Palawan, Pamilya, Pinoy

During a recent trip back home, I learned that I may not be as fluent in my first language as I thought I was.

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By China Ang

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I have always prided myself being bilingual, but my recent trip back to Palawan, I realized how disconnected I had become to not just my first language but my culture as well. It has been six years since I last went home and it was eight more years before that.

I think language is the easiest way to connect with people. I believe that it is only polite to at least try to learn some key words or phrases when visiting a new country. Or in my case, the country I was born in.

Thankfully for people who are visiting the Philippines, most Filipinos learn English in school. This makes communication between tourists and Filipinos easier but it never hurts to learn a few Tagalog words here and there.

For example, in the months before I left for the Philippines, I practiced my Tagalog every Friday and Saturday with my mom. Those are her days off and we tend to spend those days together. We called them our “Tagalog Days.”

We spoke strictly Tagalog, only stopping when I had to ask a question about certain words or phrases that I knew I got wrong. All this to practice for the main event. A two-week trip to my home.

Bukid: [noun] Farm, rural areas, fields under cultivation

Sentence: I was in awe of the rolling green hills of the bukid in contrast to the gray winter of clouds and wet highways I had left in the California winter.

Bukid: [noun] Farm, rural areas, fields under cultivation

Sentence: I was in awe of the rolling green hills of the bukid in contrast to the gray winter of clouds and wet highways I had left in the California winter.

Palengke: [noun] Marketplace, open-air-market

Sentence: Everyday we would visit the palangke, and everyday I met someone who has known me since I was a baby.

Palengke: [noun] Marketplace, open-air-market

Sentence: Everyday we would visit the palangke, and everyday I met someone who has known me since I was a baby.

Palengke: [noun] Marketplace, open-air-market

Sentence: Everyday we would visit the palangke, and everyday I met someone who has known me since I was a baby.

Traysikel: [noun] Tricycle

Sentence: The traysikel is the most common way to get around in the provinces.

Kotsye: [noun] Car

Sentence: This kotsye has been in the family since I was four, and I even picked the color. It was the only kotsye in my family's transportation business and their main source of income for many years.

Bahay Kubo: [noun] Nipa hut

Sentence: A Bahay Kubo is usually built from bamboo and nipa grass and is designed to adapt to the tropical weather of the Philippines. This Bahay Kubo provides shelter during hot summer months and monsoon seasons.

Kusina: [noun] Kitchen

Sentence: Also called a "dirty kitchen," this kusina is separate from the rest of the house for fire safety and keeping smoke and fuel smells out.

Pag ibig: [noun] Romantic love

Sentence: Tunay na pig ibig. True love.

Pamilya: [noun] Family

Sentence: Ito ang pamilya ko. This is my family.