00:00:02.920 - 00:00:21.540

So um…right, this is for the Houston Asian American Archive. And…so…you came to the U.S. in 1991?

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Yes, I did. Um so… and how old were you then, like seven? I was like four and a half. Oh. Yeah, I was pretty young.

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Alrighty. Um… and why did your family come to the U.S.? Uh for better life, um, for better job opportunities, better education for me, definitely. Um what were your parents’ jobs in the Philippines?

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Uh, my parents were uh, my father was a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, he was actually like a manager of a region. And, uh, he trained people there.

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So it was a fairly prestigious job. And for my mother, she was in charge of cargo. Um just, you know, all over the country. Okay. Um, and what about in,

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in the U.S., like what jobs did they – did they come over with jobs in mind, or...? Um, ideally they wanted to pick up the same jobs that they did, uh, while they had, that they had in the Philippines.

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Um, unfortunately it isn’t as easy when you first come over. So, we started off from scratch. And I think the first paid jobs that we had was like, uh, throwing newspapers, and doing, uh, waiting.

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Was that a big adjustment for your family? Yes. Compared to the life you had back in Philippines? It was huge. I remember there were times in the evenings where my, my grandmother would call my, my dad

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and just be like ‘Please come back home, you didn’t just – you didn’t go through college and get a master’s to go through all of this, just to be like waiting tables or be like throwing newspapers at 3 AM.’ Wow.

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So… Sarah’s the primary interviewer for this interview. Yeah. Okay, cool. Just FYI. Yeah. Supposedly, ish. Um, so, how did your family come to the U.S.?

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Like what, um, do you know anything about like the, the- what the logistics of that or…? We flew. It was very tiring for our arms, but – No, we just, uh, we came over and we had some family in El Paso already, um, my

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aunt is a nurse, and, so that’s- that’s usually what happens, for Filipinos, they go into nursing school and then they get, um, sent to the states to, to help out in hospitals.

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And my aunt just was in El Paso already. So, there was that, and also, my mother’s aunt and uncle had lived there for a while because of Fort Bliss, so, they were, they were- they were part of the U.S. Army, so.

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Okay. And had settled there with children already. Um, so- so I, I know with the, the nursing there was a general kind of economic strategy in the Philippines at the time of exporting workers.

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Were your parents, like, were their reasons for moving related to that at all, with- did they kind of see themselves as a part of that, or was it just… move to America to…? Um, well, when, when my mother was pregnant with me was around, like, the People’s Power Revolution.

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Mhm. So, I don’t know if you guys know about EDSA – the whole protest and whatnot in the streets. I was actually in my mother’s womb when they all went out into the streets and protested against Marcos. So, both my parents saw

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the tanks come in and the lines of nuns just kind of praying and putting uh flowers on the, on the guns and whatnot. So they grew up with, with that in mind um they didn’t want me to grow up like that, they didn’t want me to have to

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deal with another dictator. Um, and because my mother was in shipping, and cargo, she had seen a lot of, um, Marcos’s money pass through those same lines and she didn’t want to have to be part of that.

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Yeah. And, if she said anything, it was basically our lives. So, we’re like, we- we definitely wanted to move somewhere else where it was safer. Um…let’s see. And, so, you came over when you were pretty young.

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Um, what was, what was it like, growing up like, was your family in pretty close contact with other Filipino American families like your, your aunt’s family? Were you kind of– like did you still speak Tagalog like at home?

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Yes. Uh, within my family, yes, definitely. Um, the aunt and uncle that were already there, my mom’s aunt and uncle, they were very Westernized already, and so their kids didn’t speak as much Tagalog. Um, and the, the

00:05:13.380 - 00:05:24.610

children from them didn’t speak anything at all. Um, we knew a few Filipino nurses that I would, I would meet up with, but nobody my age who could speak Tagalog. It was just more

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comfortable for me…speak it at home. And, in school, uh, did anyone ever make you feel different because you were an immigrant? Absolutely. Absolutely.

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Could you, like, tell me more about that? Um, I think that it’s already difficult coming in as an immigrant into just anywhere in America and just assimilating, but my parents chose to go to a city that was like 95+ per cent Hispanic,

00:06:01.620 - 00:06:18.450

and so a lot of kids at that age had never met an Asian, and for a while I was like the um, like in high school I was the only Asian for a couple years until we got a foreign exchange student. So… uh, yeah, there’s, there’s, um… there

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was maybe like one other Filipino kid. But he was – but he was born here, and he was very much American. And I remember that there was preferential treatment with the teachers that I encountered, um, and specifically the ones

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that had served in the war, prior to, and so they had like a sort of bias against Asians or Filipinos, or. So… um, did like, did other kids make you, did they tease you, or did they

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just…I don’t know. I know kids are generally pretty mean – Kids can be cruel, yeah.

