November 24th: Traditional Thanksgiving

I'm posting this with last week's video because this is still referenced to last week's video but it is still relevant for this weeks. 

Hello Everyone!

  This post will be about a 'Traditional' Thanksgiving. In the video I call it generic only because I couldn't figure out the word I was looking for but my brother-in-law who is also white said that I wasn't wrong. The way he put it... "At my parent's Thanksgiving I know exactly what we're going to have... with a few exceptions." Whereas, at my family Thanksgiving the dishes vary because to us, we're celebrating a holiday with a few themed items. For example, I wouldn't be surprised to see Pumpkin pie or Christmas cookies when I go meet up with my family in two weeks because we're celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Outside of that, it boils down to who's cooking and what's available.

  If you want to read more about Thanksgiving here's a link to an article from the history channel! Basically, Thanksgiving started as a holiday for the harvest but wasn't officially a holiday until later. However it was celebrated consistently each year!  Thanksgiving, to me, is a time to be thankful and to spend time with your family and/or friends.

  When I talked to my boyfriend and brother-in-law about their family traditions I learned that there's always a Thanksgiving football game. Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving. Due to this, Thanksgiving 'dinner' usually occurs around 3PM rather than 7-10PM because the Dallas Cowboys play at 7PMish. My boyfriend's family prepare for Black Friday which is a holiday that comes after Thanksgiving that has many sales to steal.

  Black Friday and Cyber Monday: On Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving. Many stores open early and release deals that push their sales. Black Friday isn't exactly a holiday, it's a day that many businesses decide to release deals at once and people then go shopping for anything and everything for a low price. This day is usually heavy in traffic and is very dangerous depending on when and where you go. There have been many cases of death and injury on this day because of the intensity of greed that people have. People are willing to do anything to save money or to get what they want.

  Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday. It occurs on the following Monday after Thanksgiving and consist of online deals that people can order and have shipped to wherever they please. An example could be an online purchase to a store within the city. They can then have the items shipped to the store and they can pick it up then. Or, they can ship it to their home or to whomever they are buying the item for.

  I suppose I can do another post over this section but for now I'll leave those at that. In my boyfriend's family, during Thanksgiving when they're sitting around the table and eating, they all take a moment to name one thing they're thankful for. My  brother-in-law's family doesn't do that but everyone has their own traditions!

  Now onto the food! My boyfriend and bother-in-law's family both had a similar list. My brother-in-law added like two items to what my boyfriend has listed so here are the dishes that they eat during Thanksgiving!

Turkey or Ham

Ham

Turkey

Stuffing/Dressing

A Stuffed Turkey

Stuffing - Dressing

What is it?

  Stuffing is bread soaked in broth and seasoning then rebaked.

Fun fact: Stuffing used to be stuffed inside the Turkey which is why it is called stuffing. However, both my brother-in-law and my boyfriend have told me that it's not the best way to cook it. Instead, the process is done separate which is what makes it Dressing. This item goes with the Turkey/Ham.

Mash Potatoes and Gravy (brown or white), Sweet Potato

Loaded Sweet Potato

*When I looked up 'loaded sweet potato' I got many different types of images. Apparently, people make their loaded sweet potatoes all different! In my boyfriend's family they use caramel, marshmallows, and cinnamon, and butter!

Sweet Potato

Mashed Potatoes - White Gravy

Mashed Potatoes - Brown Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Casseroles: Cream Corn, Green Bean, Broccoli Cheese

Creamed Corn Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce

Squash

Squash

Bread Rolls

Bread Rolls

--

  I want to point out that even though these look DELICIOUS... As someone who can't eat dairy or glutton all I can eat is the turkey, ham, sweet potato (without butter), and the cranberry sauce. I suppose I can eat the squash if they make it without butter but I have yet to eat squash on Thanksgiving. 

  Thank you for tuning in! For those of you who are from the U.S I want to hear about your thanksgiving traditions in the comments below or in the video comments. If you're not from the U.S then I want to hear about any harvest holidays or festivals that you have in the comments below or in the video comments. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Dj/Cho/Nar

Learning something? Keep up with me so that you don't miss a post, video, or pictures!

