Filipinos in America
Media
Part of Panorama
- Title
- Filipinos in America
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1965
- Rights
-
- Abstract
- The distinguishing mark of Filipinos abroad.
- Fulltext
- ■ The distinguishing mark of Filipinos abroad. FILIPINOS IN AMERICA The popular columnist of the Manila Bulletin, Rex D. Drilon, published a diary of a student which runs as fol lows: “A group of prominent Filipinos arrived today in New York City (date omit ted) and the first thing they whispered was, ‘Where can we get women around here? Evidently they came without their wives, and this question was quite standard for gov ernment and non-government people. Everybody was do ing it, and every Filipino oldtimer was helping. The mot to seemed to be ‘Women first before duty’. “We were in a class of 50 taking a course on Plato’s Republic. The American students were very articulate, and one of us four Filipinos did not like to be outshone. He began to be so irrepres sible that he talked and ges ticulated every day, almost monopolizing the discussion. Three of us Filipinos squirm ed in our seats because every American student was look ing at us politely quizzically. The American professor was very kind and every time the Filipino star talked and rent the air with his two arms, the teacher would nod and say. ‘Yes, yes; I see; of course, yes; yes, indeed . . .’ It went on for a month — this drama of the Filipino talking and the professor accommodating. At last the professor said to one of us three Filipinos, ‘Mr. So-and-So, I would like to see you after class’. When the students had filed out of the room, the kindly professor asked, ‘What was your coun tryman trying to say all this time?’ From that time on we never opened our mouth be cause while we thought we were speaking English, no one, especially the professor, real ly understood the way we im part the king’s language. 2 Panorama “At the International House in New York City, we were asked to see a program of international cultures. Every nation contributed a number, and the applause was great except for ours. The Filipino group contri buted ‘Tinikling’ with the usual barefeet and rolled-up pants. A Negro from Ghana exclaimed in glee, ‘This is exactly one kind of dance we have in Africa’. We disap peared presto from the crowd and muttered. ‘So, we are no better than the Africans!’ “In places on the U.S. west coast where Orientals congre gate in great numbers, the Americans have a hard time distinguishing the Chinese from the Japanese, and these from the Filipinos. At last they (Americans) hit upon one unerring behavior among these Orientals that guided them. The formula: ‘If you bump against an Oriental and he stops and bows and slinks away, he is a Chinese. If you bump against an Oriental and he stops and bows low and says ‘I am sor ry’, he is a Japanese. But if you bump against an Oriental and he looks at you fiercely and hits you in the jaw, that is unmistakably a Filipino!” THE BARBER Close shave: A corporal back from furlough told about visiting his local barber shop, only to find a new barber had taken over. There was also a pretty manicurist whom he had never seen before. So he asked for a manicure. During the course of the clipping he suggested a dinner and a show to the manicurist. “I don’t think I ought to,” she said demurely. “I’m married, you see.” “Ask your husband,” the corporal suggested, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” "Ask him yourself,” returned the manicurist. “He’s shaving you.” — Broadcaster. October 1965 3