10 Reasons Why I Love Being Filipino

By Maxine Perez

1. Good food

 

There is no Filipino that doesn't like Filipino food. More often than not, it’s their favorite type of food. If you haven’t tried it, you should. I guarantee you, you wont regret it. Filipino food is one of a kind. Different. You may find some of them weird, but they do taste good. Have you tried Balut? Try it. Have you tried Isaw? Try it. Is there Halo-halo in other countries? Buko Pandan? Maiz con Hielo? Turon? Try them and you’ll never get enough.

2. Happy people

 

Filipinos, in general, are genuinely happy people. Even in hard times, they still manage to smile. Look at the people in poverty, they still smile. When there is a calamity, such as a strong typhoon, they still smile. Especially when there’s a camera for the news, they try to sneak up behind the newscaster, wave, and smile. After all, they are gonna be shown on TV.

3. Our hospitality

Guests are a priority. If you go to a Filipino family’s house, they will serve you the best they can. They’ll give you a nice guest room to stay in, good food to eat, and overall just a nice time. Even with foreign celebrities, we do our best to make them happy and feel loved by our country. It is our duty to make you feel at home.

4. The greetings when we see kababayans in another country.

It’s nice to go on a vacation in another country. But what’s nicer is when you see fellow Filipinos there too. When they see them, they would always do small talk. Always. They’d ask where they’re from in the Philippines, until when they’re staying, what hotel they’re staying in, and sometimes even invite the other for a meal.

5. Way of respect

 

We don’t just do the regular way of respect such as “please”,”thank you”, and the like. We have “po” and “opo” for extra respect, “mano po” for a blessing, and for greeting, we have cheek kissing or the so-called “beso-beso”. I personally find this really nice and unique, as we are probably the only ones who practice this.

6. Our teamwork

 

Lots of calamities strike our country. These times bring out the teamwork and unity as a nation. We donate, we pack relief goods, organize projects, and many more. Even little actions such as giving stuffed toys to kids or just making them happy would really mean a lot. We would do anything just to help or lessen the worries of our fellow Filipinos.

7. Our sense of humor/inside jokes

                                                

There are really just some jokes that only Filipinos can understand. Maybe it’s because it wont be funny anymore if you translate it to English or another language. Or maybe it’s because there are certain things that only Filipinos can relate to which enable us to understand these jokes. We also have Filipino versions of songs, such as Royals by Lorde, Party in the USA(changed to Party in Manila Bay for humor’s sake) by Miley Cyrus and many more, which people sometimes change up to have a touch of Filipino humor in them. We even have Filipino versions of books, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green being one of them. I don’t know why, but in my opinion, Filipino jokes are funnier than the ones in English.

8. Celebrations

We love to celebrate. From a big promotion to even a little achievement, there has to be a celebration. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Birthdays, and many more. I think we just really love to make the person feel special or to make people happy. The presence of our loved ones just really gives us joy.

9. Little typical things we do

 
 

             

Admit it. When you were a kid, once you hear someone shouting “tahoooo” outside, you stop doing whatever you’re doing and rush to find coins for you to buy taho.

This might not be applicable to all, but we sometimes tend to go to the mall just to get cool and beat the heat. You can also turn on your air conditioning units at home, but that would cost a few extra bucks for electricity. Going to the mall would mean you need gas, so I kind of don’t get why we can’t just stay home. Nothing against going to the mall, though.

Whenever we go shopping in a tiangge or the like, we always have to bargain. From even just a 20 peso discount to a hundred peso discount, we still try to bargain with the seller.

All offensiveness aside, they say that if you want to spot a Filipino in another country, look for the ones who keep taking pictures. I think it’s because we just like the memories held in pictures. I don’t know about you, but I like how it’s a need to take pictures and how we love to take them.

You smiled while reading these, am I right? (well, at least I hope so.)

10. “Pinoy Pride”

                                                                  

I am proud to be a Filipino. And along with many others as well. Why wouldn't we be? Don’t you just feel great when you find out that someone of the Filipino blood has made it to the big leagues? People like Bruno Mars, Lea Salonga, Vanessa Hudgens, Enrique Iglesias, Rob Schneider, Darren Criss, Charice Pempengco and Manny Pacquiao. Sound familiar? They’re all part Filipino, if not full. There are so much more Filipinos who have rode the path to success. Too much to mention, though.

While writing this, I seemed to have felt more proud to be a Filipino than ever. I would never ever want to be of any other identity.