Manila Mogul | Growing Up With Filipino Parents feat. Chris
In this episode of Culture In Between, Chris describes growing up in Dallas with Filipino parents. Chris tells us why his parents were disappointed when he started working at Google, the reason his father actually discouraged him from going into the medical field, and why Jollibee is more to Filipinos than just a fast food chain.
Where to find our Guest- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@raroque
- Website: https://chrisraroque.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.raroque/
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- 00:00-Introduction
- 00:24-Chris Introduction
- 01:07-Where are your parents from?
- 01:45-Does Dallas have a big Filipino community?
- 03:15-Was it isolating not growing up in a large Filipino community?
- 06:38-Did you ever try to fit in?
- 12:03-Did your parents meet in the Philippines?
- 12:59-Was your dad a practicing doctor in the Philippines?
- 14:45-Have you been trying to learn more about the culture now that you're older?
- 17:34-Have you visited the Philippines?
- 18:56-Speaking the language
- 23:45-Back in my day...
- 28:53-Career paths
- 40:38-Favorite foods
- 45:00-Balut
- 47:44-Jollibee
- 50:27-Favorite celebrity
- 54:54-Happy place
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*Disclaimer: We value featuring the genuine viewpoints of our guests. As such, please note that the thoughts and opinions of our guests may not always reflect our own thoughts and opinions as hosts.
0:15 β 0:20 Hello and welcome to Culture Between, a podcast that explores the unique experiences of people who 0:20 β 0:24 have grown up in a culture outside of their parents' culture. We are your hosts, Alyssa 0:24 β 0:28 and Brianna, and on today's episode, we are excited to be joined by Chris, whose parents 0:28 β 0:32 are from the Philippines. Chris, welcome to the show, and thank you so much for joining 0:32 β 0:36 us. Yeah, thank you guys for having me, Alyssa and Brianna. Thank you so much. Awesome. Do 0:36 β 0:41 you mind just giving a brief introduction to yourself? Yeah, so my name's Chris. It's kind 0:41 β 0:46 of weird because I usually do like a YouTube intro, but... So I'm a solo app developer and 0:46 β 0:51 I basically code apps. I live and breathe it. I love development and I make YouTube videos 0:51 β 0:56 teaching others how to do it. Nice. And Aloha, is that like your main company? feel like I've 0:56 β 1:00 seen, is that, I know you do the YouTube stuff, but is that kind of your main company? Gotcha. 1:00 β 1:05 I don't really talk about it on YouTube that often, but that's actually what I do like 1:05 β 1:09 full-time. So I started this company a long time ago and that's, the bills. I've been 1:09 β 1:13 working on that. And so all the solo stuff, that's just kind of like on the side for fun, 1:13 β 1:19 like a hobby. Awesome. Very, cool. Awesome. And so, obviously Chris is here to talk about 1:19 β 1:25 his Filipino background. So can you tell us, Chris, where in the Philippines your parents 1:25 β 1:31 are from and where you grew up? Yeah. So both my parents are from Manila. I wish I could 1:31 β 1:35 tell you guys like more specifically, like where they're from Manila, because they've told me 1:35 β 1:39 a couple of times, but they've also said like a couple of different cities. So I'm like, 1:39 β 1:45 not even sure anymore, they're both from Manila. And then I grew up in Dallas, Texas. So that's 1:45 β 1:49 where I'm at right now. But I lived in a bunch of different cities in the U.S. Not really. 1:50 β 1:54 I haven't lived anywhere outside of the U.S. But grew up in Dallas and then I decided to 1:54 β 1:58 come back here over the last like two, I think like two, three years ago, I came back. Do 1:58 β 2:03 you know, does Dallas have a big Latino community or anything or like what brought them to Dallas? 2:03 β 2:07 I'm just kind of curious. That's not a case I hear. It really, it really doesn't have a 2:07 β 2:13 big community. And I think that that definitely I think had some impact on, like, I think 2:13 β 2:18 we'll probably talk about in deeper questions, but no, there really isn't that big of a community 2:18 β 2:23 here. And as I went to other cities, I think that became more apparent to me when I like 2:23 β 2:27 went to even like going to shockingly, like I went to school in Nashville and I was like, 2:27 β 2:31 wait, there's actually like a bigger community here. And then obviously you go to LA or you 2:31 β 2:36 go to Houston. like, oh wait, there's like a ton of Filipinos here. No, no, not, not too 2:36 β 2:42 much in Dallas. Okay. Yeah. Cause, Texas is not a place I hear many immigrants going to. 2:43 β 2:48 Houston, apparently, is pretty Yeah, Houston I hear it, not... than that, no. Yeah, Okay, 2:48 β 2:53 yeah, because our parents went to this typical New York, you know, north thing. Sorry, I didn't 2:53 β 2:56 mean to catch you. Houston's a big one. It's like to the point where like, I think when 2:56 β 3:01 we wanted specific Filipino food, we would literally do like a five, six hour road trip just to 3:01 β 3:05 get to Houston. That's where all the restaurants are. But there's like nothing in Dallas. And 3:05 β 3:10 I think like every time a Filipino restaurant would open, There's just such a little community 3:10 β 3:15 that it would kind of slow down after like six months usually, which is sad. I think there's 3:15 β 3:20 only like maybe now like one or two Filipino restaurants even in Dallas like today. Wow. 3:21 β 3:25 Okay. We'll definitely get into food near the end for sure. We have usually asked some questions 3:25 β 3:31 about that. But yeah. Well, I mean, now I'm kind of curious. Was that isolating at all? 3:31 β 3:34 Like not having that Filipino community? Or was it like you didn't notice it until you 3:34 β 3:41 went to other places? Definitely the second. think I just didn't notice it. Just because, 3:41 β 3:46 like that's all I knew. Like even like the high school I went to, I think it's kind of 3:46 β 3:53 crazy, but it was like a, it was like an all boys like Catholic school. And it was like 3:53 β 3:58 small. Like the graduating class was like 40 people, which I thought that was normal and 3:58 β 4:02 like big. And then I started like, as I got older and deeper in high school, I was like, 4:02 β 4:08 wait, your high school has like thousand people. But because of that, it was so small. think 4:08 β 4:13 I was like one of maybe for the entire high school, like the entire high school. I think 4:13 β 4:18 I was one of like four Asian people, entire school. But I think because that's all I was 4:18 β 4:23 exposed to. was so normal. So I didn't even notice that there was such a small community. 