Book Reco: You Know You're A Filipino If...
Most travelers limit themselves to tried and tested guides like Lonely Planet and Fodor’s when they go off to a foreign land. Sometimes though, you’ve got to be able to see a country from a local perspective. That’s why I recommend the book, “You Know You’re a Filipino If…” by Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz. It offers interesting bite-sized insights into what Pinoys are all about. It’s quirky, fun and offers lots of topics for conversation starters. Here are some of my favorites from her list. Check out how true it is or make up some of your own along the way.
You Know Your're Filipino If...
1. You travel with eight pieces of luggage and most of them are called "Balikbayan Boxes".
2. You have uncles and aunts named Boy, Girlie, or Baby.
3. You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables, such as Jun-Jun, Ling-Ling, and Mon-Mon.
4. You decorate your living room wall with your family's framed diplomas and certificates and plaques.
5. You put your foot up on your chair and rest your elbows on your knees while you eat
6. You decorate your dining room wall with a giant wooden spoon and fork and a picture of the Last Supper.
7. You keep your furniture wrapped in plastic.
8. You use fingers to measure the water you need to cook rice.
9. You wash and reuse disposable styrofoam cups, plastic spoons and forks, and aluminum wrappers. You also love recycling paper plates by covering them with wax paper.
10. You can squeeze 15 passengers into your five-seater car without a second thought.
11. Christmas isn't Christmas without a parol (Star lantern) and a belen (Nativity Scene).
12. You're always late.
13. You live with your parents until-and at times even after-you're married.
14. You demand that your children sing and dance to amuse your friends and relatives.
15. You own a "Footsteps in the Sand" poster.
16. You have a piano no one plays.
17. You use a halved coconut husk to polish the floor.
18. You own a "barrel man."
19. You shower at least once a day.
20. You prefer hand-washed to machine-washed laundry.