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It’s incredible what they can do. Um, yeah, they, they were pretty mean to me, there was a lot of alienation, and, uh, you know, little stuff, like weird things that I would bring to lunch, that I would

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think would be completely normal but it would smell funny to everybody else cause it’s ethnic. And everybody had like the Lunchables or something like that. Um, so, yeah, there was that factor. And also, I mean if

00:07:24.920 - 00:07:40.740

the teachers encouraged it then it would be okay for the students to do the same. Or, like in their minds. Um, and you mentioned that the other Filipino American kid at school had been born here, was kind of, was just

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more American or totally American. So, do you feel like being Filipina is still a really strong part of your identity? And do you identify with that more than with American, or do you identify

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strongly as a Filipina American, or like how is that? Um, I don’t… that’s a really good question because I’ve never really… picked one or the other. Like, I feel very strongly Filipino but I am very much American.

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You know. And there’s like a part of me that feels like I am, like, part Mexican because I grew up so close to the border. Yeah. Yeah. And… yeah, I… I – that’s the great thing about living here, you don’t have to be one or the other.

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Um, and, let’s… Getting back to your parents for a little bit, um, you say your grandmother called and asked them to come home, do they still feel that the Philippines is home and that, do you think they ever feel like they

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want to go back, or are they… how do they feel about living in America? It’s, it’s definitely changed over the past few years. Um, I know that my family back home would like to come here if it was possible, but I mean if they did then they would have to start all over

00:09:00.120 - 00:09:12.800

again, so that is an issue. But, um, on my mother’s side, most of my aunts and uncles have moved away. Um, so there’s, they’re in Dubai, they’re in Australia, the UK, or California or Canada.

00:09:13.480 - 00:09:26.770

You know? Yeah. And, as for that question, of whether or not we still feel like the Philippines is home, um, there’s a sort of nostalgia too, like a sentimentality.

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Like, we would like to go home but it’s really difficult to live there, um, it’s just there are not the same amenities, you know. Like, we went back home during the summer, the monsoon rains and whatnot, it, it was not pleasant.

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Yeah. Yeah. And I’m from Singapore, so I completely understand the monsoon. I thought Houston was bad, and we got back home, and like – Houston is nothing compared to the tropics, nothing. Um. So… let’s see.

00:09:58.260 - 00:10:14.330

Um do you, right now, have, do you feel you have close ties to like the Filipino American community, um, like do you, are you involved in any like, Filipino American community organizations, do you…

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Um, I, I was in like a Filipino American Association during college for a little bit, um, I know that my parents are part of the Filipino American community in El Paso and sometimes I participate in that, but I’m not currently

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active in those things. Um, no it’s just, there’s, I don’t want to be negative about it, but there—I get along a little better with people who are fresh off the boat rather than um the second generation

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immigrants. There seems to be— because a lot of them don’t, don’t carry on the customs anymore. Yeah. And… yeah. So, so carrying on the customs is important to you.

00:11:00.110 - 00:11:10.420

Well carrying on the customs and just the culture I guess, or even the language, you’ll find that a lot of Filipino Americans who move here, their, their kids will no longer speak Tagalog anymore because they strictly enforce, you

00:11:10.420 - 00:11:22.340

know, English. And it’s almost, like, bad for them to be speaking the native language because they haven’t assimilated yet. I don’t know if that makes sense. That’s really interesting, because from our studies and stuff we’ve found that actually a

00:11:22.340 - 00:11:35.570

lot of, um, yeah, as you say a lot of families restrict the native language, enforce English, and that kind of deculturalizes the family, but it’s interesting to see that you come from a family that wants to promote the culture—

00:11:35.630 - 00:11:51.040

Yes. —over adopting a newer culture. Yes. Um, and is your family still very much traditionally Filipino in that sense, today? A little bit, I mean, they, they pretty, they’re well-traveled so we have adopted a lot of different cultures, I mean

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like the religion, and the food and the style, the culture is definitely there, but, uh, like my parents lived in Italy for a little bit, my mom lived in Germany, and, we seem to have adopted a lot of those cultures as well. So as far as, um,

00:12:08.830 - 00:12:24.680

assimilating and becoming quote unquote ‘more Western’ that isn’t an interest for them. So if you ever have children, do you think you’ll teach them Tagalog? Absolutely. I think that’s awesome.

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Um, let’s see… um, and so you’re studying acupuncture and Oriental medicine? I am. Tell me, I- I don’t really know anything about that field. It sounds really cool.

