Eight more days until I leave for the Philippines! I'm kinda nervous and excited all at the same time. It's my first time over there and I'm going to be meeting a bunch of family members that I've never seen before. A bunch meaning over 100. That's the thing about Filipino families, we're so huge we're like our own tribe or clan. Most of my mom's side is still in the Philippines, so that's who we're visiting. She's one of 15 children, and only five of them made their way to the United States. We're having a huge family reunion with most of her brothers and sisters and a bunch of their cousins from her mom's side.

I'm a little nervous because... well, for lots of reasons. I look like the typical Filipino, and lots of Filipinos come up to me speaking Tagalog and expecting me to answer back. I was born and raised in Southern California and was never taught and never bothered to learn Tagalog. But when I explain that, people always make me feel ashamed and say I should try to learn it. I guess that it's part of my cultural heritage, but I consider myself an American not a Filipino. At least culturally. I did try joining a Filipino dance troop to try and connect with my heritage, but I felt so out of place and uncomfortable among them, even more so than the half-white, half-Filipino girl that joined. Maybe it's just because they were such a tight knit group already. Or maybe it's just me projecting onto other people. Either way, I didn't connect with my culture that way. And I guess I'm a little nervous that it'll be the same situation when I go to the Philippines.

Another reason why I'm a little jittery is because I'm going to be forced to spend 2 weeks with my entire family, and I likely won't have very much time to myself. I'm can be a very social person, but there are certain members of my extended family that tend to irritate and annoy me. I can hardly stand to be around them for more than a few hours, let alone a day. Now I'll have to spend 2 weeks with them! Thankfully I'll have my husband there to keep me in line and prevent me from saying things that maybe should be said but could be said a little more tactfully. He's definitely the better half when it comes to decorum and civility. Also, one of my cousins over there stayed at my parents' house last summer and I got to know her pretty well, so she promised to show me around since I took her sightseeing around here. Maybe she'll give me a few opportunities to escape from all of the mayhem and madness, even if it's only for an hour or two. I think I overvalue my alone time, but I need it to recharge and cool off.

Oh well, we'll see... only 8 more days 'til the flight leaves.

 

 

 

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AAAh so the trip to meet the family is coming up eh, well as long as they don't force you to eat a lot of belut then you should be fine , unless they tie you down and force it down . I would worry to much about the annoying family memembers you be to busy learning Tagalog to keep up with the rest of the family . Enjoy your trip and stuff, lots of photos and maybe a filipino bride or two for me .

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Heh i know you will do fine plus when you get there they will probably be a great bunch of people so i say theres nothing to worry about and have a great trip over there its a great oppurtunity perhaps a once in a life time.

Kind regards, Jordan.

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Tiki,

Make a Daily schedule that includes a walk-around-town as a time for your 'alone-ness'...
Very unlikely that the rest of the Family will want to travel around with you.

Enjoy yourself, take loads of pictures and come back and tell us all about it... and most importantly, have some fun.



p.s.: say hi! to MB and serverph for us...

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I can understand why you're nervous about meeting so many new family members but I'm sure it will all be just fine.

You're going to have lots of fun and you'll have an adventure in a lovely and beautiful setting and you'll get to make lots of new friends!

Take lots of pictures so you'll be able to share your memories with your family at home when you get back.

The main thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy yourself.

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Oh, you will do FINE!!!
It sounds like a great and wonderful adventure to me, (remember, I seldom ever get out of my county, let alone COUNTRY!)
With all the new things to see just make sure you spend lots of time site seeing. And with over 100 relatives there, it should be pretty easy to avoid the ones you don't like and in the meantime get aquainted with those you don't know yet.
Have fun!

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Thanks for all the supportive comments. Only a few days left, and I'm still not packed! I'm bringing along a sudoku book, my Nintendo DS, and I'll pick up a new book to read tomorrow for the 16 hour plane ride (having already devoured Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy). Luckily, I'm short enough that the seats aren't uncomfortable for me. I'm also putting my Learn Tagalog CDs on my MP3 player, although I'd much rather have music. I wish I could just stick a bunch of songs on my little flash drive and stick it into my MP3 player, but mine is rather outdated and I don't think technology has advanced quite that far yet.

See ya when I get back!

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Well, I Hope you will have a wonderful time, and come back feeling re-energized:)
Family members are the best for recharging your batteries when you feel drained, which you have been lately:)

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