Hospitality: Kumain Ka Na Ba? (Have You Eaten?)
A/N
I obviously haven't been updating much. Practice for the Asian Medical Students' Association takes up most of my time, so thank goodness it's tomorrow. ^_^
Filipinos are also known for their hospitality, particularly when it comes to meals. If you visit a Filipino household while they're eating a meal, it's an unspoken rule for them to invite you to join them. Regardless of whether they actually have food to serve or not, their first words will literally be, "Kumain ka na? (Have you eaten?)". It is unthinkable for the regular Filipino to not invite a guest to eat, even between meals. I have been told that this is another one of those East vs. West things, but I'm not sure since I've only ever been to Hong Kong and the USA. Tourists, however, often laud the hospitality of Filipinos, if that's anything to go by. So to everyone still reading this, please, "Piliin mo ang Pilipinas. (Choose the Philippines)"
This chapter will involve NyoPhilippines, a random character I'm going to name Juan Dela Cruz (a reference to the Filipino version of a John Smith or John Doe). If that name has been used and is someone else's OC, please tell me so I can credit them. Thanks!
P.S. It's a common joke in the Philippines to say that we were too hospitable to a degree that we were invaded numerous times, most notably by Spain, England, America, and Japan.
"Maria," Juan pulled me aside as the American – I think he introduced himself as Alfred – walked around, looking at the city that was so new to him. "Are you sure about this? This might be another trap. From Antonio to a new foreign rule. Do we really want to risk this?"
"Juan, we have been fighting too hard and too long. We are losing lives every day we spend arguing. You know we can't win alone." I watched Juan struggle for something – anything to contradict what I said, but he knew. He knew in the current state of our men, all fighting not only the enemy but also their own countrymen from different factions, we would have a difficulty winning our struggle against Spain. Despite the efforts of the great minds and revolutionaries to unite our country, regionalism was still rampant.
"Fine, but one wrong move from the Amerikano and we wage war. We have been colonized far too long." Juan spat. I knew what he was thinking of; I was thinking of it, too. How Papa Antonio first discovered us and raised us. He taught us almost everything he knew, but when his bosses started to tighten their grip on their colonies, Papa had no choice but to follow. It hurt, but we understood; Papa was being bullied by Arthur, and he was losing. Then Dr. Rizal was martyred, and everything changed. Juan and I realized we were already old enough to start out on our own, and although Papa did not want to fight us, well… The scars, physical and emotional, will take a long time to heal.
"Juan…" He looked at me, brown eyes damp, looking exactly as I imagined mine to be at the moment, "do you think we can ever be free?"
Alfred, who had just arrived in the country, finished exploring one end of the street and passed by us as he walked to the other end. Juan's eyes followed the American, slightly narrowed.
"I hope so, niña. I hope so."
We walked out of the shadows to welcome our new guest.
"Welcome to our land." Juan said as he stretched his arm. Alfred grasped it firmly. He then turned to me as I asked, "So… Have you eaten yet?"
It's really heartbreaking to think that we were sold by Spain to America, with whom we had another struggle for independence, the Filipino-American War, which we (obviously) lost. Then just a few years before we were promised independence by America, WWII broke out, and we were then occupied by Japan. Bad luck indeed.