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Thank you. So, like, tell me about it, what all do you do? Um, well, where do I start… In traditional Chinese medicine there’s the belief that there are meridians of chi within your body. I don’t know if you all are familiar with the concept of chi, but it’s

00:12:55.140 - 00:13:05.160

kind of like the essence of life, the energy that flows through everything. And so just like there are vessels of blood within you, there are also um pathways of chi.

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And so whenever those pathways become blocked, or, uh, where there’s chi that has stagnated, that manifests as like pain or disorders. And so ideally, um, the, the acupuncture should be able to harmonize those things, to put you back into balance.

00:13:21.990 - 00:13:39.500

So we use like acupuncture needles, herbs, in specific points body to open them up or move them around. Yeah. Yeah, I, I’ve done a lot of acupuncture because of my polo injuries. Oh. Yeah! Um and… they work, honestly I don’t know how, but it, it’s,

00:13:39.680 - 00:13:50.490

it works phenomenally. That’s really cool. Um, and I did a lot of it back in Asia, it’s actually a really big thing now in Asia, and it’s, it’s, you know a lot more people are moving towards Oriental medicine acupuncture techniques rather than

00:13:50.490 - 00:14:02.100

going the Western route. Yeah. Which again is interesting, I think on the West vs. East kind of, uh, dynamic and how the world is kind of shifting closer towards, you know, a lot more Asian practices and traditions.

00:14:02.100 - 00:14:17.260

Yeah. I think people are getting tired of just taking a pill for one thing, uh piling up on it, we get a lot of patients who have, you know, twelve different pills for twelve different disorders, where you can just come into an acupuncturist’s office and – or, clinic, rather – and we can

00:14:17.260 - 00:14:34.040

work on all those things by treating a root problem instead. So, so that is where you were this morning, is at the clinic, you’re doing acupuncture there. Yes. Um. So, how-how

00:14:35.580 - 00:14:51.360

strongly or weakly or not at all or whatever, is, is your interest in that related to your Filipino background? Um, it – it’s completely different, actually.

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Yeah, because it’s… you know, it’s like a holistic art more than it— more, more than like a science, I think now. I mean it is scientific in that we’ve done a lot of research on it, and there’s a lot of thought in the medicine, um,

00:15:05.910 - 00:15:22.320

but… I think now in society they kind of see it as like, um, an ‘alternative’ quote unquote ‘medicine.’ And so that isn’t the first thing that, you know most traditional Asian parents want their children to become, you know, you usually hear them saying ‘Oh I want you to become a lawyer, or

00:15:22.320 - 00:15:33.830

a doctor’— Yeah, story of my life. Exactly. And I started off in the MD route, but, uh, that wasn’t the kind of medicine I wanted to practice. And so… yeah

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from there I went to philosophy, and then philosophy of medicine, then to acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Cool. And how do your parents feel about that? Like, they— They’re perfectly happy.

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Yeah. They, they’re really, really happy. I mean, initially they weren’t happy about me becoming a philosopher . Yeah… They got over it though.

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Um in my family it’s like that, we have to have one doctor, one lawyer, one businessman, and then my parents have now accepted, uh, architecture as a real occupation— Hey, that’s nice. —so four kids so four different occupations, I’ve taken business so

00:16:08.550 - 00:16:20.880

my siblings have to fight over the others. Oh, nice. You can market them that way. That’s the… . So, um, let’s see…

00:16:22.780 - 00:16:31.910

I hope I answered that question earlier…no, oh yeah, we’re good? We’re good. And I’m not even necessarily going off, like, a list of questions, there are just things I had marked down to make sure I mentioned.

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Um… do you, is there anything that’s caught your interest that you wanna ask about? Actually, memories from Philippines from when you were young. Oh. Because I think we’ve touched on your parents’ experiences and what they’ve done,

00:16:47.590 - 00:16:54.890

but do you have any memories that stand out from when you were growing up in the Philippines? I know you left when you were extremely young. Yeah. But there has to be something that you remember from home.

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We, yeah, we went back and forth fairly often, like I would spend some of my holidays there so, um, I still, I still feel like that is my home, it’s uh – yeah, the food, food and the music definitely stuck with me, and uh just

00:17:08.200 - 00:17:17.470

memories of the beach. Cause that’s where I’m just… happy, you know it’s very earthy stuff, very sensory stuff. And which part of the Philippines are you from? Manila. Metro Manila.

00:17:17.800 - 00:17:25.860

Yeah, Luzon would be the island that I’m from. Mm-hmm. And how would you describe the Filipino culture? Because it’s a very interesting culture, isn’t it, it’s almost like a fusion— Yes.

