real men do cry

It's all about the man in the house - the king, head, and authority. The man in the story "Divide by Two" might have been indifferent to whatever Belle was complaining about but towards the end understood the real matter and dealt with it like a man: "This is man's work. I have met the enemy and he is mine". I can just imagine the man's anger towards the neighbor. whatever the reason for the anger (could it be because of a secret affair or something else more personal or because of pride), i think he knew what he wanted to fight for. On the other hand, Mr. Angeles of "The Mats", was still grieving over the death of his children and the thought that the remaining mats could not be given to them. WE are so used to the thought that men are supposed to be strong and emotionless, that men don't cry because it's a sign of weakness...i have to strongly disagree with that. I think that their manliness comes out when they become emotional because that's the only time that you can really see through their hearts. I know men that are quiet and seem reserved in nature but when things become touchy, they give in to their emotions because somehow they have been moved.

i am reminded of the time i saw emotions from my "very recent ex-boyfriend". i have always considered him insensitive and sobrang "manhid" but when i saw him cried for the first time after admitting his faults, i realized that he has feelings too and marunong din pala siya umiyak despite of his pagiging macho.. Sure they don't become emotional all the time, but when they do, it's usually with sense and you can't help but be moved by it. (maybe that's also the reason why it's so hard to move on..huhu).

Mr. Angeles is who I call the typical Filipino tatay. He works hard to earn a living and provides for the whole family. Whenever he goes home, he brings pasalubong. Just like my own papito...If there's anything i am so thankful for, it would have to be that we have been blessed with a great father. I always get excited whenever he comes home from Indo (who doesn't?), just like Mr. Angeles who works away from his family. Everytime my dad comes home, we all have to be present at the airport and just like in the story, we couldn't wait for the pasalubongs. It's what we always anticipate about. And one by one, he takes it out of the maleta and hands them to us. It has become a tradition in our family (and i think also in all Filipino families). For some reason, we always have to have something for our loved ones even if it's just a pack of fish crackers from the bus station.

another thing I have realized is how our parents, when they give us something that is costly (say a brand new car or laptop), they would always put conditions before you can use them. but as for my parents, they only ask for one thing and that is to treat my studies seriously and excel at it. that's not too bad...atleast i don't get grounded whenever i make mistakes...

i must confess that lately i have been buying Filipino literary books...maybe i am overwhelmed by how Filipino writers can be as good as the foreigners...maybe even better.

it's so Filipino-ish

Filipinos are born happy. We rejoice over something that's for some people is not even worth rejoicing for. We tend to appreciate even the smaller things and that's what I love about our race. We are very accommodating too. Whenever our friends come over, we usually offer them the best things...I used to think that we do it because we want to impress them but really I think it's beyond that. I think it's already a huge part of our culture. I remember the time I invited my Indonesian friends to come over our house in Jakarta, and I, the typical hospitable Filipino, prepared a "feast" for them. Before they even started eating, one of my closest friends came up to me and asked me why I had to bother preparing for them....and I cheerfully told her that I just wanted to do it for them because they're my friends and they don't get to come to my place all the time. To my surprise, she responded negatively. She told me that I should not have bothered to prepare and confessed that she doesn't feel good about it. I was disappointed because I just wanted them to have a good time and really don't we all Filipinos do that? But then I realized that they come from a different culture and different backgrounds so maybe I made her feel uncomfortable. I learned that it's all about getting used to the things that may seem different to us. I mean I have been "culture shocked" many times before but I got through them and I learned to have an open mind just like Maria in Arguilla's "How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife". She knew the kind of adjustments she had to make and she welcomed those changes. Arguilla perfectly illustrated in the story the importance of families and going back to your roots despite of the changes you have made. It showed how we still value "pamamanhikans" and how important it is for our parents to get to know the people you're going to be living with. It proves how family-oriented we are.

Back in highschool my best friend used to call me the "Corny Chrys". I didn't really know her reasons for naming me that but I think it's because I'm always jolly and I don't take a lot of things seriously. I love how Carlos Bulosan wrote that : "Laughter was our only wealth". I love the thought that Filipinos are a happy race and yet we still put importance on our families, education, friends, lifestyle etc. Just think of the "noche buenas" that we celebrate..isn't that enough proof that we know how to have a great time despite of the ugly things that people from other countries know about us?

We may have been termed as "brown monkeys" or that we eat dogs or those other funny names people call us but atleast monkeys learn easily. They are smart, can adopt to a new environment well and they know how to have fun. And by the way, monkeys are not ugly.