Keep up with me at the following:

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I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

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Nov 21st, 2019: Filipino Thanksgiving

Hello All,

  This week I wanted to talk about Thanksgiving since it’s next week. This time I wanted to cover my experience in America and then I’ll write about Thanksgiving in the Philippines. My family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas together mainly because we’re spread out and we all have our different schedules so we’ve made Thanksgiving our ‘all holiday meet up day’. That way, even if you can’t make the celebration in San Angelo or Dallas or wherever we plan to go, everyone tries to make it to the Thanksgiving meet up (which as I’ve mentioned, I have yet to attend).Hello All!

  When my family celebrates in general, we have food and we usually drink. In the mornings of the celebration usually the women are cooking unless we’re using the grill, then my brother-in-law, dad, uncle(s), or aunt are the ones cooking on that. We have a variety of dishes but my family always includes at least one or two pizzas for my one uncle who doesn’t eat the food we make unless it’s steak.

  At first, when I started to bring my boyfriend around the family, my parents and my aunt freaked out and would make him a separate dish so that he wouldn’t have to eat the food that was made for ‘us’. My boyfriend, however, likes to eat crab and is willing to try the dishes as long as they’re not very intense smelling or have onions in them. I tell my family to skip the ‘what’s in it’ description and I also warn him about it because I want him to try it without thinking about it. I’ve learned that many people don’t eat certain foods because they think about it and they don’t try it. Basically, they’re judging it before they give it a chance and I told my boyfriend that he can’t be like that if we’re going to be together.

  I don’t mind if he doesn’t like the food after he tries it. Generally, I tell him to try it three times at separate occasions and if he doesn’t like it, then fine! However, he can’t simply look at it and say that he’s not going to eat it because of what’s in the food or what it looks like or how it smells so I’m glad that I got him to adjust to at least trying the foods.

  If we’re not using the grill or killing a goat or chicken or pig (whatever it may be) then my brother-in-law and my job is to run the errands. If my sister(s) or mom are missing an ingredient or we need ice or sodas one of us goes and gets those items. Other than that, in the morning, while the food is being made, me and my brother-in-law are usually watching T.V to pass the time.

  Now, if we’re using the grill then the situation is different! This also applies to when we have a goat, chicken, or pig to kill. Now that I don’t live with my parents I’m not usually around early enough for this process but when there is an animal to kill my dad, brother-in-law, and uncle(s) are the ones to kill it (Not butcher it. What we do is make the process quick. We respect the animal, we’re not heathens).

  Up to a week prior of the celebration we go and buy a goat, pig, or chicken off of a farmer and take care of it until it’s time for us to eat it. Next time we kill an animal I’ll take notes and post it for you all but at the moment I can’t quite remember the whole process besides that we take care of it and kill it quick. When we have a chicken we usually use the blood and let it drip into a pot of uncooked rice and let it set in there to flavor the rice. Not everyone eats it but I think it’s good once it’s cooked. This dish is called dinadaraan

  Normally, we buy a baby up to a young goat. We don’t usually go for the older goats and we don’t always get adults because it depends on the amount of people that are showing up. The dishes we tend to make are

Goat: sinigang* (IL), kaldareta(IL), pinapaitan(IL), and kilawin (IL)(lightly cooked)  

*Sinigang means sour soup and can be made with any meat including shrimp

Goat: Kaldereta

Goat: Pinapaitan

Pork: Kilawin

Chicken: tinola (Tag/IL), pinakbekan (Igorat), and dinadaraan/dinuguan(IL/Tag)

Chicken: Dinardaraan

Chicken: Pinikpikan

Pig: Lechon

Chicken: Tinola

Pig: sinigang ng baboy and lechon

The Image for Lechon messed with the coding of my post so I'll show you all a picture through my video instead.

Pork Dish Sinigang na baboy

We also have cassava cake or bibingka and lumpia.

Lumpia

Cassava Cake

Bibingka

Alcohol wise we tend to drink whiskey, rum, scotch, rye, gin, and beer.

The Beer selection usually consist of Corona and Dos Equis. Sometimes, there’s a craft beer of some sort.

