Kailan kaya ?

Philippine inquiry opens as 800 believed dead in Ferry disaster

That's an uncommon headline but it breaks my heart that it never fail to happen every year. Lagi na lang may aksidenteng ganyan. Kelan kaya tayo matututo ?

Filipino Connection

Blessings come in many forms but most of the time, we are blind to see it...

In this world of Spam and junk mails, it is easy to dismiss email messages that you have no business with whatsoever. So I, like any normal email account holders, go to a deletion spree at any given time. But then there's that occasional instances wherein I would actually spare a few emails here and there, just to check and ponder on for a while until I decide to vanish it forever.

So, this past few weeks, I started getting this email from info9@mygringos.com . I'm like, whaattt ?? Gringo Honasan is spamming now too! (yeah funny!) - turned out, it is a filipino website which was useful for me ! Don't know how they got my email info but I'm Ok with it now.

Since I started this blog about my "Filipino-ness", I needed connection like theirs to keep up with my fellow kababayans' events and such. Blessing in a disguise indeed! So come check it out : FilAm nation (only downside is that all the event is in California) (sob). "wish I live in California"...

Scroll down the bottom of the page to see Gary V. in concert in Cali .

My Filipino-ness

Sometimes I wish I live in California - or Cali, if you wanna call it the hip way. Why ? well, it is a haven for Filipinos. And here's a proof that verify that: Asian Explosion . The figure is just astounding but I'm not surprised since Cali is the closest US state to the Philippines, globally speaking. I have lived in NC for about 5 years now and meeting or even seeing Filipinos in this area is a miracle! Ewan ko ba, mukhang di yata kaya ng powers ng aking kapwa pilipino ang tumira dito. Dahil kaya sa malamig dito ? My mom lives in Cali (thrives in the warm (or hot) weather in the west ) and visited me this year during Spring. As you guessed, her body did not totally appreciate the cooler weather here down east. Nagkasakit si Lola. Wawa! but she recovered and is now back to her home sweet home enjoying the warm weather of the west coast again ( hindi ko sya makumbinsi tumira dito ever! )

Charlotte only have .7% Filipinos in the entire population. Which is why most of the time, I feel like a filipino from a lonely planet (hikbi). But somehow luck was in my favor since the past 2 weeks. Lo and behold! Filipino presence has flocked into my domain- not this domain- I mean at work ! (",) But hey, I would be so flattered if I do get Filipinos to drop by my site and actually say Hi !

So anyway, I was pretty ecstatic including people who know me at work. Like I said, Filipino encounters are very rare and you just learn to appreciate it when they do come along. I met Mimi, a filipina doctor married to an american, who lives in Fort Mill SC and currently enrolled in TaiChi . Then there's the Filipino teenager, Kenneth who was born in Mindanao and was adopted by her american parents when he was 9 months old. His mom is just so hungry to connect to his heritage that she was so happy to meet me (so do I ). He now takes Shaolin. Good for him! Then just today, I got a phone call from someone whose adoptive father is a filipino who lives just outside of Charlotte's City limits. Talk about encounters! I do hope to meet more. The only filipino friend I have unfortunately is not even as fluent with her native language anymore and has sort of lost touch with her "Filipino-ness". In her defense, she's almost old enough to be my mom and have lived here like forever! My daughter adores her, she's a filipino and that's all that matters!

Kumusta na mga kababayan ko ?

Originally posted in Zenventures of a working mom

Asian Explosion

Some interesting facts about Asians and Filipinos by the US Census Bureau. We're definitely taking over the US ! Read on and be amazed...


Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2008
By the U.S. Census Bureau

Asians

14.9 millionThe estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2006 who said they were Asian alone or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised about 5 percent of the total population. Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

5 millionThe Asian population in California, the state that had the largest Asian population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) on July 1, 2006, as well as the largest numerical increase from 2005 to 2006 (114,000). New York (1.4 million) and Texas (882,000) followed in population. Texas (43,000) and New York (34,000) followed in numerical increase. In Hawaii, Asians made up the highest proportion of the total population (56 percent), with California (14 percent) and New Jersey and Washington (8 percent each) next. Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

3.6 millionNumber of Asians of Chinese descent in the U.S. Chinese-Americans are the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (2.9 million), Asian Indians (2.7 million), Vietnamese (1.6 million), Koreans (1.5 million) and Japanese (1.2 million). These estimates represent the number of people who are either of a particular Asian group only or are of that group in combination with one or more other Asian groups or races. Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Languages

2.5 millionThe number of people 5 and older who speak Chinese at home. After Spanish, Chinese is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean are each spoken at home by more than 1 million people. Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

The Future

33.4 millionThe projected number of U.S. residents in 2050 who will identify themselves as single-race Asians. They would comprise 8 percent of the total population by that year. Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

213%The projected percentage increase between 2000 and 2050 in the population of people who identify themselves as single-race Asian. This compares with a 49 percent increase in the population as a whole over the same period of time. Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

DIG THIS !

Races in Charlotte:

• White Non-Hispanic (55.1%)
• Black (32.7%)
• Hispanic (7.4%)
• Other race (3.6%)
• Two or more races (1.7%)
• Asian Indian (0.9%)
• Vietnamese (0.8%)
• American Indian (0.7%)
• Other Asian (0.7%)
  

Only .7% ! No wonder I feel like I'm the only Filipino in this part of town!

And the Saga begins...

Ako ay Filipina ! Ako ay Kulay Kayumanggi...

Yes, I am a Filipina and I'm proud of my color! Brown and beautiful ... No matter what others say...I stand proud of who I am or where I am ! Our color makes us stand out in the midst of a crowd or even from a far...That is what makes us special.

But there is more to it... It is what we have made ourselves to be that spells who we truly are! Brown or no brown, culture or no culture. The essence of our own persona is all that matters in the end...

How have we all become, being transplanted away from our native lands and native ways ? How have we survived the test of time and temptation of becoming someone else to blend in with the new culture we have come to adapt to?

Do we still see ourselves as brown-skinned or trying to be fair-skinned - maging puti o kasing-puti tulad ng espasol ? Is that why, most of us try so hard to color our hair blonde ?! - parang mga maninisid sa dagat na nakula ang buhok sa init ng araw at ng alat ng tubig-dagat? - just so to look like caucasian !? -awwww gimme a break!
look at ourselves. We're no closer to looking like them. - That just remind me of a lyric in a song that was popular back then and now... "Ako ay Pilipino, ang ilong ko ay pango..." It is not to degrade but it is more to be aware of who we are and to be proud of it- which unfortunately not most of us do.

This blog intends to chronicle the ways, culture and lifestyle of Filipinos and Asians including all the race of color like us in America directly from the eyes of a Filipino herself...

The truth be told...