00:17:25.940 - 00:17:39.240

—of, of different cultures. And so in your words, how would you explain your culture? Yeah I was actually afraid that you were gonna ask me this because I have no idea how to explain it. Um, a lot

00:17:39.240 - 00:17:51.990

of my, uh, Hispanic friends say that we’re very much like the Asian Hispanics in that well we were colonized by Spain also so we have like a – we have some of the Oriental background from the Chinese, yes, and then there’s just

00:17:51.990 - 00:18:08.210

like – there’s a lot of Spanish culture there in that there’s, you know, Catholicism, eating, being with the family, um, a lot of liveliness, singing is really huge for us. Because your, your middle name is Santos, right?

00:18:08.410 - 00:18:25.370

Yes. So that’s very interesting, um, like when you were probably growing up you said you grew up in a majority Hispanic population, um, populated area, and so that must have been very different for some of the kids to reconcile that because you look very much like somebody who’s come from Asia, but your, your name is

00:18:25.370 - 00:18:34.840

Santos, like, you know what’s going on. Was there ever, like, did anyone when you were growing up ever say ‘Oh, that’s kind of a similarity’ or was it

00:18:34.840 - 00:18:48.090

always… It was very different because like the Mexican and Spanish cultures are very different. So – but clearly there are similarities – but it wasn’t – the border culture is different, yeah.

00:18:48.560 - 00:18:57.810

Like little things, like for instance the first time I had ever eaten guacamole was, uh, pretty much like culture shock for me because in the Philippines we use um avocados for dessert.

00:18:58.970 - 00:19:11.250

Oh! Yeah, but— Avocado milkshakes, the best from Philippines. It’s so yummy. That is a wonderful idea! I mean exactly right, because it’s creamy! And you put a little sweetness to it, ah, it’s perfect.

00:19:11.250 - 00:19:24.270

I’m gonna have to find a recipe for that. They have it here, like boba teashops. Ooh, good to know. Um, let’s see… so, are, are you Roman Catholic,

00:19:24.990 - 00:19:37.030

then, or is your family? Uh, yes, that’s what, my family is Roman Catholic. Yeah. And in the Filipino culture how much does religion play a role in shaping family life and social life?

00:19:37.220 - 00:19:49.070

It’s everything. Yeah? Um, you know, you go to the Philippines and you see, uh, girls and guys like going to Mass as a date, you know? Wow. On Sunday afternoon they’ll go to Mass together.

00:19:49.070 - 00:19:59.470

And then they’ll go to their parents house to have like the huge lunch with the family. And you usually start off the day by going to Mass. We – I remember this one time we

00:19:59.520 - 00:20:11.280

went to Mass at like 4 AM. Wow. So we could go there, and then go straight to the market, and then quick breakfast for everybody and go about our day.

00:20:11.380 - 00:20:27.330

Yeah. So, um, what was it like, kind of transposing that Filipino Catholicism with, um, the El Paso strongly Mexican kind of— Not that big of a difference, really.

00:20:28.080 - 00:20:39.410

Cause I mean that is really big in Mexican culture as well, you know, you have Sunday Mass and then you have everybody from the family come in and have lunch with you or something. It’s nice, it brings everybody together.

00:20:41.150 - 00:20:59.190

Um, do you feel that having Catholicism in common with a lot of people in El Paso impacted the way that you kind of grew up there, do you feel that it – Oddly enough, um, no, because uh the school that I went

00:20:59.280 - 00:21:14.670

to from like first to maybe sixth grade, sixth or seventh – no, sixth grade – uh, was a Baptist school. Ooooh, I see. Yes, so I got a lot of, um, I got a lot of flak for being Asian as well as Catholic.

00:21:15.850 - 00:21:28.050

Oh, yeah. My parents just loved putting me through the adversity, really. But it makes you stronger, no? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Wow. It was really funny, like looking back on it, it was a little comical, but you know

00:21:28.050 - 00:21:46.700

growing up it was, um… I… yeah, well, it made me realize what my identity is a lot earlier in life. Yeah. And… there was something else that I was

00:21:48.770 - 00:22:02.560

gonna ask, and now… That’s okay. Um… oh yes, um, so how often do you – does your family go back to the Philippines to visit? Mm, I would say like every other year.

00:22:03.650 - 00:22:17.280

Um, I just went back home in September, which uh that was for my uncle’s funeral – Oh, I’m sorry. Oh, it’s fine. Um, but I think we’re trying to go back this December. Not sure what the plan is.

00:22:18.590 - 00:22:27.710

And—and when you go back, what’s—what’s the experience like? Because you, you look, you look very much like Filipino, I’m sure everybody, you know you could blend in very well. I don’t. What, really?

