I was six years old when I first stepped foot on American soil. Sadly at that age, I don’t think I made a comparison between my native culture and the culture here. Though recently, I visited the
During my stay, I also remember visiting a fast food restaurant known as McDonalds which I’m sure isn’t known here. My cousin and I were greeted by the staff members with maximum kindness that it was a bit terrifying. After we finished our food, I picked up my tray and was about to throw out the content which is the usual custom here in
Another custom (and that I practice here as well) is showing a sign of respect to the elderly by bowing a bit and moving their right hand toward your forehead; usually the back hand touching your forehead. I also had to greet my older cousins by addressing them either “kuya” (aka brother if male) or “ate” (aka sister if female) before I say their first name.
The most exciting part of my trip was New Years. The actual fireworks were in my cousin’s backyard. Everyone had a firecracker stick and it was just a beautiful eye-popping site.
One way of addressing the Filipino way of life is in the words of Anthony Bourdain from the Travel channel when he visited the Philippines, "You're just too darn nice."
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ReplyDeleteYour post was very interesting. I learned a lot about your culture through your experience in the Philippines. When I read the part about the waiters stopping you from doing their job I was like amazed. I have never seen that happen in my life, cause in NYC when you accidentally leave something on the table at MICKY D's you get grilled at and when your there they want you to leave as fast as possible, lol. I really liked your post. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE ANTHONY BOURDAIN! My boyfriend is in a Filipino club called P.A.R.E. at St. John's, and he always brings me along to the cultural events. I learned a lot about the culture, but I had no idea you have to bow when greeting an elder. But for Chinese people, we have to personally greet our elders, like "Hello Uncle___"
ReplyDeleteVery good read. I know that in Asian cultures, we really emphasize on respect, especially for the elderly. In Indian culture, it was customary to address any unknown older person as Uncle or Aunty and so you can just imagine how strange it looked to people in America when I addressed them in that manner. lol :)
ReplyDeleteI'm also of Asian background, and I have always loved the idea of showing respect to the elderly by bowing a bit. My grandpa who was Japanese never stopped doing it even after he moved to Peru. And it was something I learned from him, but sadly, lost when I moved to the States because people kept looking at me like soemthing was wrong. But sometimes, I forget, and you can see me inclining my head foward a little bit when talking to an elder. :D
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