4:23 β 4:28 It wasn't until I went to college when I realized, oh, wait, no, this was actually like very 4:28 β 4:33 different. Like this was very, this was not a normal thing. Like usually people are exposed 4:33 β 4:37 more to their culture. So. That was something that I did have to figure out, think, during 4:37 β 4:42 college. My brother, he went to a high school that was a little bit more diverse. And it 4:42 β 4:46 was interesting because seeing him grow up, he's like way, younger, I think like maybe 4:46 β 4:51 six or seven years younger. I got to in real time see him come to that realization like 4:51 β 4:57 way, way earlier. But yeah, that was, it was, I think it wasn't isolating until I realized 4:57 β 5:01 it. Interesting. That's really interesting. I mean, I guess if your normal is like that 5:01 β 5:06 small, like hearing for a graduating class of is like, Blows my mind because I don't think 5:06 β 5:11 I've ever lived. My graduating class was like 700. Oh my gosh, her graduation was like five 5:11 β 5:15 hours long. Yeah, so like it's like crazy. I was like, oh, that must be kind of nice because 5:15 β 5:21 I guess everybody knows each other kind of thing. Maybe. But that's really interesting to think 5:21 β 5:25 that like, yeah, but I guess if you just don't know, I don't know. That's yeah, that's kind 5:25 β 5:29 of an interesting experience. We're in Nashville. I'm just curious. Where did you to school in 5:29 β 5:36 Nashville? Yeah, so I went to Vanderbilt University. OK. Yeah, but going back to what you were saying 5:36 β 5:41 about how I've heard other people say that like, yeah, like you don't realize something's different 5:41 β 5:46 until like you're in a different place. And then you're like, oh, wait, this other people 5:46 β 5:51 like did have community and all that. But another thing that I've heard sometimes is that when 5:51 β 5:56 you grow up in a place that like maybe doesn't doesn't have a big Asian community or whatever 5:56 β 6:03 community you're a part of, sometimes as a kid, it makes you kind of want to like not distance 6:03 β 6:08 yourself from your culture, but just like fit in more. Like, did you feel that at all? So 6:08 β 6:13 I think that was something I didn't understand until I went to college, but I didn't realize 6:13 β 6:21 that I 100 % was doing that, like 100%. And also, I didn't realize it at the time, but 6:21 β 6:27 I think my parents were also trying to kind of purposely do this as well. So both my parents 6:27 β 6:33 came from the Philippines and... So my dad's a doctor here in the US, he like, like they 6:33 β 6:38 both like, and my mom, when she came to the US was a nurse, but now she's just like kind 6:38 β 6:43 of helping out my dad with his private practice right now. They both came from the Philippines, 6:43 β 6:49 super poor, like super poor. Like it was, I have absolutely no idea how they did that. 6:49 β 6:54 I have no idea how he became a doctor. It like makes no sense to me, but I do distinctly 6:54 β 7:00 remember that like, I don't think they were really purposely trying to do it, but looking 7:00 β 7:05 back at it, I think they were. I think they were trying to really force us to fit in with 7:05 β 7:09 like the American culture, like really here because when I listened back to some of the 7:09 β 7:14 stories they were telling us, they would always like tell us how like they had to kind of do 7:14 β 7:18 that to fit in, especially when going into like medicine. And I think my dad was like, yeah, 7:18 β 7:22 I had to like lose the accent really quick, like because people wouldn't take me seriously. 7:22 β 7:26 Like when he, cause he's doing like neurology and he said it's like a field where Everyone 7:26 β 7:32 is super old. Everyone is super white. to get that much respect, like you had to kind of 7:32 β 7:37 there. I think same thing with my mom. Like being a nurse, feel like she was probably around 7:37 β 7:40 a lot of other Filipinos because a lot of there's a lot of Filipino nurses. Like that's just 7:40 β 7:47 the thing. But I do think, though, that to fit in with like the just just the I guess 7:47 β 7:51 like the hospitals and just kind of to play that game. Like that's kind of what I was hearing 7:51 β 7:56 from them. They I they kept telling us. And I, again, I don't, I seriously don't blame 7:56 β 8:00 them at all for this, like, especially looking back, but they would tell us to do certain 8:00 β 8:07 things. like I distinctly remember, like, I think they, like, I think they Loki did not 8:07 β 8:12 want us to learn Tagalog, like the Filipino language really wanted us to be extremely 8:12 β 8:18 good at English. Um, I remember my mom would like really make sure that, um, she, her 8:18 β 8:22 like Filipino accent did not come out in certain situations. She got really good at like turning 8:22 β 8:28 it on and turning it off. And I didn't think much of it at the time, but then looking back, 8:28 β 8:33 I realized like they definitely did that so they can fit in better like themselves. And 8:33 β 8:39 I think they did kind of push that on us. Personally, I didn't find a problem with it because again, 8:39 β 8:42 I didn't know. I had no idea they were doing that. Looking back when I went to college, 8:42 β 8:47 was like, OK, that's kind of messed up. I could tell though that my brother, who when he was 8:47 β 8:52 in like high school, middle school, he again, like he saw this a little earlier that he was 8:52 β 8:56 like a little upset with them about that. Like he was like, why are you not exposing us to 8:56 β 9:01 the culture? Like, so he kind of went a little more with this identity crisis. But for me, 9:01 β 9:07 I was like, super ignorant, lived in bliss. Um, so I didn't bring it up with them, but 9:07 β 9:10 so I did have to talk to him until like, cause he was kind of frustrated with them. Like, 9:10 β 9:14 why didn't you teach us to go? Why didn't you tell us culture? And I explained to him, like, 9:14 β 9:17 did you know, you don't understand, like, like they probably didn't even realize they were 9:17 β 9:21 doing that, but like, was the situation. Like it's different. Like they weren't as accepting, 9:21 β 9:26 like. Right now, it'd be crazy if someone made fun of your accent while you're talking, like 9:26 β 9:33 now. back then, you had to fit in, especially if you want to succeed in a hospital or you 9:33 β 9:38 wanted to play that game. So I think when I explained it to him, he kind of led up on 9:38 β 9:43 them and realized, okay, this wasn't on purpose. I think they like... And I can tell also, 9:43 β 9:51 think now, my parents are kind of slightly regretting that a little bit. I can tell they 9:51 β 9:56 kind of wish that they did expose us more. Like they don't really directly say, like, we wish 9:56 β 10:00 we taught you Tagalog. But like, I think they kind of are like, oh, man, like, like, I can 10:00 β 10:04 tell that they're beating themselves up a little bit for not exposing us to that, because the 10:04 β 10:09 world is more accepting now. And I think they realize, like, it's, you know, like, that that 10:09 β 10:13 was something that they probably it's just harder now that we're older to like, to kind 10:13 β 10:17 of gain that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry. I forgot the original question. No, you're 10:17 β 10:22 good. That was good. That was actually. Gosh, you hit on a lot of things that I was going 10:22 β 10:26 to ask you, so I'm gonna try and recap. So I was gonna ask you, I'm actually familiar with 10:26 β 10:33 Tagalog, I was gonna ask you if you speak Tagalog. Did you answer that? No. But, and I'm gonna 10:33 β 10:37 say, I mean, it's always so sad to hear a little bit that immigrants feel like they have to 10:37 β 10:45 assimilate. mean, not that it's bad to assimilate per se, like that hiding the accent, you know? 10:45 β 10:50 And I do find that my mom and dad sometimes will... cover up their accents a little bit 10:50 β 10:55 when they're around like people they know aren't aren't Jamaican and all that and I'm like mom 10:55 β 11:00 why and it's like whatever, you know, but Man so many interesting things you okay So a few 11:00 β 11:04 questions I have is did your parents meet in the Philippines and then come over together 11:04 β 11:11 or whether that was it like kind of a separate? Dallas so, okay. Apparently they both came 11:11 β 11:15 completely separately and then I think they met I think just cuz like he's a doctor if 11:15 β 11:20 she was a nurse not in the hospital, but I just met through connections, think. of crazy to 11:20 β 11:25 me. like, how is there the chance? There's like such small like, there's like very no Filipinos 11:25 β 11:30 here to begin with. How is it that you just like they're like another one? Identified each 11:30 β 11:36 other. Why? Maybe that's why they like stuck out so far there. Yeah, no, they came separately. 