00:22:27.910 - 00:22:38.590

I don’t. Um, most of the Filipinos are shorter than me— Oh. - And so I go to the malls and I kinda like stick out, and I get people that stare—hey—they assume that I’m Chinese when I’m there. Oh, really.

00:22:38.590 - 00:22:50.600

Yeah. It’s okay, people look at me in Singapore and, and like they wonder, you know, where I’ve come from. Oh, that’s funny. —Um, but, I, my family’s been in Singapore for a hundred years… Really! …and I’ve served in the military there, so I kind of understand what you’re

00:22:50.600 - 00:23:00.280

saying, cause I don’t look like anybody else in the population. Yeah. Um, but, do, do your—do your differences get marked out by people in the Philippines? Like can they say that,

00:23:00.280 - 00:23:12.550

ok, you know, if you’ve established you’re Filipino can they tell that, though, this is a Filipino who’s not been here for a long time? Sometimes yeah. Well, they, they just assume that I’m mixed, really, um, in a way we kind of are, like our

00:23:12.590 - 00:23:27.440

family is, because I’m like part German and part Spanish as well… Oh, okay, …hence the Santos and Funk Yeah. …and so yeah it’s kind of, it’s kind of normal for me not to just go out, I don’t, um, when I go to like the—we

00:23:28.430 - 00:23:39.780

call them Changgae, which is kind of like flea markets—I definitely speak in Tagalog, and I wear like flip-flops and something from home so that I can still barter in the same way, because if they know that I’m from America… They’ll charge more

00:23:39.780 - 00:23:51.110

…they’ll put up the prices. Mm-hm. See at least you can blend in I’m try! I look, like, people have asked me—I’m, I’m Indian completely. —and people are like, you know, where you from, you’re from Mexico, you’re from Brazil,

00:23:51.110 - 00:24:00.210

are you from Argentina— Wow! I’m like, it’s, it’s that bad like in Singapore people think I’m from anywhere except Asia, but I’m completely Asian… Yeah.

00:24:00.210 - 00:24:10.910

…to the core. Uh , yeah. You do not look Latino at all. Wow. I – yeah, I wouldn’t have pegged you for that either. In Singapore maybe I do.

00:24:11.600 - 00:24:31.390

I’m exotic in my own country. So…so you’ve, you’ve referenced the Philippines as home a couple of times, is that—do you feel that the Philippines is home and so, then what is, then what is El

00:24:31.460 - 00:24:42.560

Paso? Also home. I don’t like having to pick one. I do feel at home in the Philippines, I feel at home in El Paso, and I feel very much at home here in Houston as well.

00:24:44.000 - 00:24:56.610

So —so you’re—you feel very much like you’re comfortable being in America, comfortable being in Philippines Yeah. What about the rest of your family, like what about your parents, how do they feel about, you know, is Philippines still home for them, or…where do they fit on the spectrum of, you know, what’s

00:24:56.610 - 00:25:09.590

home. I think that it feels like home there because of our family there. Uh huh And so like pretty much wherever we have family is where we feel at home, and I know that sounds really cheesy but it’s very much true. No, no, it’s the same for me.

00:25:09.800 - 00:25:22.240

Yeah. Um, and I think it’s a very much an Asian thing, uh, because for me, you know a lot of people are like ‘oh my family’s three hours away, that’s still too close, you know, and I don’t want to go and see them all the time,’ like, man, if my family was three hours away I’d be going home every week.

00:25:22.590 - 00:25:31.230

Yeah. My family’s twenty-seven. Oh my goodness. Like it takes twenty-seven hours to go from Singapore to the U.S., um, so family I think it plays a huge role, as

00:25:31.230 - 00:25:42.440

you said in the Fili-Filipino culture. Um… do you feel that your family has shaped you as an individual or do you feel it’s society more that has shaped you? It’s definitely my family.

00:25:42.930 - 00:25:57.500

Yeah. Um, a lot of my—my multicultural sentiments come from them, because I’ve traveled so much and they’ve, they’ve, um, imparted a lot of their wisdom to me, and so because of that I f-honestly, I would feel at home

00:25:57.540 - 00:26:09.020

anywhere, because I don’t, I don’t feel as if I have to assimilate, in any way, I don’t know if that… Yeah. …makes sense. That- that totally makes sense. And you said a lot of your other family members are kind of interspersed in all sorts

00:26:09.020 - 00:26:23.790

of countries around the world, how do they feel, do they—do they have a very different idea of reconciling that Filipino identity with their newfound home identity? I wonder, because um, we had some family that moved to Italy, and they really loved it

00:26:23.840 - 00:26:38.200

there, you know like we went to visit them and I, I felt very much at home there too Mhm. Um the ones in Dubai maybe might be a little bit different because there is a large uh Filipino community there, and so, I – I don’t know, I…

00:26:40.150 - 00:26:52.400

all of them travel so much, so I don’t really think that that’s that big of a factor, yeah. And, and in Houston— Sorry I’m not answering that— Oh no no no, it’s – it’s okay. It’s perfect.

