I got home from work and the first thing on the agenda was watching the Chelsea vs. Manchester United game. I DVR'd the game since it took place while I was at work. I turned on the TV. I noticed two things: (1) Anthony Bourdain and (2) Filipinos. Could it be? A No Reservations episode in the Philippines?! I was glued.
See, I've always had pride in being Filipino, but only recently, in the past months, have I been more active in seeking to learn more about the Philippines. Admittedly, my initial exploration of a culture is through the cuisine, the food. Over the past few months, I've had growing cravings for comfort food - Filipino food like my Grandma used to cook - and outside of sporadic family gatherings or generous offerings from Filipino co-workers, finding a way to answer these cravings has really been hard to come by. When I was in Seattle in December, I found a small shack inside of Pike Place, owned by a lady Mila, who set up shop over forty years ago when she came to America, to Seattle. I ate chicken adobo every day for several days. Just as good as Grandma's. Just as nice as Grandma. In fact, with each passing day, I've come to appreciate how amazing a cook my Grandma was and that I had the privilege to be exposed to traditional Filipino dishes.
Over the past month though, the opening of a new Filipino restaurant was huge news for many Filipino-Americans in Atlanta. Early in infancy, it's doing quite well. The last Filipino restaurants in Atlanta, I've been told, were in the 1990s but they eventually closed. Why? I asked one of my Filipino co-workers at my hospital. She thinks it was the sub-par quality and the lack of staff. "You need good cooks," she said. We're all really happy with the new restaurant. I knew this place was authentic when I first walked in and it was loaded with Filipino people who spoke tagalog. Then when I was handed the menu, I realized that I couldn't read the menu. Though I'm sure I've eaten these dishes, I never knew them by name. To me, they were associated with the phrase "Dinner's ready!" back when my Grandma was alive.
The basis of the Bourdain episode was that a Filipino-American named Augusto, born in Long Island, as a fan of Anthony Bourdain, suggested that he do an episode in the Philippines, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the lechon (roasted pig) that sealed the deal. Sure, I was excited to know that Anthony Bourdain was enjoying Filipino food. But along the way, he asks the same questions that probably all Filipino-Americans get asked. And it was interesting to hear the responses. Because they were the same ones I've uttered.
Why are Filipino-Americans seemingly detached from their homeland, unlike other people of southeastern Asian descent? Good question. Augusto answers and I've answered the same: many of our parents want us to fit in with our new culture (America) that often Filipinos will put that first and their culture second. Thinking about how I grew up, there certainly wasn't any lack of cultural exposure, typically at dinner or family gatherings. But I think an active education of the Philippines wasn't emphasized. What was emphasized, for me, was getting along well with whatever I was doing at the time. There was definitely pride in being Filipino. But there was also pride in being American. I got into this conversation with my friend Regina at work, also a Filipino-American like me. Her upbringing was just like mine. When one of the nurses on my unit who was born in the Philippines was shocked to know that I didn't speak tagalog (not uncommon among Filipino-Americans), I asked her daughter who was born in the states (and alas a Filipino-American) if she spoke tagalog. She didn't.
Why is there such a lack of Philippine representation in America when it comes to food and culture? Another good question. I always joked that we're lazy as a people. Anthony Bourdain says that Americans would "love this stuff" but jokes that Filipinos are just too nice. On the show, Filipinos answer that Filipinos tend to be very warm, embracing, and tend to adjust and meld easily with new environments. I think there's truth in all these answers. But maybe it works the other way too: Is there a lack of interest in the Philippines? Augusto, to me, is a good representation of a Filipino or Filipino-American. He's not bold. He's nice, content, and eager to see others happy. Filipinos don't jump out at you. We like everyone to get along. And often we'll put others first. Maybe that's part of it.
Augusto tells Anthony that he had only been to the Philippines for the first time a few years ago. Me? Haven't been. My brothers? Nope. My friend Regina? When she was little, but basically has no memory. Again, not uncommon among Filipino-Americans. But like Augusto, once we've embraced being American, there grows this yearning to know about our country of origin. Well, for me that's the case anyway. Another friend and co-worker of mine was born in the Philippines. She lives, talks, and breathes Philippines. Down to the karaoke and mahjongs. But she's white. Her parents moved from America to the Philippines and she was born there. She jokes she's white on the outside and brown on the inside. I'm the opposite. But in the same way I'm fascinated at her lack of knowledge about America, she's fascinated at my lack of knowledge about the Philippines. I'm determined to go back to the Philippines. For the first time, I've felt a true sense of urgency and tremendous need to go. And for someone who loves to eat and travel like me, why wouldn't it make sense?
Finally, the most important question of all: Can anything be adoboed? Yes. Typically pork and chicken. But you can adobo anything. And yes, adobo is a verb. Shrimp was adoboed on No Reservations. In fact, my friend Lisa posted a picture on Facebook of a sign she saw in Hawaii. It was a riff on a NO PARKING sign, which said FILIPINO PARKING ONLY - ALL OTHERS WILL BE ADOBOED. I need this sign.
Oh, two more things to note: (1) I don't know why the whole PH versus F with spelling Philippines and Filipinos; (2) Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1.
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