11:36 β 11:41 OK, that's I mean, same with our parents. And then I just think it's funny that you're like, 11:41 β 11:46 yeah, ignorance is bliss kind of kind of thing like your brother and you had very, you know, 11:46 β 11:50 vastly different kind of experiences. But that's cool that you've been able to, I guess, help 11:50 β 11:55 him grapple with that a bit and not be upset and understanding your parents' vantage point 11:55 β 12:02 there. Was your dad a practicing doctor in the Philippines before he immigrated here? 12:02 β 12:08 You know, I don't think he was. I he did his residency here. So he, I think, finished med 12:08 β 12:13 school in the Philippines and then he ended up, yeah, I think, doing residency here. Because 12:13 β 12:19 I think he was telling me, I think he had to apply to like... so many different places to 12:19 β 12:24 like get accepted here. And it was also crazy because he told me like, this was him bashing 12:24 β 12:28 me when I was doing college applications because I was talking about like, I have so many college 12:28 β 12:33 applications to do. And he was telling me like, you know, I had to apply to like 1000 residency 12:33 β 12:39 programs. We didn't have the internet. I had to hand it to him. And also I couldn't afford 12:39 β 12:46 paper. And I was like, okay, I won't do that anymore. Yeah. So I don't think he was practicing 12:46 β 12:52 there. I he did the residency here and got accepted here. gotcha. Yeah, I'm always curious 12:52 β 12:58 about that because I know my mom was a practicing pharmacist in Jamaica before she came to the 12:58 β 13:03 States. But a lot of times what happens, know, when you do come to the States, a lot of times, 13:03 β 13:06 even though you've been working professionally, don't transfer and all that, and you kind of 13:06 β 13:10 have to start over. And she had to go to school here in New York. So I was just curious if, 13:10 β 13:14 you know, that was a situation he went to. But I do know that lot of immigrants do kind of 13:14 β 13:19 come over here for residency as well. Go on, but go ahead. you have anything? Oh, I just 13:19 β 13:25 wanted to know, like you said, since you grew up with your parents, of either subconsciously 13:25 β 13:35 or consciously, kind of trying to not be too Filipino, you know? And now that you're older, 13:35 β 13:41 like have you kind of been trying to learn more about the culture and learn? Yeah. I think 13:41 β 13:48 definitely OOO. for sure, like, um, at least a little bit more. But if I'm like really, 13:48 β 13:52 really honest with myself, I can tell that it's definitely not to like the extent of my brother, 13:52 β 13:57 for example. That was something I was kind of struggling with. Like I, I did feel kind of 13:57 β 14:03 bad where I was like, why do I genuinely like not like really care too much to learn about? 14:03 β 14:07 Like, why do I not care about learning Tagalog? Like what, what is up with this? Like is something 14:07 β 14:13 wrong with me? So that was, I did struggle with a little bit. Um, and so. I realized 14:13 β 14:16 though, like, it was just kind of like how I was able to like reflect on this. I'm like, 14:16 β 14:20 oh, you know what? think like part of it is cause this was kind of suppressed a little 14:20 β 14:24 bit. Again, not their fault. I completely understand why they did it. But, um, I do think that that 14:24 β 14:29 does have an impact on why, like at least compared to a lot of my friends and then definitely 14:29 β 14:34 my brother, like I just genuinely am like not as interested in it. But I think as I'm getting 14:34 β 14:39 older though, and like, um, as I like meet more people and as, especially when I went to college, 14:39 β 14:43 I think that really like improved a lot where I. I started getting at least a little bit 14:43 β 14:49 more of an interest and I have noticed so that has changed like over time. Just because I 14:49 β 14:53 think I'm like now meeting more Filipino people and I'm meeting more like now when I'm traveling, 14:53 β 14:58 like I'm like I've gone to the Philippines like a few more times now, like as I've been 14:58 β 15:03 older and it's been completely different where now I'm like, oh, I actually really want to 15:03 β 15:06 like, I really want to come back here and to do that. I actually think I need to understand 15:06 β 15:13 this like a lot more. So I do think that slowly. Yeah, I have been like really wanting to expose 15:13 β 15:19 myself more naturally and it's like a genuine thing. But for sure, though, like it has been 15:19 β 15:23 like a process. It's been something that I've I've been like personally bothered with that 15:23 β 15:29 I'm so like like like I'm not that interested in it. Yeah, hopefully that answers the question. 15:29 β 15:32 No, that makes sense. And I guess that I can see how that would cause a little bit of a 15:32 β 15:36 complex. I feel like I had more identity issues than you did growing up. Well, people would 15:36 β 15:41 ask me like, what are you? And I was always like as a kid, like, what does that You know, 15:41 β 15:46 and so but I guess we were so exposed being in Miami where there are a lot of Caribbean's 15:46 β 15:54 and Filipinos and Hispanics and everything there being I guess Different wasn't that I don't 15:54 β 15:58 know. It's kind of a norm Yeah, little bit so it's like but I like if I didn't grow up in 15:58 β 16:03 that culture or where there was exposed to all this stuff would I maybe struggle with the 16:03 β 16:07 same thing, you know, or maybe I should work with it but in a different way as like well, 16:07 β 16:11 why does why people ask me this? Because people go off how you look and blah, blah, you know, 16:11 β 16:17 and stuff. so, man, that's really interesting. OK, so you kind of, one question I usually 16:17 β 16:20 like to ask too is like, have you been to the Philippines? It sounds like you have. Did you 16:20 β 16:25 go a lot when you were younger, kind of throughout your life? Like, how's that been? Yeah, we 16:25 β 16:29 went sporadically, like when we were younger, I think, just to like visit grandparents. 16:29 β 16:34 Very, very sporadically, like maybe like once every like six to seven years or something. 