You know what? I love Filipino's they are the funniest and sweetest people, but they're also very blunt! The funny thing about them though is that they can say whatever they want and get away with it! I don't know what it is about them that makes it okay, maybe it's cause they have a smile as they say something unappealing about you. That smile says, "Gee I notice this about you, but you're still great!" I think it's cause you know there's no malice behind their words, they're just stating what they observe.
So I admit, as a missionary it's hard to control how you look, you're so busy all the time and there's just no time to waste on make-up, hair, or clothes, and they had really good & fattening food. So I didn't look my best, haha, I mean with the humidity and heat, you were sweating like a pig, you take a shower and then 5 minutes later your sweating again! Your free time is spent studying the language, grocery shopping, doing laundry (we had to hand-wash), or eating. There were many times when I lived over there that they called me fat, or if I had acne they'd ask me, "What's that on your face, Sister?" Now in America nobody would dream of pointing out someone's flaws, and being called fat is about the worst thing a girl could hear, but in the Philippines, it's just a fact. No malice, no teasing, they'll call you fat and beautiful in the same sentence! Now, I know I wasn't exactly fat, but compared to them, yeah, I was a lot bigger, and I was also about 10 inches taller than most of them! Haha, well maybe more like 6", but still that's a lot taller! I was about a head taller than most women over there. In fact it was great being tall, I'm glad I had the chance to feel what that's like! Now I have to put on 5" heels to get the same effect! :) Okay, back to the topic at hand...
So sometimes at first it was hard to hear stuff like that, but you realize very quickly that they're very blunt and honest, and sweet and wonderful people, in fact I feel more comfortable talking to native Filipino's now than I ever do with Americans! Maybe it's because of that honesty they have that you don't have to worry about what they think of you, cause they'll say it, and since they're such loving, humble people you know that they aren't judging your character.
Well, I was chatting with this "Nanay"-Mother, an adorable, tiny, old lady from my mission the other day and she's asking me how I am, what I'm doing, when I'm getting married...and I tell her, oh things are good, I'm loving life. I don't know, but life is good. She writes me this:
"pero ang beauty mo ngayon muntic di kita nakilala!"
It means- Oh, but you're a beauty now, I almost didn't recognize you at first!
I'm laughing, and thinking oh well, thanks, but... haha, was I that bad on my mission that I'm unrecognizable!!!
Again, only a Filipino could get away with this! It's like they have an automatic, "bless your heart, but..." in there nature!
On another note, along with the bad, many people gave me wonderful compliments too, so it rounded out the negative. I mean you walk down the street and have people staring, calling you, "Hey beautiful." or my favorite, "Hey Joe!" They call all Americans "Joe." It's a really weird feeling to have everyone want to talk to you, and it took a little while to get used to.
My favorite thing ever happened in my first area. My companion and I took these adorable little kids to church every week. We'd teach them and on Sunday's we'd pick them up for church cause their dad had to work. This little boy was about 5 or 6, he was so tiny, and he had the biggest, chocolate brown eyes that could melt your heart! He was so shy and timid around us too, cause we were Americans, he didn't see much, I think we were the only Americans in that town! So he was kind of awe-struck by us, and hardly said a word. Well, one day we were sitting at church and I guess a few strands of my hair fell out and I looked down at him and noticed that he had taken those hairs and was putting them in his pocket to keep them! It was absolutely the most adorable thing! I guess my hair was lighter, and it was different than he was used to since all Filipino's have black hair. It was so precious though, I felt like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings when Gimli asks for some strands of her hair! Now you know how much of a nerd I am. ;)
Problem: I seem to have adopted this way of thinking. Sometimes I might be a little too blunt myself, and I've been getting weird looks lately. :) No...but...I think when it comes to Asians, I can be kind of blunt in making fun of their cute mannerisms, but I guess I just feel like I can cause I love them so much! But really I do wish we could be more honest with how we feel, I'm like an open book!
Maybe that's why I like books so much?
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