Exploring the Filipino Psyche Day 14B:Little Things Pinoys Do

This is the English version of my entry. Content will not be translated in verbatim, but the examples will be the same. In this entry, I will write about the little things Pinoys do,  those little things which  we may have overlooked and hardly noticed since it is part already of the Filipino culture, and Filipino life. With the help of good friends and family, a stand up comedian based in the United States and a very keen observer--Rex Navarrete--plus that famous writer who outsold the Harry Potter books and Twilight Saga--Mr. Bob Ong, I was able to gather a few things that makes us...us.

The first I shall write about are the towelettes flattened on the back of the little children. And as they play with their friends and cousins 'chase' and 'hide-and-seek', you will see this little towel sticking out from behind the child's neck, like a cape of a super hero. It always seemed to me that they were like super kids, trying to hide their real identities by putting a shirt over their capes. This way, our little super heroes will be able to experience a normal and regular life with us mortals. Their shirts were like Clark Kent's glasses, making them able to blend with us. But seriously, I thought of this, and I have two conclusions: 1.) There are moms who do not like sweat sticking on the shirts of their children, so they put a little towel on the back of the child so the sweat is absorbed there instead. 2.) A way to economize--by putting a towelette, the child does not need to keep on changing shirts. Thus, the family can save on laundry soap and of course water.

So now let us go to water. In the Philippines, brown-out is a regular thing. With all the typhoons and storms our country has in a year, electricity needs to be turned off often to prevent and avoid casualties to happen. And no electricity usually means no water because the water companies are unable to pump the water into homes. Thus, many households have their own tanks and of course...tabo  and timba. What are these two things: tabo  and  timba? First we go to timba, this is a plastic pail that usually comes in different colors. Most of these plastic pails are bought from 'Orocan', with the tagline Ang Plastik na Walastik! (Plastic that is Fantastic!).  And this is where we Filipinos store our water. Now one cannot have a timba  without its plastic scooper, the tabo. The tabo also comes in different colors. It has a long handle and the main part where the water is scooped is fairly deep. With the absence of the plastic tabo,  one can also replace this with a tin can.

Many homes have this famous duo, tabo  and timba, that when I asked a few if they had this, I got a resounding answer. "Of  course!" they said, looking at me as if I just asked them a stupid question. This duo is very common in dwellings of Pinoys that even my spiritual guru, when she told us a story about herself...hmmm.... I'll just call it taking a bath even if it wasn't a bathtub she used for washing herself, since I've never heard of someone taking a  timba  before. That will sound weird. Someone who has a shower shouts, "I'll take a shower first!" And someone who uses the bathtub would say, "I'll go take a bath!" So what do we Filipinos do then? "Wait for me. I want to take a  timba?"  Okay, since that has never been said before, let's stick to bath. So as my spiritual guru was telling us a story about  her, taking a bath, she suddenly made a movement  with her right hand. Her wrist folded her right hand inward, while her fingers formed in a fist, as if she was holding a tabo  in her hand. She then moved her hand up to the top of her head, twisted it, and poured. The English lady in our group wondered what she was doing, so she asked, "Oh. May I ask, what are you doing with your hand?" Our spiritual guru explained then the tabo  and timba, and that many homes in the Philippines have this duo.

So now I go to body language. Many Filipinos use body language to support a story or emphasize a certain situation that happened to them. Little movements or grand dance steps are made at times. A step back, a move from side to side, hands doing a somewhat Hawaiian flow, and many more. But one most common is an action that shows what mode for communication one used to contact someone else. For example, "Hay naku... I asked her awhile ago, 'Are you joining us?' " And while this person tells her story (both genders do body language, but I am using only one for this situation, only because it's easier), one may notice that maybe her one hand forms into a semi-fist while her thumb starts folding repeatedly, as if she were texting someone--that is if she used her mobile phone to communicate the message. Now if she starts typing or somewhat looks like she is playing the piano in the air, most likely she sent her message using the computer, I assume through 'Facebook'. And if she puts her hand beside her ear, forming a fist with the thumb up and her 'pinky' out, then she talked to that person on the phone. 

Now let us go to what Mr. Rex Navarrete, a Filipino who is a stand-up comedian in the U.S., has observed. In his 'Hella Pinoy' video, he demonstrated the culture that is what I would call 'pilitan', which means 'to force'. In the Filipino culture, when one visits another in his or her home, the owner of the home shall invite the guest to eat with them. "Kain tayo (Let's eat)!" he says. "Hindi, sige. Kumain na ako (No. It's okay. I ate already)." : The first refusal. "Sige na. Kain ka na (C'mon. Let's eat)." The owner of the home invites again. "Hindi, sige. Okay lang ako (No. It's okay. I'm okay).": The second refusal. "Sige na. Likha na. Kain ka na dito (C'mon. Come here. Let's eat)." Finally the owner of the home pulls the guest to the table, or puts down the cookies and juice for the guest to eat. On the third, or maybe fourth, the guest will finally eat.