16:34 β 16:39 So I think, yeah, I think like I think I've gone back more to the Philippines in the last 16:39 β 16:48 two years, which has been, think, three or four times. Oh, wow. Okay. Before. So I've 16:48 β 16:56 been there maybe 10 or 15 times in total. each time has been very different as I've gotten 16:56 β 17:00 older, especially definitely as I've gotten older. I've had a completely different experience 17:00 β 17:06 now, and I'm a little bit more cognizant about the differences. I actually want to... Like, 17:06 β 17:10 at least now I'm old enough to go kind of explore and like see things and like have a completely 17:10 β 17:16 different experience rather than when I was like five. I have been a couple of times. It's 17:16 β 17:21 been very different every single time, but yeah, it's, it's something that is, I mean, it is 17:21 β 17:25 really expensive. So it's like really hard to come back. But if I could, I do want to, that 17:25 β 17:30 is something I do want to do more, more often. That's cool. Do you have like, yeah, cause 17:30 β 17:33 we used to, when we used to travel, we'd be like, go visit grandma and grandpa. Like, I 17:33 β 17:38 don't know. Nowadays we don't have so many. living family there anymore. But like, um, 17:38 β 17:43 when you did go to visit your grandparents, were you even able to communicate with them? 17:43 β 17:49 Yeah. Yeah. Shockingly. I shockingly was. I will say, I think it got a little harder as 17:49 β 17:54 I got older a because they like started declining in age, but then also, I don't know what it 17:54 β 17:59 was, but I think like, I think like when you're younger and you're like more like a kid, you're 17:59 β 18:05 just, it's just for some reason easier to communicate with people. then like, just as you get older, 18:06 β 18:13 awkwardness starts happening. But yeah, it's really weird, but I don't remember any of the 18:13 β 18:17 conversation that well, but I do remember when I was way younger, really communicated with 18:17 β 18:21 them a lot. And then as I got older, it was a lot harder. But I do think it's partly like 18:21 β 18:27 an age thing. Like they just had a harder time kind of communicating. But yeah, I think when 18:27 β 18:33 we did visit, like we were pretty close. And then we also did do a lot of phone calls too. 18:34 β 18:39 which again got a lot tougher, like as time went on. But yeah, I was able to actually 18:39 β 18:46 understand. Oh, that's great. they're not with us anymore, the Philippines, yeah, they're 18:47 β 18:51 like, yeah, looking back on it, yeah, it is kind of weird. Like we did actually communicate 18:51 β 18:56 a lot, which this is like the first time I'm thinking about that. Well, that's something 18:56 β 19:01 that we hear a lot about when we talk to guests who maybe do speak their parents' native language. 19:01 β 19:04 that... You know, they can talk to their grandparents and all that. But I know since you said you 19:04 β 19:08 don't speak Tagalog and I don't and I know like when you're younger, it's easier for you to 19:08 β 19:14 pick up languages. So I really think it's great when parents can teach their kids. But, you 19:14 β 19:19 know, and I don't I don't actually know like how difficult it is to speak Tagalog. Like 19:19 β 19:22 I don't try to learn Spanish and stuff like that. But I'm actually not sure. I haven't 19:22 β 19:25 heard much Tagalog, even though I know that is the main language, but I don't know how 19:25 β 19:29 hard it is. I think it's similar. It's actually like pretty similar to Spanish. Like there's 19:29 β 19:37 so many words that crossover because like I think Spain. Yeah. Is trash. It's trash. And 19:37 β 19:44 like, think so. I can't really like speak it, but I think I understand like maybe like 19:44 β 19:48 50, 60 percent. And then obviously they love to sprinkle in like some English in there. 19:48 β 19:52 So makes it so much like if there's one English word and like a bunch of Tagalog, I'm like, 19:52 β 19:57 okay, I think I know what's going on. Even when we went back to the Philippines recently, like 19:57 β 20:03 I was just there with with my dad just for like a I just tagged along, he went for a reunion 20:03 β 20:09 work thing. we hung out with some of his high school friends. They only spoke Tagalog the 20:09 β 20:14 entire time. I was just sitting there, but I could fully understand what they were talking 20:14 β 20:19 about. I was kind of surprised. Maybe I did pick up a bunch of stuff. It also is kind of 20:19 β 20:23 similar to Spanish in some ways. I feel like it's easier languages, especially if you kind 20:23 β 20:27 of know Spanish already. That's really cool. I just didn't know if they like... Spoke it 20:27 β 20:30 to you. Well, I guess, no, you wouldn't know it if they spoke it to you in the house. But 20:30 β 20:35 I like, maybe hearing your parents just innately kind of... Yeah. You kind of just naturally 20:35 β 20:42 absorb it. And yeah, understanding is easier than having to respond back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 20:42 β 20:47 That's really cool. No, I mean, so when you did visit, I don't know if you had like cousins 20:47 β 20:52 and stuff over there to the Philippines, but like, did your family ever be like, oh, like, 20:52 β 20:58 make fun of you for being Americanized or... Shockingly? Honestly, shockingly, not really. 20:58 β 21:05 To be honest, most of them were just really fascinated. yeah, I don't think there was 21:05 β 21:14 ever a single, there was no negative connotation with it at all. So it was never a thing where 21:14 β 21:21 it felt weird. And then vice versa too, was also never, at least from my perspective, 21:21 β 21:26 but for sure, just in all the interactions I had with cousins or anything, We were both 21:26 β 21:30 just genuinely fascinated. And I remember we would always like compare things. the big 21:30 β 21:35 thing we would honestly compare was like the price of things. Video game, and then I would 21:35 β 21:38 have a video game and they'd be like, like, I don't know why, but for some reason, there 21:38 β 21:42 were just some things that were just, some things were substantially cheaper in the Philippines. 21:42 β 21:47 And then some things were just super expensive. And it definitely had to do with like how it 21:47 β 21:50 was being imported. But I just remember like some video games, like that was the big thing 21:50 β 21:54 we were comparing. We'd compare it like, they'd be like, oh, this thing cost me. Oh, I got 21:54 β 22:00 this video game, like this. this Game Boy Advance costs like $20 and then I'd be like, this was 22:00 β 22:08 like $300. We were just so fascinated by like the differences and, but it was always just 22:08 β 22:13 a general, a genuine fascination. Like it wasn't really like a, like a, like a negative comparison. 22:14 β 22:18 Yeah. Oh, that's great. That's great. Okay. So you mentioned. You were like, oh, when I 22:18 β 22:24 was applying for college applications, my dad was like, well, I had to apply for like a thousand. 