  Now that you all have read/seen what my family does for Thanksgiving, the next post will consist of what my boyfriend’s family makes as well as their traditions. I also asked my brother-in-law for some help because he is also white and he added a few bits of information to what they do. I’ll make sure to take pictures of the food they make this year and share the recipes (as well as share the same info from my thanksgiving party).

  I also want to point out that most of the dishes are Ilocano dishes as well as an Igorat dish that Ilocano speaking people know as that word. 

  Generally, my family celebrates this way for every holiday. Our main focus is to meet up, have a good time, have good food, and drink, then deal with the hangover the next morning. If you’re Filipino and want to share what foods you eat on Thanksgiving please do! Also, if you can, please share the recipe with me as well so I can post the picture and the info!

Thank you for tuning in with me this week, tune in a few days to read about the generic Thanksgiving my boyfriend’s family and my brother-in-law’s family have. See you soon!

DJ/Cho/Nar

   

October 10, 2019

October 10, 2019

  Magandang Umaga sa inyo! (Good day, everyone)

  Today I talked about a common misconception that Filipinos have when it comes to understanding what ‘American’ means. In the Philippines, everyone’s race, nationality, and language are the same. Their race is Filipino, their nationality is Filipino, and in general all languages are ‘Filipino’. While in America, people’s nationality can differ depending on their situation. There are Americans, Canadians, and even Mexicans. Some, are duel citizens where they can be, say, American-Filipino.

  In America, people categorize themselves by their race and the state they’re from rather than the nationality or the language they speak. No one says that they’re ‘Spanish’ because they speak Spanish. Most say that they’re Mexican or Latino or Hispanic but many don’t declare that they are Spanish. More commonly, people who speak Spanish say that they can speak the language.\

  How exactly does one describe themselves then as an American? My personal description is that I’m a Filipino who’s from West Texas. Unless a person goes out of state, there’s no reason to mention that you’re from the state that you’re currently in. If anything, people say ‘I’m from here’ which usually indicates that they hometown is the location that the two people are currently having the conversation in. I would say that I’m from West Texas because there are five sections of Texas since it is big enough. The parts of Texas are: North, South, East, West, and Central. Each of these sections are separated because they have different biomes or different trees, plants, animals, and such.

  An outside example would be if someone was from New York and they moved to Texas. They would then say, “I’m from New York.” Most of them won’t mention which city specifically because they don’t expect people from another state to know which city they’re from unless it’s one of the popular locations like New York City or Boston. They’re say their race, we’re going to go with Black for this example. I wanted to say Black because not everyone who is that race will describe themselves as ‘Black’. It all depends on the context. The safest way to describe someone who is ‘black’ is to listen to who they describe themselves and go with that description for that person. Some may say that they’re African-American which is also not a wrong description. (I could probably do a whole article over this but I’m going to leave those two examples for now. If anyone has any questions, leave them in the comment section of either the vlog or the blog post.

  Whereas, in the Philippines people will describe themselves by province or go even father and add a specific location to help indicate where they are from.  I’ll use myself as an example again. I’m Igorat/Ilocano. My family descends from the Kankanae tribe. My mother’s side is from Paltoc, San Emilio, Ilocos Sur and  my father’s side is from Labayug, Sison, Pangasinan. Some people from the city area (like say Vigan City or Candon City) don’t like the word ‘Igorat’ or use it as a vulgar term to describe people who are illiterate or snobby because people who are indigenous tend to have more land.

  The fact is, people who are indigenous have lineage to land that was claimed before the Spanish arrived and because of that, the family was able to keep the land over time. It only means that their ancestors protected what was important to them, not that they’re snobby or rich. A misconception that I’ve run into is that people who are Igorat or Indigenous are considered snobby because of the amount of land they have (this converts to how much money they would have to buy the land). But, if the land was bought or claimed for cheap or nothing at all in the past and was well protected over the years then the land would not have been bought for an expensive price to begin with. It could be sold for a higher price if it lasted generations but most Filipinos are protective of their birthright and would not sell off their land that they’ve had in the family for generations.