I suddenly remember the story of my father when he went to an acquaintance's house with his friend. They went in and their acquaintance invited them to eat. " Tara, kain tayo  (Come. Let's eat)," he said. "Hindi, sige. Kumain na kami (No. It's okay. We ate already), " my father's friend said. So their acquaintance sat with them in his living room and they started to talk. When my father and his friend left, his friend whispered to his ear, "Hindi man lang tayo pinilit (He didn't even force us)." Maybe we can be a little shy, or maybe that is really how many of us see it--that the polite way is to refuse first before we say yes to the invitation. That's possible.

There are numerous little things that Pinoys do, or have. One would be putting leftover food in different ice cream containers. For some reason, even as a kid, I would always notice these containers to be from 'Magnolia', and that they were blue. Nowadays, I have also seen in different households the red 'Selecta' container with the flavor '3 in one ',  and Vhong Navarro on the cover. Mr. Rex Navarrete, in one of his shows, told the audience once that he was so happy when he saw so many ice cream containers in the freezer, but when he opened them, to his dismay, they were leftovers of adobo, menudo, giniling and the like, to be heated and eaten on another day. Another one would be putting plates over the food once the food is on the table. I guess this is done to protect the food from some wandering fly that may suddenly appear and join in. The next one would be making glasses out of the 'Lily's' or 'Ludy's ' peanut butter...well...glass. It is really a glass anyway. I think that was part of the marketing plan of 'Lily's' and 'Ludy's ', it is a 2 in 1 for us Filipinos. You get to eat peanut butter, and in the end you are left with a new glass--not bad. Bob Ong, the writer, said you are definitely a Filipino if you have seen toyo (soy sauce) rings on the table more than a few times in your life.

Now when it comes to many homes, since most Filipinos are Catholics, a lot of homes have altars with different Saints, the Virgin Mary and the Sto. Nino. The little things my friends and I have noticed  are the paintings or pictures on the walls of many Filipino homes. One would be a painting, a picture, or a mat of 'The Last Supper'.  Another  picture common in many homes, which would be in a frame, or with lights, or a painting on a mat, would be the horses, usually brown, running in the open field with their hair being blown by the wind. And the last one, which is usually on a mat hanging on the wall, is a picture of dogs playing billiards: one is smoking, the others watching, and a bulldog that is ready to hit the ball. One other photo I have noticed in different homes are the dogs playing poker, also in a mat hanging on the wall.

Finally, a thing we do that I really find cute is when we Filipinos do not want to bother others as we pass them. It seems like the last thing we want is to invade other people's space and/ or conversation. So for example two people are talking, and someone has to pass between them, the person passing will bend so low, hoping that he or she could be invisible enough so that the two friends will just continue with their exchange of stories. And as this person passes, a very soft "iksskss..." will be heard.  This means 'excuse me'.

 These are the little things many of us Filipinos do. There are still so much more that we do which are distinctly very Pinoy, distinctly our own. And as this journey continues, let us see what else is there, let us see what else is to be revealed, what else is ours, and what else do we share with the rest of the world. 

Till next time...


Here are links to Rex Navarrete's 'Hella Pinoy': 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABU9GTFEXos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzkePde9MpY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoPNsS1EiFo

Exploring the Filipino Psyche Day 14A: "Ang Araw-araw na Ugaling Pinoy"

Parang napupusuan ko nanamang magsulat sa wikang Filipino. Pero sige, para sa mga mas mahilig magbasa ng Ingles, gagawa ako ng 2 bersyon ng entry na ito. Malamang may kaunting kaibahan ang pagkuwento at bagsak ng pananalita ko dito. Ito siguro ay sa kadahilanan na iba ang takbo ng utak ko kapag ang aking pagsasalaysay as sa Filipino, at iba rin ang bagsak kapag Ingles naman ang gamit ko. Sige, umpisahan na natin 'to. 