22:24 β 22:31 So that's a common trope we see with like Filipino, sorry. Immigrant parents is like, well, you 22:31 β 22:36 have it easy. Look at what I had. Like, OK, so was that a common theme that you experienced 22:36 β 22:43 or like? Yeah, think. Yeah, like directly, honestly, I think they could have done this so much 22:43 β 22:48 more, but my parents rarely played that card. Really? OK. Yeah, that was that's why it stuck 22:48 β 22:55 out so hard to Like rarely ever pulls it out. But I just kind of picked up on it a lot of 22:55 β 23:01 the times, like just subconsciously, where, like, I would be doing something and then 23:01 β 23:05 or they would tell a story or something. And again, they weren't doing it to kind of tell 23:05 β 23:08 us but they would just like they would be like reminiscing or something and be like, Oh, we 23:08 β 23:13 had to go do this. And, then I'd be like, Oh, my god, like, that sounds horrible. What I'm 23:13 β 23:18 doing is so much easier. And so they they I think they dropped some of those things, not 23:18 β 23:24 on purpose, but I kind of picked it up. But they rarely actually directly told me, this 23:24 β 23:29 is easy because I used to do this. It was more of, kind of just picked, and my brother's the 23:29 β 23:33 same way too. I think we all naturally picked it up because we just subconsciously, think, 23:34 β 23:38 thinking to ourselves, okay, how did they come to the US? That makes no sense, especially 23:38 β 23:44 now we're hearing about how hard it is to immigrate in and we're hearing all these things. As we're 23:44 β 23:48 getting older, we're putting the pieces together. how is this possible? like, okay, getting into 23:48 β 23:53 med school and doing this is just hard in general. How did you do it? Like from the Philippines, 23:53 β 23:58 no internet, no nothing. Like what is going on here? So I think as we started getting 23:58 β 24:02 older and having our own experiences, we just naturally started comparing it to theirs. So 24:02 β 24:06 they didn't even have to do any of that for us. Like, just did it internally. And I think 24:06 β 24:12 we, all three of us genuinely kind of like, like, like kind of bad. And like we started 24:12 β 24:16 comparing, comparing our experiences there without them saying anything. I think the fact 24:16 β 24:20 they didn't say anything directly, just like maybe once or twice, have they pulled that 24:20 β 24:25 card? I think since they didn't, it kind of hit us a little harder because since we came 24:25 β 24:30 to the realization ourselves, then like, even for example, like when I told my brother, like, 24:30 β 24:34 like, hey, like you shouldn't feel that like, like this is, I know, you know, they, kind 24:34 β 24:38 of feels like they purposely didn't teach us Tagalog or they purposely suppresses, but like, 24:39 β 24:42 okay, put yourself in their shoes because he's trying to, he's going to med school as well 24:43 β 24:47 too. But then when I explained to him, you know, like, you know what these interviews are like, 24:47 β 24:52 you know, like the, you know, the people you have to talk to don't, cause he always complains 24:52 β 24:55 to him, complains to me about how like, he feels like he to kind of play this game and like, 24:55 β 24:59 he just wants to help you. He just wants to be a doctor, but he hates how he has to kind 24:59 β 25:04 of play into the system to be able to, to, do what he needs. And I was like, okay, now imagine 25:04 β 25:11 that, but everyone's super racist. All this stuff. And I think when, when, um, when he 25:11 β 25:16 hears that stuff, I think just because he's coming to this conclusion and he's not hearing 25:16 β 25:20 it from my parents, it just hits a little harder because then I think he's like, oh man, didn't 25:20 β 25:26 even like they had every right to say that to him, but they chose not to. And I think it 25:26 β 25:32 just, just like, just, the, those stories and how it applies to us. Just, I think we absorbed 25:32 β 25:36 it a little differently since they didn't do that. But I do know, I have a lot of friends 25:36 β 25:41 who like, they say their parents play that card like every day. And I feel like sometimes though, 25:41 β 25:47 if they do that, it might wear off a little bit. But in our case, it was so rare. We just 25:47 β 25:51 didn't do the conclusion ourselves, to be honest. That's so interesting. It's more effective 25:51 β 25:57 that way. think it is too. I'm just not, I'm going to like be very silent and then subtly 25:57 β 26:06 drop things like, wow. Our parents. My mom especially definitely would play. Oh, yeah. 26:06 β 26:12 I still does. I I should say. gosh. Yeah. Well, I describe it as this like innate indebtedness 26:12 β 26:18 that you have, especially when you have parents coming from like a developing country like 26:18 β 26:24 Jamaica and Philippines, like, you know, and stuff. just knowing what they had to go through. 26:24 β 26:28 And when you go there and visit, you know, make us a very poor country and all this. It's like 26:28 β 26:33 seeing stuff sometimes. My mom's like, see where we grew up and I'm man, OK. I really need to 26:33 β 26:39 not complain about my first world problems. But you also don't want to be hit over the 26:39 β 26:42 head with it every time because then you feel like, know, I'm so It can make you feel like 26:42 β 26:47 you don't have any problems at all. like, OK, just because I grew up in a country that has 26:47 β 26:52 more resources, it doesn't mean that there's no problems anymore at all. That would be great, 26:52 β 27:03 but yeah. Yeah, 100%. Well, topic that we talk about a lot on this podcast is how narrow The 27:03 β 27:09 view is for many immigrant parents of what is a good profession. Yeah. And you mentioned 27:09 β 27:12 that both of your parents are in the medical field. Your brother is going into the medical 27:12 β 27:16 field as well. You know, I think you're in a good field, but I know sometimes immigrant 27:16 β 27:22 parents don't really understand the tech industry and if that's a good thing to be. So how did 27:22 β 27:26 your parents feel about you kind of going in this? Yeah, it sounds like you're kind of 27:26 β 27:29 it's your own company, right? Like, hello. And so like, how do they feel about you kind of 27:29 β 27:34 taking more of an entrepreneurial route, even though it is in the tech space? Yeah, it was 27:34 β 27:40 so interesting to get to this point because I think originally I actually was going to 27:40 β 27:46 go into medicine. So in high school, I was dead set to go to med school, be a doctor, just 27:46 β 27:49 because I think that was also the only thing I knew to just seeing my parents. was like, 27:49 β 27:56 okay, this is it. Also at the time, there was really no tech. It just was not a thing. think 27:56 β 28:03 maybe the internet, I do distinctly remember Wi-Fi didn't really happen until around my 28:03 β 28:09 high school. like everything was still wired. there really was no internet or anything that, 28:09 β 28:13 it was just like, people, tech jobs were not a thing. Like coding was like really not a 28:13 β 28:18 thing. Like none of this was a thing. So medicine was the only thing I kind of had. So I was 28:18 β 28:24 really dead set on doing this. And both my parents for sure pushed all like me and I have two 28:24 β 28:28 other brothers. So they pushed all three of us like she's definitely going to medicine. 