When the three of us first set out to write this blog, we were all going through different phases of understanding our Filipina-ness. I had just returned from a long trip abroad living 10 months in Taiwan, with a short pilgrimage in the Philippines to visit my parents' home villages. For almost three decades, I considered myself an American. The trip to Ilocos Sur and the subsequent reunion with my uncle and his family made me realize how "American" I was and how Filipinos viewed me as not truly one of them. This peaked my interest in identity and reconciling my strong ties to my home in the U.S. and my growing interest in my cultural heritage.
Issues of identity were fresh on my mind back in 2010. I spent a year in a doctoral program breaking apart Japanese Issei and Nisei identity in California and their views of being American during World War II. My time in Taiwan exposed me to Taiwanese views of being Taiwanese as opposed to being Chinese. My return to California further peaked my curiosity on how my many first/second generation Filipino friends and family reconciled the expectations of their parents and grandparents, with their comfortable lifestyles in the United States.
It would seem only natural that Bev, Grace-Sonia, and I would begin writing about our different views on our cultural roots.
My interest in identity, particularly duality, was renewed by the birth of my son. Culturally and ethnically Mexipino (Mexican-Filipino), he is decidedly very American. In a century where bi-racial coupling is commonplace, more and more children will grow up asking more complex questions than the ones we three bebots will ever pose.
Will I be able to teach enough Filipino culture to my son to understand some of my customs and superstitions? Will he learn both Ilocano and Spanish as his home languages? Better yet, will he even care?
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