Just what is it that separates Filipinos from other Asians? Is it the way we point with our lips?
Is it how we like to repeat words twice—like turo-turo (point point)—or naming our beloved halo-halo (mix mix) dessert?
Is it our tendency to eat purple things? What eees eeeeet? (Or perhaps you can hear it in our ax-cent)
We present some telltale signs that you are, indeed, a Filipino at heart.
You believe rice is life
White, sticky rice is indeed a lifeblood for Filipinos. We like to eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And even for snacks—we use rice flour as an ingredient in many of our sweet desserts.
But hey, most Asians do eat rice.
The difference is that we have a long-standing, super-accurate, secret, er, even magical way of making sure the rice we cook in da rice cooker comes out perfect.
Yes, I’m talking about using your forefinger and middle finger to measure the right amount of H2O.
Call it water engineering or liquid voodoo, but rice comes out with just the perfect stickiness-to-the-finger ratio, no matter the size of the pot.
In case you eat with your hands, of course. Wait, Filipinos do eat with their hands.
You like Boodle Fights (It’s not what you think it is)
What’s a boodle fight, you say?
It’s eating food without utensils. On banana leaves. With lots of people sharing rice, fish, veggies, barbecued or fried foods all spread out on a table.
It’s competitive—like, what if someone else beats you to that last chicken adobo? Or that lone, yummy, spicy chili crab?
Sure, it’s a health hazard to be that intimate with your food and your table mates, but hey, it’s fun, and besides, we wear plastic gloves. Sometimes.
You like to take selfies. With hand signals.
Filipinos love to snap photos. A lot.
We don’t just stand there like a frozen popsicle. We sashay, we pose, we make hand signals to rival an airport ground crew.
We know our best angle. We’ve studied Insta celebrities with their back-to-the-camera poses, looking wistfully at an imaginary friend in the distance.
As for hand gestures, there’s the established, long-standing peace sign. There’s the borrowed-from-Hawaiians shaka gesture.
There’s the newer, younger, heart sign—which could, potentially, look the opposite of love when not done properly.
It’s made when you cross your index finger and your thumbs, making a tiny heart shape.
There’s also the Taylor-Swift hand-heart sign.
Our kids hate it when we make them pose beside every sculpture, every plant, every landmark of every city. “Smile, anak.”
But one day, they’ll thank us for these priceless memories.
We’re trying to compensate for the dark ages when we didn’t have selfie sticks or phones with timers, flip feature, or portrait mode.
You’re not afraid of a toilet paper mass extinction event
Why should you be afraid of TP shortages, when you have a tabo in your bathroom?
While everyone stocked up their carts with five packages of double-rolled Charmins, you laughed and wondered what the commotion was all about.
You see, you use a tabo for number one and two.
Just fill it with water and go.
Problem solved. A cleaner, eco-friendly, sustainable solution.