28:28 β 28:34 I think it's cause that's all they knew too. Um, it wasn't until I think around like junior 28:34 β 28:41 or senior year of high school when, I started taking the medicine so seriously that I started 28:41 β 28:46 like going to these medical camps. And this was like my choice. Like I was like, Hey, I 28:46 β 28:51 kind of want to try this out. Like where there's some stuff in high school where you can go 28:51 β 28:56 and shadow like during the summer and like, they'll kind of expose you to medicine. um, 28:56 β 29:02 I think I remember. watching an eye surgery and I was like, okay, I'm not doing this. 29:02 β 29:05 I was like, okay, I'm not cut out for this. And then I remember talking to my dad too. 29:05 β 29:10 And I told him like, like, okay, I really don't want to do this, but like, I'm to stick it 29:10 β 29:13 out. And then I he started questioning like, okay, so like, why are you trying to do medicine? 29:13 β 29:17 And I was like, I was like, oh, cause it's really good money. It's very stable. And he was like, 29:17 β 29:21 whoa, okay, okay. It's like, there's infinite other ways to make money. Like, like he's 29:21 β 29:26 like, why are you doing this? And he actually started kind of questioning my reasons for 29:26 β 29:30 getting into it. And he was actually the one that kind of convinced me not to do medicine, 29:30 β 29:36 which was surprising. Um, which also, I don't think I really fully appreciated until I got 29:36 β 29:42 like a lot older, um, because, but I think it was also because he genuinely loves it and 29:42 β 29:47 he, but he also knows how hard it is. So it's one of those things where he was like, like, 29:47 β 29:51 you know, the world's definitely changed. You're super smart. Like if you want it to make money 29:51 β 29:55 some other way or like, you'll figure it out. He's like, was confident that I would figure 29:55 β 29:59 it out. So he knew that it wasn't like a thing where I had to go into medicine to survive. 29:59 β 30:05 So I think that's why he also felt comfortable pushing me away from it. If I just genuinely 30:05 β 30:09 didn't, I wasn't interested in it. He obviously wanted me to do medicine because I think he 30:09 β 30:13 loves it. It'd be amazing if he had a son who also did it, which he's saying with my youngest 30:13 β 30:18 brother, right now, because he genuinely does love it. But he basically talked me out of 30:18 β 30:22 it because he was telling me like, he's like, no, no, you actually like, this is such a 30:22 β 30:29 hard field. And like it is it is going to like, like grind at you for years and years and years, 30:29 β 30:34 not even just the amount of work, but just like the emotional trauma, like the stress, like 30:34 β 30:38 everything. And he said, if you don't love this, like you truly should not do it. And I think 30:38 β 30:42 the minute he said that, I was like, okay, like, yeah, then what am I doing? Like, I definitely 30:42 β 30:49 should. I was like, that sounds horrible. would this? And so I think once I got his, like 30:49 β 30:53 kind of his blessing, where he kind of took me away from Um, that's when I started exploring 30:53 β 30:58 other paths and, I still didn't understand tech. still didn't know like that was an option. 30:58 β 31:03 So when I went to school at Vanderbilt, um, I actually majored in study economics and finance. 31:03 β 31:08 So, um, studied econ because that was like the closest thing to business. And aside from medicine, 31:08 β 31:12 I was like, Hey, what else is there aside from medicine? Just business. I, that was the only 31:12 β 31:17 thing I knew, um, like that existed. I still didn't know what it meant, but I knew that 31:17 β 31:20 if it's not, you know, medicine, there's, there's a business side of medicine, probably business. 31:20 β 31:26 That's what I'll figure out. So econ and finance were like the closest things to that. luckily, 31:26 β 31:31 both my parents were actually, they were very supportive of me kind of going in there. But 31:31 β 31:39 I think they were very supportive of it because they, like, I think they realized that I would 31:39 β 31:42 probably be very miserable doing the medicine thing. And I think they were like, okay, we're 31:42 β 31:46 definitely not going to push you towards that. And I think they were just happy that I picked 31:46 β 31:50 something and had a path and that's what I was going towards. However, once I got to college, 31:50 β 31:58 That's also, think around, so I started going to college, um, 2014, like 2013, 2014. That's 31:58 β 32:04 actually when Apple released Swift, the programming language. And I just so happened to try to 32:04 β 32:08 pick it up while I was doing these classes. So like, I started coding, I started getting 32:08 β 32:15 into this and I was like, this is kind of interesting. Um, and I think that's when the world of like, 32:15 β 32:20 Hey, maybe I can like do something in tech, like became a thing. That's where they actually 32:20 β 32:28 were like. No, no, no. And I remember fast forward and I've only worked at one other 32:28 β 32:33 company because I so I started this company in college alowa. And I've actually been doing 32:33 β 32:37 it full time for like, maybe like eight or nine years now. It's like been a long time and I've 32:37 β 32:41 been doing this. But I did work at one company after college. And so I worked at Google for 32:41 β 32:47 one year in New York. And so really good. That's me. Google is like a very pristine company, 32:47 β 32:53 especially with like college. But my parents were like so averse to me working there because 32:53 β 32:57 and I remember distinctly my mom, she's totally, she totally is going to think I'm making this 32:57 β 33:05 up. But she was point like point blank told me, how can you work at a website? You don't 33:05 β 33:11 understand. Like, like, took the work with this company, but they were, um, they, I think 33:11 β 33:15 because they were, that also made me realize they were very accepting of me going into business 33:15 β 33:23 because they kind of understood that too. medicine business, but anything outside of that, that 33:23 β 33:26 was really foreign to them where they like didn't understand it. They're like, you're not going 33:26 β 33:30 to survive. Like we're going to take care of you now or something. Yeah. Like you're trying 33:30 β 33:37 to work at a website that makes no sense. It wasn't until I think after when I started 33:37 β 33:42 at Google, they started talking to some of their friends and their friends were telling them 33:42 β 33:46 like, oh wait, your son's at Google. That's, that's, that's such a good company. And they 33:46 β 33:51 were like, oh, is it really like. And then I remember they called me and I remember my 33:51 β 33:55 dad was like, hey, we just like talk to some of our friends and like apparently Google is 33:55 β 34:01 really good. Great job. And I was like, I was like, yeah, I was like, I told you guys. And 34:01 β 34:04 then same thing too. think when I, when I was like, I'm going to quit Google and start a 34:04 β 34:09 company and do this full time. Cause I only worked at Google for a year and then made the 34:09 β 34:12 decision. I'm going to go do this full time. Same thing too. I think they were like very 34:12 β 34:16 hesitant about that, but I think because of the Google thing, and I think they realized 34:16 β 34:22 how. insane of a like they were wrong on that. They were a little bit more open minded to 34:23 β 34:29 if he wants to quit this and do this, he can figure it out. But then I think once I like 34:29 β 34:33 the same situation, I think they told their friends like, like they're hesitant to say 34:33 β 34:36 it, but they're like, oh, he quit Google and he's like starting a company. think then when 34:36 β 34:40 all of their friends were like, wait, that's crazy. Like, that's amazing. I think they were 34:40 β 34:48 like, oh, this is great. like it only worked when they got validation from like, Yep. But 34:48 β 34:53 they were very, the tech part, they were very against that. They didn't understand it until 34:53 β 34:58 they heard from external people like, Oh, that was actually a good, that's a really good company. 