Ngayon naman ay titingin tayo sa araw-araw na pag-obserba sa maliliit na bagay na kasama sa ugaling Pinoy. Sa aking paglalalakbay sa mga daan ng ating bayan, may mga bagay-bagay na tila hindi na siguro natin masyado nabibigyang pansin. Malamang kasama na itong mga ito sa pagiging isang Filipino. Sa tulong ng pagpupuna ng sikat na komedyante sa Amerika na si Rex Navarrete, ang manunulat na si Bob Ong, aking pamilya, at ang mga matalik kong kaibigan na mahilig din tumingin tingin sa paligid natin at mag-obserba ng mga araw-araw na gawain ng ating kapwa Filipino, itong entry na ito ay nabuo.


Una nating papansinin ay ang mga bata. Hindi ko alam kung karamihan  din ng bata na taga ibang bansa  ay tumatakbo na para bang may kapa na nakatago sa loob ng mga t-shirt nila. Alam natin kapag batang Pinoy ang musmos na nagtatatakbo kapag may nakita tayong sumisilip na twalya sa kanilang mga likod, na para ba silang maliliit na super heroes at tinatago lamang sa mga kalaro nila na sila pala ay may powers.

Naiintindihan ko ang tuwalya na pang huli ng pawis sa mga likod ng batang nakikipaghabulan sa kanilang mga kalaro. Nasanay yata tayo maging preparado sa mga araw na brown-out at walang tubig, kung kaya't ang papalit-palit pa ng t-shirt ay makakadagdag ng labada na pwede naman sana'y iwasan kung lagyan nalang lamang ng tuwalya sa likod ng bata. Parang magaling yata ang Pinoy mag-isip ng paraan kung papaano makakatipid, pati maliit na bagay tulad nito ay naisip pa para lamang hindi mag-aaksaya ng tubig at sabon panlaba.

Mapunta naman tayo sa mga araw na walang ilaw, at madalas na pag walang ilaw o kuryente ay wala ring tubig.  At dahil dito, handa ang Pinoy sa mga araw na ito--ang ating armas: tabo at timba. Nagtanong ako sa hindi naman maraming Pinoy, kung mayroon nga ba silang tabo at timba sa kanilang mga tahanan, apartment, o condo unit. Ang maraming sagot na aking na pulot ay matunog na "Siyempre!" May kasama pang kunot ng noo yung iba na para bang nagsasabing, "Ano bang klaseng tanong yan?!" Tama nga naman, pagkat pag dumalo tayo sa iba't ibang bahay, nagtataka tayo kapag walang tabo at timba tayong nakikita sa banyo ng ating kakilala. Pati na rin ang aking spiritual guru  ay mayroon nito sa bahay nila. Naalala ko bigla nuong siya ay nagkukuwento sa amin ng isang beses tunkol sa pagligo niya. Habang nagkukuwento siya ay umaksyon siya na para bang sumasandok ng tubig sa timba gamit ang tabo at ibinuhos sa ulo. "So while I was washing up..."  ang sabi niya. Napatingin sa kanya ang aming kasama na Inglatera at napatanong," Oh. May I ask, what are you doing with your hand?" Nagtaka kasi siya sa aksyon na ginawa ng aming guru. At duon ineksplika ng aming guru na dito sa Pilipinas ay mahirap ang tubig, lalo na kapag brown-out, kung kaya't mayroong tabo at timba ang maraming tahanan dito. 

At dito pupunta tayo sa susunod na kapuna-puna, ang paggamit ng aksyon kapag tayo ay nagkukuwento sa isa't isa. Mayroon tayo kung tawagin sa Ingles na body language, at ito ay ginagamit kapag nagkukuwento sa iba. Minsan ito ay lumalabas na mukhang parang sayaw, kung minsan naman ay konting galaw lang naman ang ating isinasagawa. Madalas tayo gumamit ng aksyon sa pagkuwento na bilang  pamamaraan sa pagusporta ng ating ini-istorya.  Halimbawa, "Hay naku. Tinanong ko nga kanina eh... 'Are you joining us?'" At sa pagkuwento, kapansin pansin ang mga kamay na biglang gagalaw na lamang kapag binigkas na niya ang kanyang naitanong na 'Are you joinining us?'  sa kaibigan. Sa kanyang mga galaw, maipapakita niya kung papaano niya naitanong ito. Kung siya ay nag-text para tanungin ang tanong niya, ang isang kamay ay kukulobot at huhugis na parang isang kamao habang ang kanyang hinlalaki ay pumipindot sa ere. Kung ito naman ay siguro tinanong niya gamit ang kompyuter, sa panahon ngayon malamang naitonong niya sa 'Facebook',  ang mga daliri ng pareho niyang kamay ay magmumukhang nag pa-piyano sa ere. Ganun din kung telepono ang gamit ng isang tao, ang hinlilit ay tatapat sa bibig, habang ang hinlalaki ay nasa may tainga. 

