Hundreds of thousands – maybe millions – of children have been raised by Filipino nannies. Because my experience is far from unusual. Why they care so much – for each other – for strangers. This episode is an attempt to address the question of why so many Filipinos are so damn caring. And, as it turned out, our plans to explore beyond Manila were foiled by typhoon. It’s not even about Filipinos – as my experience, however intimate, is limited in the extreme. How could it be? There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippine archipelago and I’m pretty sure I’ll die ignorant of most of them. So, that’s what this episode is really about.
Anything, no matter how small, that could be of use to anyone who might need it back home, gets packed in a big box and sent to the other side of the world – if not to family members, to someone in need. She knows a few phrases in Tagalog and looks at me pityingly when I don’t know what she’s talking about. My daughter is no stranger to sisig and sinigang and adobo and holds me in disregard for being unable to procure her the delicious Filipino pastries and breads she finds at her other family’s home. Family – and church, of course, loom large (even in my otherwise atheistic household). Everybody seems to sing – an affinity passed on to my daughter. So, I have noticed some things, some features of Filipino daily life that I thought worth investigating. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, vacations and birthdays are celebrated together, our families in and out of each others’ homes interchangeably.
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