00:26:52.470 - 00:27:07.140

In Houston, where do you feel that—that Filipinos are making the biggest impact in the city today? I know it’s a tough question, no, it’s a tough question— It is a tough question, cause I’m not quite sure where a lot of the Filipinos are . Um – Like in Singapore I can tell you they run the nursing sector and they’re doing an

00:27:07.140 - 00:27:16.500

amazing job Yeah, that is true. Uum and it’s come to a point where, where in Singapore, um, you know a lot of the Filipino nurses might actually doctors in the Philippines.

00:27:16.900 - 00:27:29.790

Yeah. U um but they don’t get the chance to practice as doctors in Singapore because the Singapore government has set like a ceiling for them that they can’t cross, um, which is really unfortunate cause they’re very, very skilled, um, so I was wondering whether there was a similar thing going on here and whether

00:27:29.790 - 00:27:40.180

there’s, you know, it’s still very much in terms of nursing over here or whether they’re setting up food stalls or arts and crafts, like, wh- where do you see Filipinos in Houston today?

00:27:40.570 - 00:27:52.780

Honestly, I see them everywhere. Uh, what’s funny is that I see them a lot over at the Museum of Fine Arts. Uh huh A lot of them are uh security guards there from what I understand, because I’ll just hear Tagalog around the corner, and then I’ll end up having a couple of

00:27:52.780 - 00:28:05.310

conversation with all of them. Yeah. But, um, no I see a lot of them there, I know that when I’ve worked in the hospitals here I run into a lot of Filipino nurses, um, it seems like a lot of them are from the southern part of the Philippines.

00:28:06.090 - 00:28:18.430

But it is very much true what you’re talking about how uh a lot of them are, are doctors in the Philippines, and they come here and they, they kind of have to start all over again too, they have to retake the test and the process

00:28:18.430 - 00:28:29.440

is much longer, you know, you have to go through the paperwork and citizenship, as well as, uh, the retesting for the medical board here. And do you feel that all of these things create kind of like uh an invisible ceiling

00:28:29.520 - 00:28:44.330

for immigrants and Filipinos in particular when they come to new country? Um… if there is, they’ve probably busted through it AJ , because I—there’s a word in Tagalog mean, uh, it’s

00:28:44.840 - 00:28:55.590

masipag, and it’s just, you know, they have a lot of gumption, I guess. Yeah. I can’t think of a better way to describe that. Yeah. But they’re very much motivated, and so, like even for my, my

00:28:55.650 - 00:29:06.720

parents, who had a pretty much set up, they - they set up themselves fairly – fairly well in the Philippines, you know, and they were able to start all over again here, and they found themselves in a better position.

00:29:08.550 - 00:29:21.770

Um, I… so, yes, what? AJ That’s going to go on the interview— No no no, it’s okay, really— Whoever’s transcribing this, please just edit that, thank you.

00:29:24.030 - 00:29:36.250

I don’t thi-ink we’re allowed to do that, but yeah. KF I’m – I’m gonna be the one transcribing it, so – This is going to go on the interview as well, I just need to pop around the corner real quick. Okay. Um… so your parents still

00:29:36.330 - 00:29:49.610

live in El Paso? Yes. Cool. Um, and what—what jobs do they have now? Um, my mother works for uh the church, um, St. Stephen’s Catholic Church and she pretty much manages

00:29:49.850 - 00:30:03.430

everything there, it, she kind of does it as a sort of like charity because I know that she could do so much more, but, um, she really loves being around spiritual people and helping, uh, the community in that way, so I’m really proud

00:30:03.430 - 00:30:18.110

of her. Uh, my dad does marketing for pharmaceuticals also here, and, he does fairly well for himself. So, so they’ve kind of gotten back to the level that they were, in, in the Philippines.