Ngayon punta naman tayo sa mga napuna ng komedyante na si Rex Navarrete. Isa sa kanyang napuna ay ang 'pilitan'.  Ito ay ginagawa kapag bumisita ang isang Pinoy sa tahanan ng iba.  Nakasanayan natin na kapag tayo ay pumunta sa bahay ng iba, at ang maybahay ay nagyaya sa atin na kumain kasama nila, o 'di kaya'y nag-yaya ng biskwit at juice, hindi dapat tayo umo-oo agad agad. "Hindi, sige. Okay lang ako," ang ating unang sagot sa unang yaya ng maybahay." "Sige na, kumain ka na. Likha..." ang yaya naman ulit ng may-ari ng tahanan. "Hindi, sige lang. Kain lang kayo," ang pangalawang sagot natin.  "Hindi, likha na. Maupo ka dito," ang pilit ng maybahay, sabay hila na sa atin at papa-upuin sa may lamesa kasama ang kanilang buong pamilya. Sa panahon na ito, kakain na rin tayo.

Naalala ko bigla ang kwento ng tatay ko tunkol sa kanyang kaibigan na kasama niya papunta sa kanilang kakilala. Pagpasok sa bahay ng kanilang kakilala, nagyaya ito na kumain ang tatay ko at ang kaniyang kaibigan, na kasama niya at ang kaniyang pamilya. "Hindi, sige. Kumain na kami," ang sagot ng kaibigan ng tatay ko sa imbitasyon, kung kaya't naupo sila sa sala at nagkwentuhan na lamang dito. Pag-alis nila, biglang nagbulong ang kaibigan ng tatay ko sa kaniya, "Hindi man lang tayo pinilit," ang reklamo niya. Naghanap pala siya ng kaunting tulak bago sumagot ng 'oo' . Mukhang nasa ugali nga siguro natin ang may kaunting papilit-pilit muna bago pumayag sa isang imbitasyong kumain, o sa kaunting pakain na biskwit at juice. 

Marami pang maliliit na bagay na kasama sa araw-araw ng pagiging isang Pinoy. Isa na rito ang paggamit ng lalagyan ng ice cream, madalas 'Magnolia' na kulay blue ito, para maitago muli ang mga adobo, menudo, o 'di kaya'y giniling na hindi naubos kahapon, o nuong isang araw pa, at dito na lamang itatago bago initin ulit (puna ni Rex Navarrete). Pagnakahain naman ang ulam at wala pang dumadating para kumain, tatakpan muna natin ang lahat ng ulam at kanin ng mga nakataob na plato. Siguro ito ay ginagawa dahil baka may pumuslit at pumasok sa bahay na isang langaw, kung kaya't preparado na ang ulam na nakaprotekta laban sa kanila.  May mga bahay naman na ginawang baso ang mga dating lalagyan ng peanut butter  na may tatak na "Lily's", at pagkatapos kumain, ayon kay Bob Ong, Pilipino ka nga kung kahit minsan sa buhay mo ay nakakita ka na ng toyo 'rings' sa lamesa. Ngayon naman, pagdating naman sa maraming tahanan dito sa Pilipinas, marami tayong makikita na nakasabit sa dingding na  pintura ng 'Last Supper',  mga kabayong tumatakbo, o 'di kaya'y mga asong nagbibilyar (puna naming magkakaibigan habang nagkwekwentuhan). At dahil marami sa atin ay Katoliko, maraming tahanan ang may altar at Sto. Nino.  

Ang isang bagay na ikinatutuwa ko rin ay ang paggalang natin sa espasyo ng ating kapwa. Ayaw nating makaistorbo sa iba kung kaya't pag tayo ay dumadaan sa gitna ng dalawang tao na nag-uusap, para tayong nanliliit sa kuba dahil sa pagbaluktot ng katawan pagtayo'y dadaan. At ito rin ay hahaluan ng, "iksskss..." na ang ibig sabihin ay 'excuse me'.  


Katuwa-tuwa nga naman ilakbay ang iba't ibang estilo at pamamaraan ng mga Pilipino. Kung iisa-isahin natin dito kung ano talaga tayo, eh baka abutin naman tayo ng siyam-siyam niyan. Siguro pakonti konti nating lakbayin at himayin ang ating kaugalian at tignan natin kung ano pa ang ating mapupuna sa susunod. 


Eh, 'di paano, ganun ganun nalang muna. Magkita tayo sa uulitin. 



