You bring baon to work everyday.

Your pantry is never without Spam, Vienna sausage, corned beef, and sardines. [Except the sardines. I was never fond of the sardines]

You love to eat daing or tuyo. [Daing is marinated whitefish, tuyo is some chicken gizzard thing. I love daing, however, I don't do chicken gizzards.]

You prop up one knee while eating. [When no one is looking!]

You eat your meal with patis, toyo, suka, banana catsup, or bagoong. [Fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup made of bananas (Jufran, baby!) and salted shrimp fry, respectively]

Your tablecloths are stained with toyo circles.

You love sticky desserts and salty snacks.

You eat fried Spam and hot dogs with rice.

You eat mangoes with rice--with great GUSTO!

You love "dirty" ice cream.

You love to eat, yet often manage to stay slim. [Before I hit 28, after that, I think I killed my metabolism. I'm now 'big boned']

You put hot dogs in your spaghetti.

Everything you eat is sauted in garlic, onion, and tomatoes.

You order a "soft drink" instead of soda.

You hang a rosary on your car's rear view mirror.

You get together with family at a cemetery on All Saint's Day to eat, drink, and tell stories by your loved ones' graves.

You play cards or mahjong and drink beer at funeral wakes.

You think Christmas season begins in October and ends in January. [for us, it's all year 'round. Why take down decorations when you're going to put them back up again?]

Your second piece of luggage is a balikbayan box.

You've mastered the art of packing a suitcase to double capacity.

You collect items from airlines, hotels, and restaurants as "souvenirs."

You feel obligated to give pasalubong to all your friends and relatives each time you return from a trip. [Pasalubong is tagalog for souvenirs]

You use paper foot outlines when buying shoes for friends and relatives. [Ha! My dad did that all the time!]

You're a fashion victim.

You can convey 30 messages with your facial expression. [I've mastered the Filipino lip pointing technique, too, where instead of your fingers, your use your lips to point to a direction]

You hold your palms together in front of you and say "excuse, excuse" when you pass in between people or in front of the TV.

You ask for the bill at a restaurant by making a rectangle in the air. [REDPAC!!! THIS is where I got it from. I do this all the time and had no idea where I picked it up from. Now I know!]

You cover your mouth when you laugh.

You respond to a "Hoy!" or a "Pssst!" in a crowd.

You'll answer "Malapit lang!"--no matter the distance--when asked how far away a place is located.

Goldilocks is more than a fairy tale character to you. [Goldilocks is a Filipino bakery that makes the YUMMIEST things!]

You refer to power interruptions as "brownouts."

You love to use the following acronyms: CR for comfort room, DI for dance instructor, DOM for dirty old man, TNT for tago nang tago, KJ for kill joy, KSP for kulang sa pansin, OA for over-acting, TL for true love, BF for boyfriend and GF for girlfriend.

You say "rubber shoes" instead of sneakers, "ball pen" instead of pen, "stockings" instead of pantyhose, "pampers" instead of diapers, "ref" or "prijider" instead of refrigerator, "Colgate" instead of toothpaste, "canteen" instead of cafeteria, and "open" or "close" instead of turn on or turn off (as in the lights).

You use an umbrella for shade on hot summer days.

You like everything imported or "state-side."

You love ballroom dancing, bowling, pusoy, mah jong, billiards, and karaoke. [I watch ballroom dancing whenever it's on TV, I grew up in a bowling alley, watching my dad play, pusoy is a card game, my mom used to play mah jong every week with the titas, I love playing pool, and I'm a closet karaoke queen!]

You have a relative who is a nurse.

When you're in a restaurant, you wipe your plate and utensils before using them.

You can squeeze 15 passengers into your five seater car without a second thought. [Olympians ride in the trunk!]

You wave a pom-pom on a stick around the food to keep the flies away.

You always ring a doorbell twice, assuming that the first ring was not heard.

You let the phone ring twice before answering, lest you appear overly eager.

You use a rock to scrub yourself in the bath or shower.

You're proud to be Filapino - and you pass these jokes on to all your Filipino friends!

-----------------

Whoo! That was a trip down memory lane! I hope you all enjoyed it!

Posted by Yano at May 10, 2005 09:33 AM

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---