Philippines. I am a first generation American born in the Philippines but raised in the U.S. This past Christmas Break, I went back to the Philippines for the first time in about 10 years. It was absolutely amazing - I got to see my lola (meaning "grandma" in English) for the first time in almost a decade! However, when I was in the Philippines, I realized how American I was. Then, when I returned back to the U.S. I realized how Filipino I am. I really did not notice how confusing that was for me, especially to my identity. I really do not feel like I classify in either category. Therefore, it ties into my blog name which is Tale of Two Nations because I hope this blog helps me discover a little bit more about my identity as a Filipina-American but also about the diversity of another culture which will help me grow to have a better embrace of diversity and inclusion.
My favorite thing about the Philippines is the heart of the Filipino. People there live a very simple life. They work hard just to afford the basics, then if there is a little extra they give it to their kapwa (meaning "fellow" in English) Filipino. As you can see in the image below, there is a community that is helping to move a family's house. They describe this community effort as "bayanihan." It reminds me that sometimes the things we do are for others. Sometimes it is bigger than us.
It is so exciting to meet someone from the Philippines in this class, Zhanie! There is a Philippines story unit in the Myth-Folklore class that I teach, and I'm so amazed by the range of different folktale story traditions in the Philippines. I hope you will enjoy learning about the stories of India! The generosity of bayanihan you explain here is very much part of village life in India too. The epics are about royal families, all very high and mighty, but they often end up spending time living in villages too, and that is an important part of their stories, like the hero Krishna, for example, who had to flee from his murderous uncle and grew up in a tiny village. From that time in his life, he had a friend, Sudama, and their friendship is a famous story in India! Sudama's story at Wikipedia
ReplyDeleteHaving been able to meet many first generation students through my position on campus in one of the advising offices, I love meeting new faces from around the globe. Other cultures vary so vastly and I love learning as much as I can with the opportunities presented to me. I'd love to see what kind of story ideas you can come up with that could be based around where you grew up and the people you know!
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