I needed to
surrender my Filipino citizenship once I took my oath as a US citizen. It was a heartbreaking technicality.
Though
having lived right here for nearly 20 years, I have to admit I’ve modified. My dancing turned from
disco and ballroom to nation and rock, my singing from pop to nation, and my
garments from blouses and skirts to tank tops and shorts. My kitchen is shifting
from cooking pancit and lumpia to grilling steaks and baking pies. My on a regular basis
dialog has turn out to be American English, not Tag-lish.
Nonetheless, my sixty
years of Filipino upbringing are a stable basis. I felt misplaced once I
was thrust right into a largely white neighborhood of RVers, assembly solely a handful of
African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American {couples} in eight years. Even in
Viewpoint’s hundreds of households, there are solely three Filipinos.
When I’m
with kababayans, I readily shift to Tagalog as a result of that’s how I feel.
That’s why I can confuse genders. Tagalog phrases, apart from those who connote
respect like kuya for older brother and ate, older sister, are
the identical. Son or daughter is anak; spouse or husband, asawa; brother
or sister, kapatid. Talking in Tagalog will all the time be simpler for me.
I miss
genuine Filipino meals, too. A sandwich will not be an entire meal as a result of there’s
no rice. Pan de sal (bread) is just for snacks or breakfast. The Philippine
mango remains to be my favourite fruit. And I’ll by no means erase the truth that my pores and skin
is brown, and my nostril is small. Nor do I need to change any of those.
Once I meet
Filipinos worldwide who’re sacrificing not being with their households to eke
out {dollars} to ship dwelling, I determine with the homesickness. And I take delight in
Filipino triumphs and really feel compassion for Filipino difficulties. These will all the time be my automated impulses.
However there may be
a deep kinship between the Philippines and America. We share the Pacific Ocean
and with it, the treacherous Pacific Ring of Fireplace. Spain colonized the American
Southwest and the Philippines on the identical time. Filipino nurses, lecturers, and
seamen are a part of US hospitals, faculties, and ships. And July 4 is doubly
significant for, on that day in 1946, the US gave us our independence, 170 years
after she acquired her personal.
There are additionally huge variations. The Philippines is a tropical archipelago
of seven,641 islands whereas the US is extra of an enormous contiguous temperate landmass.
Vegetation and wildlife are totally different. The large vistas of the Nice Plains, the
desert panorama of the Southwest, and the glaciers of Alaska are so totally different
from what I knew as a toddler.
At first, I
despaired for my homeland once I noticed that American techniques are far more
developed. However no extra. The Philippines is barely 78 years previous; the US is already
248. And it was America who laid the muse for Philippine highways,
faculties, and public administration. There may be cause, time, and room to develop!
I cannot
be capable to recapture the life I left within the Philippines. Different persons are not
as clannish as these with Spanish heritage like us. Generally friendships we construct
right here transfer far-off to totally different states or international locations. The excellent news is that
America is shifting away from being a melting pot. Pockets of individuals can
protect their traditions and cultures, besides whenever you marry into one other
tradition like I did.
Once I realized that the Philippines is likely one of the few international locations the place
the US permits twin citizenship, I heaved a sigh of reduction. However the nearest Philippine Consulate was in Los
Angeles so it took me two years to get the prospect to do it. On Oct. 13, 2013, I
re-pledged my loyalty to my place of birth and have become a Filipino-American.
I didn’t
get boiled right into a thick soup melting within the pot. As a substitute, I acquired included in a
colourful chunky stew, contributing to the style, however retaining sufficient of my
form, coloration, and taste. On this privileged perch, I see my growing
homeland from the angle of my developed dwelling base. I’ve
an enviable twin mission: serving to the Philippines as an American and contributing to
America as a Filipino.