5. Just like a mangoes and rice can only thrive in
its bio-region, a Filipino must know the soul of
his land that he may use his inner will for it.
Every race contributes to the bio-diversity of
the human spirit. Our universal goal is to be
ourselves! To know ourselves is to be free, for
the universal spirit is free.
6. MANNERISM
PERSONALITY
VOCABULARY
HOME FURNISHINGS
CLOTHING AND APPEARANCE
FAMILY & FRIENDS
AUTOMOBILES & DRIVING
FOOD
7. • You put your foot up on your chair and rest your
elbows on your knees while you eat
• You smile for no reason
• Your perfectly comfortable in a squatting position with
your elbows resting on your knees
• You put your arm on the other person's shoulder if he
or she is a close friend of yours
You draw a rectangle in the air when asking
for the bill
8. • You eat with your hand and have it down as a technique
• You play pusoy, tong hits or mahjong.
• You add an unwarranted 'H' to your name: Jhun, Bhoy,
Rhon
• You put your hands together in front of you as if to
make a path and say "Excuse, Excuse" when you pass in
between people or in front of the TV
• You always offer food to your visitors
• You use laundry detergent to wash your dishes
• You use print rags from an imported fashion magazine
as cover of your textbooks and notebooks
9. • You ask for 'Colgate' instead of toothpaste
• You say 'Ha?' instead of 'what?‘
• You say 'Hoy!' to get someone's attention
• You say 'Cutex' instead of nail polish
• You make acronyms for phrases: 'OA' =
overacting
• You start with 'actually' when you're trying
to explain
• Ano' and 'di ba' regularly slip out during
conversations
• You try hard to speak English and when
you don't know what to say next, you say
'you know
• You change your accent according to the
person you're talking to
10. • You use 'walis tambo' and 'walis ting-ting'
as opposed to a conventional broom
• You own a piano that no one ever plays
• You have a portrait of the Last Supper
hanging on your dining room wall
• Your house is cluttered with 'burloloys'
• You have a Santo Nino shrine in your living
room
• You have 'parol' displayed during the
holidays
• You have a giant wooden spoon and fork
hanging in your dining room
11. • There's Johnson's Baby Powder compacts
lurking in your makeup drawer
• You have several pairs of 'tsinelas' at your
doorstep
• You find dried-up morsels or rice stuck to your
shirt
• You hang your clothes out to dry
• You use an umbrella for a shade on hot
summer days
• You play basketball in you chinellas (slippers)
12. • Your car chirps like a bird or
plays a tune in reverse
• You have a rosary on your
car rear view mirror
• Your car horn can make
three or more different
sounds
• You have those air
fresheners in a bottle
• You insist on fitting 8 people
into a taxi
13. • You were raised believing every Filipino was
an aunt and uncle
• Your parents call each other mommy and
daddy
• You have a dog named whitie, blackie or
bantay
• Your parents call each other 'Mahal' and they
call you 'Anak' or by your wonderful Filipino
nickname you've had all your life (Jang, Cici,
Meng, Choy-Choy, etc) ....and you KNOW
they're mad at each other or at you when
they use actual names
14. • You order breakfast items like tapsilog,
longsilog, or tocilog at restaurants
• You always grab a toothpick after each meal
• You dip bread in your morning coffee
• Your 'baon' is usually something over rice
• You wash and re-use plastic utensils and
styrofoam cups
• You think half-hatched duck eggs (balut) are
a delicacy
• You have an ice shaver for making 'halo-halo'
15.
16. • You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully, so
you can save and reuse the wrapping (and
especially those bows) next year.
• You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin
containers.
• You use grocery bags to hold garbage.
• You always leave your shoes at the door.
• You twirl your pen around your fingers.
You hate to waste food.
17. • Most Filipino women / young
women own a LOT of
shoes! They will also never wear
more than half of them again
• Cokes are reserved for visitors to
your house.
• Your mother / grandmother's
most precious item is her sewing
machine.
19. I have come to realize
that defining the
Filipino is up to the
Filipino himself.
Perhaps, it's time for
us to start identifying
those traits that make
us Filipino.
20. I am Filipino. I use a "kabo" or
"tabo" when bathing because, if you
really think about it, it saves more
water. I dip my bread in juice
because it tastes good. I cut up my
spaghetti because it's easier to eat it
that way. I use my mouth to point
at something because I believe it is
rude to point with one's finger. I am
a Filipino because my hero is Jose
Rizal. I am a Filipino because I
respect my elders and will never
feel comfortable calling them by
their first names. I am a Filipino
because the bravery of Melchora
Aquino and Gabriela Silang runs
trough my veins. I am a Filipino
because Ninoy Aquino said I was
worth dying for.
21. Traits, personality and behavior we
have only show that we have a
wonderful culture that make us
unique and shows that we Filipino
proved that through this tradition
and traits we can make a big
difference not only in our life but
in the whole world as well.
22. I am a Filipino not because I was
destined to be one but because I am
proud of being one!
-Antonette Rocel Delleva-