  As an example of someone who isn’t Indigenous, let’s say that someone is from Candon City. Their mother is from Candon and their father is from Bantay. Both families have Spanish last names (Let’s go with Garcia). They wouldn’t say that they come from a Spanish background. Instead, they would indicate which language they speak the best. Whereas, my cousins would say Itneg (the language of the municipality), someone from Candon or Bantay may say Tagalog/Filipino or Ilocano.

  More people in the Philippines tend to describe themselves with their language (since it is regional) rather than saying that they’re ‘Filipino’. If someone were from Pangasinan they wouldn’t say they’re Pangasinan, they’d say that they’re Pangalatot (or a language that is spoken over in that province) where as someone from Ilocos Sur or Norte would say ‘I’m Ilocano’. There have been fights over whether the term ‘Iloco or Ilocano’ is correct and I’m not going to fight people over something they feel so strongly about. It doesn’t matter to me whether someone is Iloco or Ilocano as long as they’re not a bad person. In my personal description I’m not considered Ilocano, I’m considered ‘Itneg’ since it’s the language of my family. However, is more than one type of Ilocano language as well as more than one Itneg language so even if I were to say that I’m ‘Itneg’ it wouldn’t meant that I can understand someone who speaks a variation of the language.

  I hope this helps clear up some confusion in either of my audiences. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions that you want me to cover! Thank you for tuning in this week and I’ll see you all next week! Also, I made a chart to help compare last week’s conversation. I hope it helps both my audiences understand each other better.

  Click here to read the original post about what I missed while I was in the Philippines!

  Click here to view the chart that compares the toilets of the two countries!

See you next week!

DJ/Cho/Nar

Keep up with me at the following:

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I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

       I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!

 Wattpad

       Writing has always been a passion of mine. Interested in reading what's on my mind? Read up on a more emotional perspective of my life here!

How To Relieve The Self: A Comparison between a Western Toilet and a Filipino Toilet

Western

What to say when going to relieve the self:  "I'm going to the bathroom."  "I'm going to the restroom."  "I need to pee."  "I need to take a piss."  "I'm going to use the John."  (There are more ways to ask but basically this is it.)

Parts of the toilet: Toilet Tank (The Back) Toilet Seat (What you sit on) Toilet Paper (Yes this counts) Toilet Bowl (When you flush, it goes down this)

How to Pee: Female: Sit Male: Stand. Lift toilet seat up and aim.

How to Relieve the Anus: Both: Sit, Don’t hurt yourself. Use Toilet Paper.

In Public, the same rules apply because the toilets are the same.

Sinks: Are required to work and have soap so you can wash your hands!

Trash cans: Will be provided, use them.

Filipino

What to say when going to relieve the self:  "I'm going to use the C.R" (Comfort Room)

Parts of the toilet: Toilet Bowl Water Bucket Pail

How to Pee: Female: Crouch (You’ll build those thigh muscles) Lean forward if you have to. Male: Stand. Aim. Don’t Miss.

How to Relieve the Anus: Both: Stand on toilet edges (it’s wider so it’s designed for this) and crouch. Relieve the self. Those baby wipes I mentioned? Hope you brought some. If without baby wipes… Traditionally… Use water and hand to clean the self. Then use soap bar to clean the hands.

In Public, some places that have the finances will provide a toilet that is more ‘western’. Use the instructions on the left side for those details. However, the toilet paper may or may not be provided despite the bathrooms being public.

Sinks: Most likely don’t have water IF there is a sink. Bring hand sanitizer and or as most Filipinos call it, rubbing alcohol.

Trash Cans: May or may not be provided. Do not flush your toilet paper down the toilet, if you bring your own baby wipes or toilet paper, have an extra plastic bag with you to throw these away in. Or, hold onto it until you find a trash can.

Vlog Week One: What Did I Miss About the U.S? Read the post here!

Learning something? Keep up with me so that you don't miss a post, video, or pictures!

Keep up with me at the following:

Youtube

I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

       I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!

 Wattpad

       Writing has always been a passion of mine. Interested in reading what's on my mind? Read up on a more emotional perspective of my life here!

October 2nd, 2019

This week's vlog

  Hello everyone!