34:58 β 35:03 My son's trying to work there. Like, so yeah, but, but, uh, medicine and business, was like 35:03 β 35:09 medicine business and then tech. And now they're like wildly supportive. They're like super 35:09 β 35:14 happy that I'm doing all of this stuff. Um, but I think they also knew though, like, um, 35:14 β 35:19 Even if I was going to try to do it, they probably couldn't stop me from doing it. They kind of 35:19 β 35:23 realized, like, I was kind of like pretty horrible in high school where they basically were like, 35:23 β 35:28 OK, we're done with you. Like, we're to focus on other brothers. That made me realize, 35:28 β 35:33 like, all right, now I got it. I it. OK, I can't really rely on them here. I have to do it. 35:33 β 35:38 And I think they just saw, how I was able to kind of just do things without them. And they 35:38 β 35:41 just don't like don't worry about me as much. Yeah. OK, when you say you're horrible, you 35:41 β 35:46 mean like. Academically or just like Chris is always doing his own thing. We don't know. 35:46 β 35:52 No, think like academically, but also that was in high school. I was really into again. 35:52 β 35:57 That was kind of when like Wi-Fi just started. Internet kind of started. I was super fascinated 35:57 β 36:04 by it, but I was like very addicted, but not addicted as in like like most kids are addicted 36:04 β 36:09 to social media or addicted to video games. But I was addicted to like just like understanding 36:09 β 36:13 it and like. Even in high school, I was kind of making like without coding or anything just 36:13 β 36:19 like small websites and like things and playing around but um, they Really did not like that 36:19 β 36:22 because they thought it was a distraction from like school and stuff So they would always 36:22 β 36:26 try to take it away They would always try to find a way but I would always find a way to 36:26 β 36:34 around it like they there was like this crazy thing where I like bought a Phone that had 36:34 β 36:39 like a browser just so I can continue to do like website stuff. Okay, but I like told them 36:39 β 36:44 it was a calculator. There are just so many little things, which in hindsight, I'm like, 36:44 β 36:50 I bet they like knew but, little like I think there was just I was really like on paper 36:51 β 36:56 really bad. And they, they kind of just gave up and like, all right, we're just gonna let 36:56 β 37:00 do whatever you're gonna fail all your classes and it's fine. They saw when I like, I kind 37:00 β 37:04 of took that as a challenge. I'm like, okay, well, let's see. And then I like the greatest 37:04 β 37:09 grades I've ever gotten the minute they like let up on me and I think that's also why they 37:09 β 37:12 trusted me with the whole medicine thing when I said, I'm not going to do like, I'm not really 37:12 β 37:16 good. They're like, oh, you're good. Like you'll figure this out then you want to do business. 37:16 β 37:21 Great. I'm sure you'll succeed in it. And they kind of like, let me do my own. Oh man. So 37:21 β 37:25 many things. Okay. There are so many funny things. I think my favorite is definitely, how are 37:25 β 37:30 you going to work at a website? I love that. I just love that. That is fantastic. And I 37:30 β 37:35 mean, you sound like an amazing student because to go to Vandy, is, you know, great, great 37:35 β 37:42 school, go, go work at Google. Goodness, like college. Yeah, like that's nuts. OK. And making 37:42 β 37:47 me feel old here. He was going into college when I'm graduating. So, oh, man, I'm like, 37:47 β 37:53 dude, like I am like, oh, this guy is like legit. mean, you document your stuff. So I have an 37:53 β 38:01 idea of your level of things. That's that's pretty mad respect, man. And I loved the part, 38:01 β 38:07 too, where, like you said, how your parents. didn't understand it until other people were 38:07 β 38:12 like, oh no, actually this is great. Because that to me is also a very immigrant parent 38:12 β 38:18 trait because I feel like immigrant parents really care about what other immigrants think. 38:18 β 38:22 And their children, how their children present too. exactly. And how they can present their 38:22 β 38:27 children. I think that's part of why they always want their kids, aside from just your well-being, 38:27 β 38:31 they want you to go into these professions so that they can then brag about you to their 38:31 β 38:38 friends. So I found that really funny that it wasn't until their friends told them it 38:38 β 38:45 was okay that they were like, okay, fine, it's all right. Yeah, 100%. So I think we'll go 38:45 β 38:55 on to our light-ending questions here, where we're just going to ask you just cultural things. 38:55 β 39:00 So we kind of referenced food a little bit earlier. So let's start there. What are your 39:00 β 39:06 favorite Filipino dishes? Yeah. Um, so, okay. By far my favorite thing, it's a dish called, 39:07 β 39:13 um, sisig, which is honestly, I don't really know officially what's in it because I keep 39:13 β 39:17 having it like in different ways, either chicken or pork, but it's like fried, like this fried 39:17 β 39:22 chicken, pork rice dish, but I absolutely love it. It's like addicting. And I like it the 39:22 β 39:28 way my mom makes it. He also makes it in like a Filipino food is so unbelievably unhealthy. 39:28 β 39:34 It's like, there's no redeeming quality. do it. Like there's, it's so bad for you, but 39:34 β 39:39 tastes so good. So she makes it in a lighter way where I don't feel horrible after eating 39:39 β 39:44 like that. But that C-sig is like probably one of my favorites. There's another one called, 39:44 β 39:50 um, longanisa, which is, it's like a breakfast kind of thing. It's like a sweet pork. It's 39:50 β 39:57 like a sausage that looks way too red and like really sweet, really good. That one's also 39:57 β 40:01 really good. So I used to eat that for breakfast all the time. And that was like my favorite 40:01 β 40:05 thing. So half the time we would be eating like spam and rice and eggs for like, um, breakfast, 40:05 β 40:10 but then sometimes we'd have the longanisa and I'd be like, Oh, this is a good day. Like this 40:10 β 40:15 is, this is really good. So those two are my favorite. then, um, and then there's like 40:15 β 40:21 this dessert that I absolutely love called a buko pandan, which is like a coconut, um, 40:21 β 40:26 uh, like almost like ice cream, coconut dessert in the Philippines. So I was so obsessed with 40:26 β 40:31 it. That's like the one thing that I was like, I need to find the recipe and do it myself. 40:32 β 40:38 When I moved away from home and I think it was in like, I think it was actually after college. 