Both my grandparents came from fujian province too...
^sis kulitkidz, i think there is a designated "siokim" area in each temple... may malaki "[textspeak!]" just ask the caretakers...
^sis preciosa, welcome naman everyone.
I saw an article about tsinoys before... fun to read lang... try reading it and see if you can relate:
Tsinoy ka daw kung:
Personality:
1. You have a Chinese name but no one’s ever called you by it since high school.
2. Mahjong is your number 1 game.
3. You think the center of life in the Philippines is within the 3-mile radius of Binondo Church.
4. When doing math, you mumble the Chinese multiplication table.
5. Your evaluation is limited to ‘not bad’ (bwe-phai) and ‘good enough’ (ham-ham).
Food, food, food
6. You greet guests with “Have you eaten?” instead of “How are you?”
7. You know how to eat with chopsticks, spoon and fork, and your bare hands
8. You hate to waste food even if you’re totally full.
9. You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.
10. Today’s rice is tomorrow’s fried rice.
11. You have to eat misua on your birthdays.
12. If you can’t pick up a fish/meat/squid ball using chopsticks, you stab it. If you can’t stab it, you use your hands.
13. Your stomach has been trained to take on an 8-dish lauriat.
14. You wipe plates and silverware in restaurants with napkins before you use them.
15. When seated around a Chinese lauriat, you insist back and forth that other people take the first serving.
Growing up
16. You’re used to riding the kalesa in Binondo.
17. Your house has a big, red gate.
18. You were required to help out in your parents’ store/business/office during weekends, summer and Christmas breaks.
19. As a child, you looked forward to the dragon dance in Ongpin or your subdivision.
20. Your ama force-fed you with growth balls.
21. Every major decision in your household was consulted with a feng shui expert.
Love and Friendship
22. Almost all of your friends are Tsinoys.
23. Your Pinoy friends ask tikoy from you, and they’re more excited eating it than you are.
24. Your Pinoy friends asks for the Chinese translation of ‘I love you” and some expletives.
25. Your parents ask for your boyfriend or girlfriend’s full name in Chinese, birthday and the time of birth.
Money matters
26. You count every single centavo that comes in and out of your wallet.
27. You have a hard time explaining your entrepreneurial principles to others.
28. The first reaction of your new Pinoy friends is: “Mayayaman ang mga Intsik!”
Speaking of…
29. In one sentence, you mix Filipino, English, and Fujian without realizing it.
30. You speak Chinese at home, Filipino with friends, write letters in English.
31. You affix “-la”, “-lo” to your Pinoy/Taglish sentences.
32. You affix “ba”, “naman” or “pa” to your Chinese sentences.
33. Your parents tell you to “eat” instead of “drink” your medicine.
34. You say “hugas ng picture” instead of ”’pa-develop ng picture.”
35. You understand Fujian, but can’t speak it; you know how to write Mandarin, but don’t understand it.
Traditions and practices
36. It’s a mortal sin to wear black or plain white.
37. You pray to your ancestors using joss or incense sticks.
All in the family
38. Your house has giant pictures of dead relatives, and it smells of incense the entire day!
39. Your grandparents are unable to pronounce your English name so they call you by nickname.
40. Your parents, grandparents and older relatives like the color red; you hate it.
