Whachamacallit?

I have been in the country for more than four years. English is now my main language. I get confused whenever I talk to my family and then Rick or a co-worker tries to butt-in. I talk to them in bisaya! Of course I still know my native tongue and still very fluent at that. I don't think that will ever change. Although, my tagalog is getting weaker by the hour. I am mostly lost for words and prefer English if possible. But that doesn't stop me from talking to my tagalog friends or relatives. I just find it hard. That's all.

Four years and I still find English a very complex language. Everyday I learn something new. I used to have a hard time pronouncing the T in words (they seem to not say it like it should be). Accent is still hard. Where do I go up and down in saying the words? My biggest struggle is family names! How I hate answering the phone and taking orders at work. I make sure I get their phone number right that way a sales rep can call them back. I struggle with words that are somehow similar in meaning but different in use. Like I use scared instead of worried. These are some of the little things that embarrass me when they repeat my sentence with the right word or pronunciation. It offends me when they do that. It makes me feel stupid. But I know they are just trying to help. Nobody ever laughs at me when I make a mistake. Which is good. But still... it's embarrassing.

I do get a lot of compliments though. They never have a problem understanding me. It's still a little frustrating at times when trying to express myself. But I am getting better at it. New found American friends helped me a lot! Confidence is really the key to better express yourself in another language. Thanks to my very supportive husband, I am confident in facing people and meeting new friends. Somehow I know deep inside he's proud of me whenever a new friend would say - Wow! You really speak well!

Practice makes perfect! ;-)

My Weekend

I spent my Saturday mostly packing up my balikbayan box. It has been sitting in our guest room for months now. Finally, it's on its way to the Philippines. Yippee! I'm excited for them. Not everybody will be pleased... but, at least I tried. I tend to buy more girly stuff, therefore making my brothers jealous. It's hard to shop for men! Specially teenagers! My apologies...

We went to the twin cities for the weekend. Spent a couple of days with my mother-in-law. She lives by herself and doesn't go out much. So, we took her with us when we did our errands. First stop, drop-off the balikbayan box! She loved the Filipino Store. She said she could spend hours there browsing the aisles and check out different food items. I told her most of the items there needs to be cooked. I don't cook so I was not interested in buying any of them. Bought a bunch of chichiriya instead and a couple goodies for my MIL to try. I wish I know more Filipino dishes other than my ever-famous adobo. Would love to cook for my new family. But sad to say, I don't... So, my apologies... again.

After hours (it was only minutes, but it sure felt like hours!) of being stuck in traffic, we finally made it to Kenny's, my brother-in-law. We visited with them for a few hours, catch up on things and whatnot. Alex's (my nephew) band was rehearsing while we were there, so we had the honor to listen to their music. They supposedly had a paying gig that night. Cool huh! And he's only 16! Anyway, after we got done with our errands, we treated ourselves to a lovely supper at Ruby Tuesday's. That place never fails to impress me with their food! It's always delicious! I forgot to take a picture of my food. Sorry...

Did you notice how I kept apologizing? That's how my mother-in-law was the entire time we were with her. She apologizes for everything! For walking slow, repeating herself, not hearing, eating slow and simply for being old. She is 90. Of course she's like that. We are always patient with her. And I am always respectful. But, there really is no reason to say sorry for being old. She earned the respect and understanding. She deserves the attention and the nice dinner that we insisted on paying. With a smile, I tell her all that and she would just laugh. We love her and I hope someday Rick and I will be blessed with a family who will care for us like we care for her...

The golden rule: "Do unto others what you want others do unto you."