Si Rex Navarrete ay isank sikat na stand-up comedian  na naka base sa Amerika: 

   Hella Pinoy 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABU9GTFEXos 

  Hella Pinoy 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzkePde9MpY

 Hella Pinoy 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoPNsS1EiFo 

Hella Pinoy 4:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz7lSHOwM-A 

Hella Pinoy 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhWhvGSU75g

Hella Pinoy 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXDgsQk5RPc&feature=related 


Hella Pinoy 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H83s8aipkKE&feature=related


Hella Pinoy 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf9QFjHQ9kY
 

A Break from the Explore: 'This is for My Countrymen'

I was writing my next entry for my exploration, which I have begun the other day, and for the past few days I was excited to sit down and write more. I was even delighted making the two shifts from Filipino to English for the two entries on one topic. But as I sat today and tried to continue, I couldn’t. The turn of events in the recent past has bothered me. Death is never an easy thing, and just the other day, February 8, 2011, a former Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Mr. Angelo Reyes, killed himself. No, I am not related to this man nor is he a friend. Yes, I have seen him a few times in rallies and in different affairs. But I do not know him, and yet his death hit me. And I know it hit many of us, if not all of us, Filipinos. For in his death, two tragic ends happened: an end to a man’s life, and an end to the shedding of some light that could have helped us know more about the truth, that could have helped us more get to the end of this…corruption.   

I am an idealist. I always have been, and I think will die as one. I belong to a family who never withheld the truth from us. And as a child, the stories told to me of life were no Roberto Benigni’s ‘Life is Beautiful’ or  Will Smith’s ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ version of the real one, they were never sugar-coated. They were always the harsh truth of what was really happening to our people: the deaths, the political killings, the oppression, and the corruption.  Although I had my fairy tales with me, I did go through the beauty of good stories, but I was also told the not so good ones. The sad part was that the not so good ones that were not of rainbows and butterflies were the true stories. Happy stories? Yes, there were lots. But the sad ones were numerous, too.

I was a silent child. And in my silence I think there were family members, and also classmates in school, who perceived me as someone who did not care much, or maybe even did not know much. I only did open my mouth to crack a joke, because that was when they listened. But when it was my serious side, I stuttered. So I had my imaginary friend, a maroon giraffe, who knew me well. And this may be the reason why I began to write. I had to let it be known somehow. How I truly felt. How maybe I did care. And how I wondered why a child like me rode a car, there were comforts; and how another child like me sat on his mother’s lap in a jeepney. Stories of the government and corruption were big stories, and I could not grasp them whole as to why those stories led to people sleeping in the streets, or inequality of comforts.

But as I got older, I understood more.  As a child, I would look out the window of the car I rode in and gathered stories and wonders on ‘why’.  As I looked out that window one day, I saw an old man that up to this day I remember. The hair on his head was all gray. He had a long beard and a mustache. He sat at the foot of a hotel—shirtless, dirty, and hungry. His ribs protruded and he was holding his tummy as he swayed back and forth. I was 10, if I am not mistaken, when I saw him, yet the image of him is still very clear to me. The whole scene of that moment never grew vague: The lavish façade of this hotel, with waterfalls that seemed to fall on this man who had nothing, not even decent clothes to wear.  The hotel was his backdrop. Its luxury seemed to overflow with such beauty, and yet in front of it was this man. A man trying to remove his desire for food by embracing his tummy, and maybe hoping that this might soothe him, even at least a little. But it did not seem like it. His face did not express it. His face expressed pain. And that was when I realized the irony, the wide disparity. I sat in the car thinking…why? And that’s when I understood a little more about corruption.

Fast forward to now, we have lost a soldier, and the country grieves this loss. We mourn, and we are shocked. But as we pray for his soul to find peace, let us not forget our other soldiers who have protected us and served us. Right now is the time that we protect them back. Right now is the time that they need us to fight for them. Right now is the time we pursue eroding those filthy hands that dipped their fingers and stole from our soldiers, leaving them in debt, in hardship, and plainly leaving them alone—unappreciated and uncared for.

We have fought this battle against corruption so many times and I wonder when flowers shall bloom and spread massively again. We are a happy race, but this is one problem we need to topple. It is not an easy task, but we have people, fellow Filipinos, who should also be given a chance to a better life. I am hoping that it will not be my whole life that our people shall fight for their right to comforts. I am hoping it will not be my whole life that our people will seek their share of convenience, of simply having a bed to sleep on, having a humble abode to call their own, having a life that they may call worth living.

The fight continues…


 'Bayan Ko' is like the 2nd national anthem of the Philippines. This song has been sung by the Filipino people in historical moments of the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd-2lWx52R8