00:30:18.360 - 00:30:36.580

If not more, but yeah…yeah. And… so it… hm! I—I know there’s, there’s kind of a, a stereotypical idea that it’s only in, in the second generation that people kinda get to—it’s, it’s cool that…

00:30:38.170 - 00:30:52.980

that’s certainly proof that that’s definitely not always the case, and I’m just kind of babbling. No that’s fine, I’ve been doing that the entire conversation. Um, so, your parents are still in El Paso but you’re

00:30:53.710 - 00:31:13.410

here in Houston, do you feel that – I know Houston’s a pretty big city with a hodgepodge of everything, do you feel, um, that you’re still able to, you know, have places where you’re, you know, comfortable speaking Tagalog, places where you feel like you’re

00:31:13.500 - 00:31:26.770

part of that… family, like here in Houston, do you feel like there’s still an opportunity to be, you know, really strongly Filipino… —and practice that culture? That’s, that’s what I’m really excited about living here

00:31:27.200 - 00:31:41.370

for, too, wow I’m rambling as well, I—I need to gather my thoughts. Um no like, I think it’s really great that I can go to like the Museum of Fine Arts and then start talking Tagalog with a bunch of people there who have also recently just moved to

00:31:41.370 - 00:31:55.570

the States, you know hearing their stories is really moving, um, there are a few Filipino restaurants here—you know you find that they’re really packed right after Sunday Mass , they brought their entire family so it feels, um, and I’ve run into a

00:31:55.570 - 00:32:09.100

couple, um, distant relatives there too. Wow. Yeah. Everybody’s related in the Philippines. Yeah , So it’s nice, it’s, it’s nice to… be able to practice Tagalog more often than I was able to in El Paso, yeah.

00:32:10.840 - 00:32:25.100

Cool. So even more than in El Paso. Yeah. So I’m going to move on to another topic completely, might be a bit more personal of a topic. Ooh So – I come from an Indian family, very much conservative traditional Indian family,

00:32:25.100 - 00:32:32.700

have to marry Indian girls, have to only date Indian girls. Uh huh I’ve done everything the opposite, I’ve dated Brazilian girls, I’m dating an Argentine girl right now –

00:32:32.700 - 00:32:42.340

Hey, pound it. Um, is it a similar culture in the Philippines that they want to kind of keep the community as a community and you don’t really want to branch out?

00:32:42.370 - 00:33:00.700

You know that’s interesting, I don’t, um, I know that a lot of Filipino nurses have, have wanted to set up their sons with me, but I’ve ‘You settle with a nice Filipina girl,’ you know that is, that is what I hear from a lot of different families, but, um my parents have never influenced me or

00:33:01.290 - 00:33:14.390

told me that I should go in any particular direction as far as ethnicities go in who – who I date. Um, like my past three boyfriends have been Caucasian, or mixed, or multiethnic rather.

00:33:15.060 - 00:33:30.450

So do you think your parents, comparing your parents to other elders of the Filipino community in Houston, do you feel that they’re more liberal than other parents are? Yes. They have a really weird combination of being traditionally Filipino and yet, very um open-minded.

00:33:30.800 - 00:33:46.080

Where do you think that open-mindedness comes from? Uh, from their travels. They’re – they’re part of this religious organization that is based in Italy and so they— they’ve gone to live in Italy for a little bit and they’ve met people from all over the

00:33:46.080 - 00:33:55.390

world there, it’s kind of like a — I don’t know how to call it, it’s like a spiritual school that they go to, like a theology school I guess would be the best way to describe it.

00:33:55.830 - 00:34:09.470

And so you get people from, um, Argentina, Singapore, we had a lot of Polish people go through there too, and so it’s just they—they—they’ve gathered a lot of this information or wisdom from that and— oh your light went out.

00:34:09.670 - 00:34:19.280

Hmm, so it did. It needs to actually fully out um… I feel like I’m rambling, I’m sorry. No no, this is fantastic. No no no, it’s—it’s really okay.

00:34:20.130 - 00:34:36.390

Um— I’m sorry, to touch on that, um, my aunt, who is my—my mother’s sister actually married a Caucasian guy so we have, we have um, Filipino-Caucasian cousins in our family, so it really isn’t an issue for us.

00:34:36.750 - 00:34:44.200

And how, how did your grandmother feel about that? And how did— Huh. Or— or do you know? I didn’t hear the full story. Oh okay.

00:34:44.260 - 00:34:57.690

I didn’t hear the full story; I think she might have been a little apprehensive about it. Mm-hm. I know that… it’s like a running joke within my immediate family, that my grandmother didn’t want my mother to marry my father initially because he was German.