  This week in my vlog I focused on my American audience. This post will take the details that I mentioned in the vlog and expand on it! In this week’s video I talked about the three things that I missed the most while I was in the Philippines.

  Of course, I missed my friends, family, and my puppy while I was gone but there were certain items and concepts that stuck out. Those items were toilet seats and air conditioning while the concept was the time it took to get anywhere. Being in the Philippines opened up a new perspective in life that I didn’t think I would see. Since being home, there are little concepts that stand out to me about either the states or the Philippines.

  In the past three months of me being home I’ve seen the lifestyle that I live in the states is adjusted to my needs in the states. Here, I go to work and I plan for my bills. I pick a friend or two to go see on my off days and I schedule what else I need to do on those off days. Before work I’m usually sleeping if not I’m cleaning or fixing the house up and after work I either go to sleep right away or go on a few errands with my boyfriend.

  Here, I schedule myself because I have to and I need in order to meet a certain time constraint that I mentally prepare for myself. I know how long it takes to get to work, I know how long it takes for me to get ready to go to work. My hours at work are set. I know my off days. I know that I need a certain amount of sleep and that I need to eat at a certain time of day or at least around a certain time of day.

  While I was in the Philippines time wasn’t constricted. To my surprise, for people who have to wait around for vehicle for hours, the people were very impatient. It amused people that when I had to wait for hours at a time that I would have a book in my hand or I would be writing. When I was in school I would plan to do my school work first then I would figure out what I would do after that.

  This concept of scheduling wasn’t a part of the culture in that country which angered a few Americans that I ran into. There was a white American that would go to the bus stop every weekend that I would go and if the bus wasn’t there within ten to fifteen minutes, he would be angry. Which, in an American mind set, I do understand that. However, when a person lives in a country for a certain amount of years (which is what I gathered from his rants) than that person shouldn’t expect the country to adjust to him. Rather, the person should adjust to the country.

  Only a few students that I went to school with scheduled a study time for themselves. I had an issue with setting a study schedule because I couldn’t study the same way as the students were taught. In their culture, it is custom to sit in front of a paper and memorize notes for an hour. Which can work for some but I know that I needed to find another way to remember what was being taught during class.

  When I was over there and not studying or doing school work, I was on my Wattpad and writing. It reminded me of my senior year in high school when I spent more time in my creative mind set than anything else. Today, I still have at least two journals that I need to type of from the time that I was writing almost every day.

  Being in the states has brought my attention to how the speed of time seems faster than it does in the Philippines. There, no one is in a hurry to get anywhere, and if they are, there’s still a limitation to their version of a ‘rush’. Filipinos don’t skip meals if they’re late. They think, well, they’re already late so might as well eat since they’re late. They don’t think ‘I should eat before I go to where I need to go’. This is where the concept ‘Filipino Time’ comes from.

  To the people who have met a Filipino, they know that Filipinos don’t show to up to a party or to an event until at least, a half an hour late. Which, is why the tactic around that is to tell the Filipinos to show up two hours early so that by the time they decide to show up, they’re on time instead of late. I’ve also notice that the culture of Filipinos is different in the states than it is in the country itself.

  There, families are close and sit around the table and talk to each other about their day. They push the essence of a family and responsibilities. While in the U.S many Asian families (not only Filipinos) tend to abuse the concept of family and focus on academics and/or work. It’s more important to make money so that the family in the Asian country is in a better living condition rather than focus on having a healthy family at home and across the sea.

  For a future video, I’ll touch up on this concept of culture but I also want to provide pictures of a Filipino building and the toilet that I mentioned. Down below is a picture of a traditional American toilet verses a Filipino toilet. I suppose I could do a separate continuation of this post since I’m sure how the toilet seat works.

                         Source

     Source

  I’ll be sure to add the link below if I do decide to write them out for you. For those of you who have kept up with me since 2018, thank you! And to those of you who are newer, I’m still thankful. Tune in next week to watch my next vlog and to read more about it through the blog!

Click here to look at the chart comparing the two toilet seats and customs

  Thank you, and see y’all soon!

Nar/Cho/Dj

Keep up with me at the following:

Youtube

I began to vlog on October 2nd 2019! Whether you prefer to listen to my vlog, read my blog, or enjoying looking into both, I appreciate it!

