Yesterday, I flew home from Toronto. At the Toronto airport, the person who checked my boarding pass as I boarded a shuttle bus to take me to my terminal asked me if I was Filipino. I responded, "Opo." He then proceeded to ask me, in Tagalog, if I was going home. Now coming from a Filipino, I interpreted "home" to be "going to the Philippines." I responded back, in English, that I was going to North Carolina. He said, you don't speak Tagalog? I said my box of Tagalog was very small, but that I understand it. He then asked me where my parents were from, so I responded (mum from Baliuag, dad from Mandaluyong). So with that, he said it was nice chatting, sige at ingat. I responded, "Paalam, po."
Filipinos are so cool. I love how friendly they are, especially when they recognise other Filipinos. I experience that in North Carolina as well. I meet a Filipino, and s/he will recognise me as one, so then a greeting will follow. It's really nice to feel a part of the Filipino diaspora. Home isn't so far away, after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment