I've always been sure about who and what I am. First, a female. Next, a Filipino. It's often said that our culture defines what we are. How we see ourselves is more likely how other people will see us. We're a sunny kind of people. We laugh at hard times and we smile in spite of everything. The typical Filipino is more likely to take an optimistic view of things, even if things are really bad. One of our better traits is our ability to laugh at ourselves. We'd laugh even if it's ourselves we're laughing at.
Though we're a very mixed race, everything we do is distinctly Filipino. Our identity almost always shows wherever we are. Here are some of the things which can determine a true Filipino:
1. You point with your lips.
2. You eat using hands and you have it down to a technique.
3. Your other piece of luggage is a “balikbayan” box.
4. You nod upwards to greet someone.
5. You put your foot up on your chair and rest your elbow on your knee while eating.
6. You think that half-hatched duck eggs are a delicacy.
7. You have to kiss your relative on the cheek as soon as you enter the room.
8. You're standing next eight big boxes at the airport.
9. You collect items from hotels or restaurants for “souvenirs".
10. You smile for no reason.
11. You flirt by having a foolish grin in your face while raising your eyebrows repeatedly.
12. You go to a department store and try to bargain the prices.
13. You use an umbrella for shade on hot summer days.
14. You scratch your head when you don't know the answer.
15. You never eat the last morsel of food on the table.
16. You like bowling.
17. You know how to play “pusoy” and “mah-jong”.
18. You find dried up morsels of rice stuck on your shirt.
19. You prefer to sit in the shade instead of basking in the sun.
20. You add an unwarranted "H" to your name, i.e. "Jhun," Bhoy," "Rhon."
21. You put 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.
22. Your middle name is your mother’s maiden name.
23. You like everything imported or "state-side."
24. You check the labels on clothes to see where it was made before buying.
25. You hang your clothes out to dry.
26. You are perfectly comfortable in a squatting position with your elbows resting on your knees.
27. You consistently arrive 30 minutes late for all events.
28. You always offer food to all your visitors.
29. You say "comfort room" instead of "bathroom."
30. You say "for take out" instead of "to go"
31. You say "open" or "close" the light.
32. You ask for a "pentel-pen" or a "ball-pen" instead of just "pen."
33. You ask for "Colgate" instead of "toothpaste."
34. You refer to the refrigerator as the "ref".
35. You say "kodakan" instead of take a picture.
36. You order a McDonald's instead of "hamburger".
37. You say "Ha" instead of "What."
38. You say "Hoy" to get someone’s attention.
39. You answer when someone yells "Hoy."
40. You turn around when someone says "Psst"
41. You say "Cutex" instead of "nail polish."
42. You say "he" when you mean "she" and vice versa.
43. You say "aray" instead of "ouch."
44. Your sneeze sounds like "ahh-ching" instead of "ahh-choo."
45. You prefer to make acronyms for phrases such as "OA: for over acting or "TNT" for, well, you know.
46. You say "air con" instead of "a/c" or air conditioner.
47. You say "brown-out" instead of "black-out."
48. You use a "walis ting-ting" or "walis tambo" as opposed to a conventional broom.
49. You use a "Weapons of Moroland" shield hanging in the living room wall.
50. You have a portrait of "The Last Supper" hanging in your dining room.
51. You own a karaoke system.
52. You own a piano that no one ever plays.
53. You have a “tabo” in the bathroom.
54. Your house has too many “burloloys”.
55. You have two to three pairs of sleepers at your doorstep.
56. Your house has an ornate wrought iron gate in front of it.
57. You have a rose garden.
58. You have a shrine of the "Santo Niño" in your living room.
59. You have a "barrel man" (you pull up the barrel and you see something that looks familiar. Schwing...)
60. You cover the living room furniture with bed sheets.
61. Your lamp shades still have the plastic cover on them.
62. You have plastic runners to cover the carpets in your house.
63. You refer to your VCR as a "betamax."
64. You have a rice dispenser.
65. You own a turbo broiler.
66. You own one of those fiber optic flower lamps.
67. You own a lamp with oil that drips down the strings.
68. You have a giant wooden fork and spoon hanging somewhere in the dining room.
69. You have a giant wooden “tinikling” dancer on the wall.
70. You have “capiz” shells chandeliers, lamps, or placemats.
71. You have a Mercedes Benz and you call it "chedeng."
72. You own a huge van conversion.
73. Your car chirps like a bird or plays a tune when it is in reverse.
74. Your car horn can make 2 or 3 different sounds.
75. Your car has curb feelers or curb detectors.
76. Your car has too many "burloloys" like Jeepneys back in P.I.
77. You hang a rosary on your car's rear view mirror.
78. You have an air freshener in your car.
79. You have aunts and uncles named "Baby," "Girlie," or "Boy."
80. You were raised to believe that every Filipino is a relative.
81. Your Dad was in the Navy.
82. Your mom or sister or wife is a nurse.
83. You have a family member or relative that works in the Post Office.
84. Your parents call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy" or "ma" and "pa."
85. You have family member that has a nickname that repeats itself, i.e."Deng-Deng," Ling-Ling" or "Bing-Bing"
86. You put hot dogs in your spaghetti.
87. You consider “dilis” the Filipino equivalent to French fries.
88. You think that eating chocolate rice pudding and dried fish is a great morning meal.
89. You order thing like “tapsilog”, “tosilog”, or “longsilog” at restaurants.
90. You instinctively grab a toothpick after each meal.
91. You order a "soft drink" instead of a "soda."
92. You dip bread in your morning coffee.
93. You refer to seasonings and all other forms of monosodium glutamate as "Ajinomoto."
94. Your cupboards are full of Spam, Vienna Sausage, Ligo, and Corned Beef, which you refer to as Carne Norte.
95. Goldilocks means more to you than just a character in a fairy tale.
96. You appreciate a fresh pot of rice.
97. You bring your "baon" most of the time to work.
98. Your "baon" is usually something over rice.
99. Your neighbors complain about the smell of “tuyo” on Sunday mornings.
100. You eat rice for breakfast.
101. You use your fingers to measure the water when cooking rice.