Ask Questions Here

 This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!

 Facebook

      This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.

 Instagram

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 Wattpad

 

September 2019 Announcement

September 2019 

  Hello Everyone! 

  For my stay in the United States I will be attempting to upload videos instead of writing out post. I will try to make time to write post but my goal is to upload a five minute video every week talking about the culture of the Philippines and the culture of being in the United States. This is a personal vlog (similar to what I was doing with my written post). The only difference is I will try to touch up on my video making skills. Please subscribe to my channel for more uploads, I'm planning on uploading a video every Tuesday CST starting this coming week!

  It's good to be back in the states. I can't wait to share my experience with both my Philippines audience as well as my American Audience (as well as those of you around the globe who have found interest in my blog. I'm am grateful to you all and I hope that all of you continue to follow my blog and also watch my vlog :))

See you all next week!

DJ/Cho/Nar

Update to the Ábout the Blog' Section

  Hello everyone, I’d like to paste the old ‘’About the Blog” her and the new Frequently Asked Questions. I’d like to hear what is on all of your minds. Let me know what questions you’d like me to answer and I will try my best to answer them! For now, I want everyone to at least read both of these because I took the time to put them together.

Old:

A lot of you who come across this page are here because you know me personally. I created this blog so that I could communicate with the mass of people that I've become friends with. Whether you're a friend, someone who is curious to see what I'm up to, or a complete stranger, here are ten facts that'll help you understand why I'm in the Philippines and what I'll be doing.

1) Why Danieljames Domar?

You'd be surprised how many men on the internet don't know how to function when playing video games with a female. This is one of the many reasons why I didn't use my actual name on the internet. Besides the obvious fact that almost everyone can see everything on the internet, I started to write stories online at a young age so I used this name as my author name as well.

2) Why the Philippines?

The plan is to get to the Philippines early and learn the language (or at least get a head start). Then, I'll be going to school for however long it takes.

3) What are you majoring in?

I'll be going for a teaching degree. Whether it's up to junior high education or a couple levels above that- I won't know until I get there and see how their degrees differ from the US.

4) Is there an idea of how long you'll be in the Philippines?

Two years, maybe longer.

5) Aren't you in a relationship?

Literally almost everyone has asked this so I'll add this in here. This trip isn't about him. It's about me. I want to do this in order to better myself. It doesn't matter what he thinks. But, if you all must know, he wants me to do what I think is best for me. Don't get me wrong, I love him. As I said before, this trip isn't about him, if you ask me about him I may or may not answer your comments.

6) Do you know how to speak the language(s)?

Nope. It is sad but true. There are many languages my family on my mother's and father's side know but I know how to speak English. I actually know more Spanish than I know any language in the Philippines. (The lack in this skill is looked down upon).

7) What are you going to do when you come back?

Hopefully, I can be a tutor when I come back. I know for a fact that it is impossible to teach 25-30 kids the exact same way in an hour and expect them to understand everything that you teach them. There are also adults that do not know how to read and I feel that I want to be able to help them as well.

8) How often are you going to be posting on this blog?

I'm shooting for once a week. If there is a way for me to update y'all more than once a week I will but the connection there is different depending on my location so I'll probably be writing on my laptop and only posting when I have enough connection to do so.

9) Is college the same as it is in America?

No. This is why I said I'll be updating once a week at least. I'll never know when the next time I have connection is. Honestly, I don't know how college works there. 

--

New: About The Blog

Frequently asked questions:

1.       Why did you chose to study in the Philippines?

It is cheaper and more efficient to go to school in the Philippines. Granted, I’ve found out that the only major that is considered workable in the United States is through the college of medicine… but! I wouldn’t trade this past year for anything else. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve come to the Philippines in April 2018

2.       Don’t you have to speak like a different language there?

Yes, I’m exposed to four actually. In Vigan people speak Ilocano. However, the Ilocano spoken here is different from the Ilocano spoken in my mother’s hometown. My family that lives in Paltoc, San Emilio speaks Itneg and an older version of Ilocano. My family that lives in Pangasinan speak English and Ilocano but the locals speak Pangalatot and I can’t understand that language at all. The national language is Filipino but there’s a dialect called Tagalog and the words are sometimes interchanged.