00:34:59.160 - 00:35:09.330

Oh. Oh! But… yeah. But he’s Filipino German. Yeah. I mean it’s, he’s pretty – we’re all Filipino. But we have, um, my great-great-grandfather was German-

00:35:09.330 - 00:35:28.060

American. Hmm. That’s really interesting. Do you feel that, then, do you feel that liberalism in the Filipino culture then is something generationally influenced? Like, do you feel that as the generations go down and as you guys

00:35:28.280 - 00:35:37.900

travel the world, see more things, that you guys are getting a lot more liberal just because you have a – probably a bigger worldview… Yes. …than your elders did? That’s a pretty big generalization, though…

00:35:38.470 - 00:35:52.600

Well uh um in her immediate family, I’m saying. Yeah, absolutely. Well, um, to talk about Filipino culture a lot of them are expats, you know Mhm And so they’re – they’re used to sending out their sons and daughters, and, um, having them go back and forth

00:35:52.600 - 00:36:03.890

between different countries wherever there are jobs available. And… yeah, so they learn from whatever country they’re in and then they bring it back into the Philippines and try to bring that into our culture, and I’ve – I know that

00:36:03.890 - 00:36:17.210

I’ve noticed that Western culture seems to be more predominant now, like even when we listen to the news you don’t hear straight-up Tagalog anymore, it isn’t traditional Tagalog but it’s Taglish, like newscasters will use

00:36:17.210 - 00:36:27.700

Taglish as their primary language. Yeah, we—we have Singlish in Singapore. Oh, my goodness. Um… interesting, okay, so, so media, let’s talk about media… Oh, god …cause that’s an interesting point.

00:36:28.410 - 00:36:40.700

But – Um Filipino media: is it still big in Houston because we’ve studied, in our class we’ve studied other cultures that have – the Vietnamese have their own channels, their own DVDs, their own Vietnamese-made productions.

00:36:41.200 - 00:36:53.580

Um, is there a similar kind of industry that exists for immigrants, or, immigrants from the Philippines to other countries, and a way for them to kind of retain that sense of culture through media? Does that exist? Yeah!

00:36:53.580 - 00:37:05.600

I know there’s like a Filipino channel that you can get via satellite, and a few, few restaurants stream it all the time , and that’s really fun, it’s the same one that’s like in Dubai and whatnot. Huh. So it’s just worldwide.

00:37:06.200 - 00:37:21.390

Um, so if I, if I catch a show here I can call up my aunt over there and like ‘Oh did you see this episode?’ And, um, yeah so that’s, that’s the only thing that I’m aware of. I know that there are Filipino pop stars that come through here every once in a while, you’ll—you’ll like see it promoted in,

00:37:21.430 - 00:37:44.990

in the communities, yeah. Hm. But aside from that I’m not, I’m not too familiar with anything else. Kay, um…um…so, I know you’re not really, like, involved in

00:37:44.990 - 00:37:59.820

any Filipino community organizations right now, but like, in Houston, um, do you – do you feel like you interact with a- a Filipino American community in Houston,

00:37:59.820 - 00:38:17.010

do you feel that there is a thing there that you are a part of, or is it just, do you happen to see other Filipino Americans in Houston? Or is it more like—I’m probably not explaining myself very well. No it’s fine.

00:38:17.010 - 00:38:33.390

Um, are you asking me if I would be interested in joining, if there’s like any interest in that? Or … do you feel a sense that there is a Filipino American community in Houston, or is it just, there are a bunch

00:38:33.390 - 00:38:47.530

of Filipino Americans in Houston who are kind of isolated individuals? Oh, I think there’s a big community. I’ve, I’ve run into a few of them, and they’re always trying to get me to go to the – the parties and whatnot, um, yeah, I know I think there is one.

00:38:49.380 - 00:38:59.810

But, do you then go to those parties, and— I usually can’t because my school runs in the evening so I have clinic during the day and then class until like 10 PM, which is ridiculous, but oh well.

00:38:59.810 - 00:39:21.100

Don’t worry we’re in college, I completely understand as well. Yeah, the life of the academic is not healthy , I’ve just resigned to that. And… so like the people that you hang out with, um, are they, like, are a significant percentage of them

00:39:21.100 - 00:39:33.600

Asian American? Or…? You know my friends actually make fun of me because they tell me I don’t have enough Asian friends and yeah no, I don’t really look at ethnicity as far as like, um,

00:39:33.600 - 00:39:45.930

connecting with people, just because I’ve encountered so many different cultures in my life that I, I find that, um, even my white friends are more Asian than some of the Asians here.

00:39:46.780 - 00:39:57.880

In that like they do, uh, traditional Chinese medicine, you know they’re studying Mandarin… Yeah. …and they lived in, in uh Asia for much longer than the people who’ve, the second generation immigrants here.

00:39:58.810 - 00:40:10.790

And so, um…most of them are Caucasian oddly enough, Caucasian and Hispanic, but, I mean, that’s just, that just seems to be an accident, really. Yeah. Well, cool.

00:40:11.760 - 00:40:29.030

Um…can you think of anything else, I’m kinda running out of things to ask. Oh and African Americans, sorry, I have to throw that in there too. Oh yeah. M- No. Okay, well then I think we may actually be done.

00:40:29.280 - 00:40:32.180

Yep. Cool. Thank you so much. Thank you guys.