Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Where I'm From

I'm from thousands of islands,
makeshift home garages, shanty houses,
outhouses, and outdoor shower places.
These are venues where I'm from.

I'm from yearly July floods,
death anniversaries,
and burning paper bills for funerals.
These are things to experience where I'm from.

I'm from Tagalog's kumusta,
Mandarin's ni hao,
and English's hello,
These are ways to greet others where I'm from.

I'm from Adobo, Sinigang,
Balut, Lechon,
Unripe mangoes, and dinuguan.
These are delicacies where I'm from.

I'm from a third world country,
corrupt government officials,
and strict, knuckle-rapping teachers.
These can be encountered where I'm from.

I'm from my mom's delicious home cooking,
my dad's demanding hard work,
and my brother's dedication.
This is how I grew up where I'm from.

4 comments:

  1. Wow...your poem makes me want to spend hours talking with you about where you're from! I love the format of your poem and how you incorporated your experiences of where you are from with some staples of where you are from. It doesn't appear that we have a similar background, but I'm still intrigued to know who you are and how life has brought you to this place in time. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. JulieAnn, thanks for the comment! I would love to share my experiences with you, but you're going to have to do the same for me because I want to know more about where you're from too! Maybe we can talk during our break in class, or maybe before class? See you on Tuesday!

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  3. I really enjoyed reading this poem. It's wonderful to hear about other people's experiences when they are from a different culture. I think we can all identify with the nostalgia of our childhood and where we're from. I feel that this assignment made it so that we can put the same kind of feelings in a similar format. it makes it really relatable. This poem does a great job of conveying some interesting cultural points of where you come. =)

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  4. Thanks Dominique, I appreciate your comment! I really like how this assignment helped us become closer as a class because it showed us the differences and similarities that makes up our individual identity.

    Also, for anyone that's curious, I moved here from the Philippines about eight years ago, and ever since then, I haven't been back. Writing this poem definitely brought back memories, and I'm still very grateful to my parents for leaving our homeland just so that my brother and I could receive a better education and future.

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