3.       You’ve been here since April, how do you not know how to speak the languages?

It is very frustrating for me to not be able to speak the four languages that I’m exposed to. Trust me. But I have improved since I’ve stepped foot in the Philippines. I can read Tagalog (or Filipino), I can sing the language, and I can write it. However, speaking it and understand it is difficult for me.

The easiest language for me to pick up on is Itneg. My family in Paltoc speak that and I have an easy access to people who can translate the language for me. It’s also the language I’ve been exposed to the longest.

It’s odd but I have the best chance in speaking Ilocano and understanding the locals. However, since there is no standardized way to spell in Ilocano I don’t know how to spell in Ilocano nor write in it.

Don’t ask me about Pangalatot because I don’t even have the memory capacity to recognize it. The only reason why I know it’s the language that the locals are speaking is because it’s the only language that makes my brain go “?!”

This will make you laugh but my English gets worse the more I learn in these languages.

An interesting thing I should mention is that some Spanish words are the same in Tagalog or Filipino. However, they may not mean the same thing so that makes it that much more confusing. But, sometimes, I remember how to say something in Spanish. The only issue is that the people don’t understand Spanish here so I can’t use it.

Ex: Siempre (Texas-Spanish) – Always

Siempre (Tagalog) – Of course

4.       What are you majoring in?

I’m currently going for Elementary Education.

5.       Don’t you miss your parents?

Not really. They’re family and they will always be there for me and I’ll always be there for them. We’re adults after all. In the Filipino culture family is closer than the family that I have in the United States. I can safely say that the culture I grew up with allows me to be on the other side of the world without worrying about my parents. After all, as I said, they’re adults and so am I.

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 I'd like to know any questions that come to mind. Don't be afraid to message me on Facebook or send a questions through Ask Questions Here. I'll also do my best to answer you through Instagram if you message me through Instagram! You're also welcome to email me: Lusterdragon72@gmail.com

It's sort of an update,

Thanks for tuning in!

DJ/Cho/Nar

About Tuan Thailand

This band will always have a place in my heart. All the above photos were taken from their Instagram

Line One (Left) (Right)

Line Two (Center)

Line Three (Left) (Right)

Line Four (Center)

Line Five (Left) (Right)

Line Six (Center)

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  To start this post off I want to share Tuan Thailand’s music with you. Here are the two songs that want to share.

1,000 Miles.

The band played this song at the concert. The one I call K-Pop is the main singer but Win sings the secondary part.

Blue Moon

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  Their music reminds me of a Metal/EDM version of Linkin Park’s newer style. They also sing in Thai so there’s that too! I already showed some of my friends this band which is why I know that they’d acquire a fan base from San Angelo if they’d be able to show up in my hometown. When I get home, I hope I can find a way to help them get there so I can see them again and show my friends.

  San Angelo is getting better at expanding in a cultural and artistic way. Although, I wouldn’t want to only perform in Angelo because it’s a small city. It would be cool to get them to do a small tour of Texas where they could play in all five regions (North, South, East, West, and Central). Of course, this isn’t something that I know how to process but the idea is still cool.

To my surprise they played Black Diary which can be found on Youtube but they are still trying to get all their songs recorded I suppose. Black Diary is one of their original songs. The original band members (from what I could see) are the short one and K-Pop there. The rest of the members are newer. I don’t know when they joined but I do know that the band went to UK in 2017 with the members they have now.

It makes me sad how the technology has limited what I can find about them. Well, I suppose it’s more about the lack of technology that limits what I can find of them. 1,000 years was uploaded onto Youtube a year ago and Blue Moon was uploaded four months ago.

The band has a website but the link doesn’t work. If they do have anything online it’s probably in Thai and I can’t understand Thai (although, I wish I did only for the purpose of getting to know the band). I found an interview of the band but it’s in Thai (with no subtitles I might add).

Being from the United States has spoiled me. We are so diverse in the different cultures that are there along with the different languages that are recognized to exist. Our national language is a global language.

