GioGraphy

Filipinos, by their very nature, are pretentious. This statement is obviously controversial but I would engage you in a discussion of it if I had the time or interest in doing so. So, accept that as fact for now because that is not the point of this entry.

Okay, so maybe an example then. Aarrgh!

Leah Salonga. Miss Saigon Days. Interview on Philippine National TV. There she is, beaming, radiant, successful, famous. Then she answers the question posed to her. And we ask ourselves, why oh why does she have a British accent all of a sudden? And we feel pride. And somehow embarrassed that she might "trip" and say a word without the British twang. Yikes.

Example 2: The scene: Ortigas, or Makati, or (what are the new pretention hotspots in Manila now?) the Fort, or Libis… Starbucks, or an establishment known to be "imported". You find kids. Flocks. Herds. Holding Starbucks cups. Cups empty for almost 2 hours now. But don’t throw them away, oh no don’t do that! The kids are shaky from ingesting all the caffeine they didn’t need (they don’t even drink coffee to begin with!!!). But fuck it. They have to be seen. With the cups. And that is the be all and end all.

Fast forward to the real example I wanted to make here. A filipino grows up in rural Philippines. Comes to the US. Is thirsty. He orders Arnold Palmer (which is nothing but Lemonade and Iced Tea mixed together), and completes the statement with "easy on the ice" (huwag masyadong ma-yelo). Repeat after me — "Arnold Palmer, easy on the ice". Without all the pretensions, it should’ve been "Squid Balls, greasy on the lips" (paki-sawsaw muna sa suka, bago sa maanghang ha?). Bwahahaha.

Why can’t we just get an Iced Tea or a Coke?