So sorry you had a bad time with Ibong Adarna and Florante at Laura! I haven't gone back to read those two as adults (only Noli, and in English a few years back) but do you think you'd try them again as an adult/if translated? I hope you got to enjoy those comics, though! What comics were they, by the way? :)
Thank you for sharing, and I'm glad you can relate to this piece!
I’ve reread Noli and Fili too. Yes, maybe I’ll give those other two a chance if translated. I don’t remember the specific comics, but there was plenty around, especially in Ilocos. My grandma had a lot of them in the neighborhood. Kids would be in our house reading.
Interesting read! I could relate to living in an English-speaking household in the PH. My first job as a copywriter tested my grade school-level Filipino; new phrases just didn't come naturally to me as English ones. It's been an insecurity I'm still overcoming, despite having left that job and trying to transition in into a different field.
Asking simple questions to Grab, MoveIt, and Angkas drivers about how the work is and seeking directions from mall security guards have been my everyday mode of practice. The CongTV rabbit hole (their pre-pandemic content, at least) also helped. It's been nice.
Off topic: Found your page while I was looking for newsletters on /r/CasualPH!
Hi Francis! Wow, happy to find a new reader via Reddit :D Glad you enjoyed the piece. I'm surprised by how many people have been sharing that it's relatable :O Also, agree, day-to-day convos are good practice. I hope you're enjoying your current field/niche now! :)
Thank you for sharing this story. I grew up in a Filipino-only home in the States, but can barely read or write. I can communicate a bit in Filipino but I can’t express myself. When my much younger siblings were born, they spoke English to each other and we became an English-speaking household.
I can relate to this! I also went to an all-girls school and prioritized speaking English than Filipino. Thankfully, I picked up the language fast enough; but I found it more challenging to write in Filipino than English.
I saw a TikTok once tackling learning Filipino as a second language and our conjugations really are quite complex! And I agree - writing in Filipino is a whole different skill. :D Thanks for sharing, Frances!
Same experience! In grade school, we were fined. I did not want to lose my 25 centavos allowance, so I rather would buy food and speak English.
Filipino and Math were my weaknesses. I cried reading Florante at Laura and Ibong Adarna in Pilipino literature.
I learned conversational Tagalog by reading comics.
Hi Rachielle! OMG the fine seems harsh! :(
So sorry you had a bad time with Ibong Adarna and Florante at Laura! I haven't gone back to read those two as adults (only Noli, and in English a few years back) but do you think you'd try them again as an adult/if translated? I hope you got to enjoy those comics, though! What comics were they, by the way? :)
Thank you for sharing, and I'm glad you can relate to this piece!
I’ve reread Noli and Fili too. Yes, maybe I’ll give those other two a chance if translated. I don’t remember the specific comics, but there was plenty around, especially in Ilocos. My grandma had a lot of them in the neighborhood. Kids would be in our house reading.
This resonated with me so much! It’s inspired me to write about it in our upcoming newsletter ☺️ thanks so much for sharing
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Looking forward to reading your upcoming newsletter. :)
Interesting read! I could relate to living in an English-speaking household in the PH. My first job as a copywriter tested my grade school-level Filipino; new phrases just didn't come naturally to me as English ones. It's been an insecurity I'm still overcoming, despite having left that job and trying to transition in into a different field.
Asking simple questions to Grab, MoveIt, and Angkas drivers about how the work is and seeking directions from mall security guards have been my everyday mode of practice. The CongTV rabbit hole (their pre-pandemic content, at least) also helped. It's been nice.
Off topic: Found your page while I was looking for newsletters on /r/CasualPH!
Hi Francis! Wow, happy to find a new reader via Reddit :D Glad you enjoyed the piece. I'm surprised by how many people have been sharing that it's relatable :O Also, agree, day-to-day convos are good practice. I hope you're enjoying your current field/niche now! :)
Thank you for sharing this story. I grew up in a Filipino-only home in the States, but can barely read or write. I can communicate a bit in Filipino but I can’t express myself. When my much younger siblings were born, they spoke English to each other and we became an English-speaking household.
The "Filipino in the diaspora" experience is so different across households and members of the same households, wow! Thank you for sharing, Barb.
I can relate to this! I also went to an all-girls school and prioritized speaking English than Filipino. Thankfully, I picked up the language fast enough; but I found it more challenging to write in Filipino than English.
I saw a TikTok once tackling learning Filipino as a second language and our conjugations really are quite complex! And I agree - writing in Filipino is a whole different skill. :D Thanks for sharing, Frances!
Maligayang Buwan ng Wika! 😄
Maligayang Buwan ng Wika, Abigail!
Thank you for reading, Lynelle! I'm so glad I'm not alone in the fear of PE class, haha! And wow, getting hit in the face by every ball sucks! :(