Back home I can be around different races and not feel that I’m in a different part of the world when I talk to them. In the U.S we all have our different backgrounds and lifestyles. There’s so much diversity. Here, there’s diversity but it’s different… I feel that I’d have a similar experience if I went to another country of Asia (outside of the airport anyways).

 Instagram: It blows my mind how social media can connect the world on a global scale. I enjoy using Instagram although my main source of social media is Facebook. Instagram is a good way to summarize what you’re doing with your life through pictures and small caption.

Or, if you’re like me you have a picture of set of pictures and you link the post to what you’re trying to share with the world of Instagram. As a blogger, I have to try and use as many social media tactics as possible which becomes hard to keep up with especially if you try to make each post unique. I get lazy and I make the post through Instagram and then I send it off to Facebook.

The band has toured in Bangkok (Thailand) and in the U.K. They’ve visited the Philippines, and their record label (I’m not sure if that’s the right word) is based in Japan. So, I think they’re a perfect example of how people can thrive from globalization.

Facebook

  With each post this week I tried to get y'all to check them out on your own but this post is to bring them to you in a way! At the beginning I linked their instagram, then I presented two YouTube videos of their music. Now, here's a link to their Facebook. Oh, hey they have their names on their Facebook. Well, for those of you who were wondering who these people's names were here they are! (Their English names I supposed)

Key: Their name (What I've been calling them): What they do

Tuan (K-Pop): Vocals and Producer *Original Member*
Boy BBTJ (The Short One): Guitar  *Original Member*
Bom Suwatin (Humble): Drums
Win Ginkz (Win): Bass
Oof Bongtong: (EDM/Beard): Sampler & Keyboard

They claim to be Alternative Metal.
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  I hope those of my readers who like the same music as me will enjoy this band in the same way that I enjoyed sharing their information all week. This will be my last post about them for now! Their fans declare that they are part of the Tuan Army if they're true fans so I supposed I'm part of the Tuan Army and I hope my friends can at least appreciate their music.

  If not, I hope reading about them was entertaining at least! For those of you who are recently visiting this page I will leave the links to this week's post down below. Read what you want when you can.!

Order of post:

Meeting Tuan Thailand:
  You can either read this per 1k words so that you can come back easily to where you stopped. If you want to do this, click Part One. If you'd rather read the full entry (3-4K words) click Full Post.

April 1st, 2019:
  This is a more emotion and thoughtful post about my experience with how interview Win affected me. Click the date to read this part. You can read it without reading Meeting Tuan Thailand but I do make references from the 'Meeting Tuan Thailand' post.

Aftermath:
  When I wrote this it ended up becoming 2k words. You will need to read Part One before Part Two but click on the part to read them!

Spotify: I'd like to also mention that they are on Spotify. There are only two songs but I believe the two songs are the ones that I've pasted into here from YouTube. So, if you have a Spotify you can listen to them through that as well.

Win's

Instagram

The Ginkz

Youtube

  The only link I have left to share is Win's Instagram. If I had the Instagram of the other members I'd share them but Win commented on my Instagram post and the Instagram of Tuan Thailand also commented on my post so the official overall Insta is what I have as well as his.

  My classmates are tired of me fangirling over these people, I'm sure. The Ginkz is another band that Win is in. His actual name is Warut Onoonjit. (Which I can't say properly probably). In The Ginkz, Win is one of the main singers I wanted to check out the background of this band he's in more. It's also metal but it's different from Tuan Thailand. I still like both bands.

 Let me know what you guys think about Tuan Thailand as well as this whole interaction that I've posted about this week! I'd like to hear some comments from y'all. You can either clock the 'Ask Questions Here' button on my blog, you can message me on Facebook, you can comment below even if you don't have a blogger (I allow anonymous questions).

  I'd like to do a Q&A eventually over the content I'm sharing!

  Tune in every week to hear about my experience in the Philippines. I have a lot of content written. All I have to do is schedule it for you. Please tune in next week! I will be introducing a new feature for Sundays starting this April 7th! It will be called 'Sunday Watts'. So, tune in every week to keep up with me.

Thank you for listening! Please let me know what goes through your head as you read my post!

DJ/Cho/Nar

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