40:39 β 40:43 I was like, I just had not had it in so long that it's the first Filipino dish where I was 40:43 β 40:47 like, okay, I'm going to go look up the recipe and go do this myself. Cause there's no restaurant 40:47 β 40:50 within like a thousand miles that is like selling this thing either. And I don't know what I'm 40:50 β 40:55 to see my parents. So those are like the top three dishes, those two things and the dessert. 40:55 β 41:01 Very cool. Okay. So even though like there weren't a ton of like Filipino restaurants and stuff 41:01 β 41:06 in the area, sounds like your mom cooked a lot of Filipino food, you would say, in the house? 41:06 β 41:13 Yeah. She did. She did. That was one thing that was kind of, in hindsight, was surprising 41:13 β 41:18 to me. So they did want to assimilate us like in a lot of different areas, except for some 41:18 β 41:25 reason, it was like all Filipino food. What was also interesting was I remember me and 41:25 β 41:30 my brothers would like, like, we would really want her to like make like spaghetti or just 41:30 β 41:36 like other like, not because we didn't like the Filipino food, but just because it was 41:36 β 41:41 so rare that we were like, Oh, like, let's make this thing. But she just like love cooking 41:41 β 41:45 Filipino food. So I will say that it's probably like one thing that, that they didn't really 41:45 β 41:53 like compromise on. And yeah, we didn't really have any, like we didn't really, um, Although 41:53 β 41:57 we didn't really bring, oh no, we did. We actually did bring some of this food to school actually, 41:57 β 42:04 now that I think about it, for lunches. There really wasn't anything that happened with 42:04 β 42:10 that though. Because I know a lot of people, they get a lot of heat for bringing food to 42:10 β 42:14 school or something, but that did not happen with us. It was usually people were kind 42:14 β 42:19 of interested in it and then were like, oh, okay, interesting. And then didn't want to 42:19 β 42:27 eat it, but like. That's cool. Yeah, we didn't really have any problems. Wow I'm like this 42:27 β 42:29 is such an interesting interview because a lot of things you've touched on is like yep That's 42:29 β 42:34 been the thing somebody has talked about this has been a thing and it's like You know food 42:34 β 42:38 if I guess keeping the food has not too surprising because I know That's a nice way for people 42:38 β 42:43 to still be tied into their culture even if they're in the States It's also just like 42:43 β 42:46 one of the hardest things to change like I feel like what you get so used to your own food 42:46 β 42:50 and then like to go to a different place and it's like, oh no, this is like, they probably 42:50 β 42:55 think American food is really bad, you know? yeah. Maybe, yeah. No, you talking about 42:55 β 43:00 like, you know, that was gonna ask actually, if you took Filipino food to school, because 43:00 β 43:06 we had a guest who's from Korea and he would take kimchi to school and kids would be like, 43:06 β 43:10 oh, this. And he's like, said he would ask his mom, like, can I just have like a hot dog and 43:10 β 43:17 pizza? Because he didn't like that it was, were making fun of him about it. But that's good 43:17 β 43:24 that people weren't doing that with you. Okay, so one food we hear about a lot in the Philippines 43:24 β 43:32 is balut. And so... Have you ever tried it? And... Yeah, maybe... Well, we described 43:32 β 43:37 it before, Tor, I guess. Do you wanna do that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's like... I know 43:37 β 43:42 it's an egg and I know it's like the fetus. I think the chicken fetus is like unborn, like 43:43 β 43:49 literal embryo. And I don't know why people eat it. think they said it like, it gives you 43:49 β 43:55 like entered like life or something. But I've never had it, but my brother has. I remember 43:55 β 43:59 we went to a wedding where he like, or yeah, no, I think it was a wedding and he like, it 43:59 β 44:04 was just on their menu or something. And he was like, Oh, I like want, he's like, Oh, can 44:04 β 44:08 I get this? And my parents were like, are you sure? Like, John, that's not like, that's not 44:08 β 44:11 like a, I don't think you're going to like it. He's like, no, no, no, I want it. And I think 44:11 β 44:16 like, He didn't know what it was. then I think he, he like, but I think it was too late because 44:16 β 44:21 he was just like, he was also like a very adventurous eater, like loved finding things. But I remember 44:21 β 44:29 he like ate it and then like the entire venue like erupted and like laughter. We're so happy. 44:30 β 44:36 but he told me after he was like, that was horrible. I was like the worst thing, but he was just 44:36 β 44:40 like, so like he couldn't like hide it. But I think my parents were just waiting for him 44:40 β 44:47 to throw up. It's like, don't think there's any, apparently you have to douse it in vinegar 44:47 β 44:52 and a bunch of things just to mask the taste. It's just not good. It's like, it's just more 44:52 β 44:58 of like a symbolism, I think. That's my guess. Yeah. No, we hear about it. We actually interviewed 44:58 β 45:04 another guest. She grew up in the Philippines. Her parents were missionaries actually. American 45:04 β 45:07 missionaries. Yeah, American missionaries. it's like white girl in the Philippines and she 45:07 β 45:11 was telling us about all that. I think her favorite foods were like, katikati or something. I can't 45:11 β 45:16 remember what it was. It was called that. Yeah. And so now we just we asked her about Balut 45:16 β 45:22 as well. We just it's a fun one that we like to eat. Do you remember she tried it? I think 45:22 β 45:27 she said she had. grew up in like a village. Like she was like she was like nowhere near 45:27 β 45:33 Manila and all that. so so yeah. So she like had actually tried all of these like foods. 45:33 β 45:37 Yeah. She said she used to eat all kinds of like dead animals. don't know. Yeah. Yeah. 45:37 β 45:45 Yeah. I think if I grew up there, it sounds like 100%, like everyone who grew up there 45:45 β 45:50 has had it at least once. I have a feeling in my lifetime I will It's like a rite of passage, 45:50 β 45:56 right? As a Filipino, maybe you gotta do it. I think it is, for sure. Yeah, well, speaking 45:56 β 46:01 of our previous guest who grew up in the Philippines, like because she grew up kind of in a remote 46:01 β 46:06 part of the Philippines, she didn't know about this, but I've heard so much about Jollibee 46:06 β 46:13 as like, yeah. And so yeah, just. Like, can you explain kind of the, like, fascination 46:13 β 46:17 with it? Because I've heard a lot about it, but I don't know how it's different from the 46:17 β 46:21 fast food here in the US. Yeah, I think it's just like, because it's the number one, like 46:21 β 46:25 most well-known fast food chain in the Philippines. And it's like, I'm trying to think of what 46:25 β 46:31 the equivalent would be. It'd be like the equivalent of like, because there's also a mascot too. 46:31 β 46:36 And so it's almost like a, like a phenomenon. It's not even like a brand anymore at this 46:36 β 46:41 point. It's like, there's like a bee, like a literal like B mascot and it's like, I'm pretty 46:41 β 46:47 sure the B like also goes to like children's parties. Like everyone just loves this thing. 46:47 β 46:51 It's definitely not like McDonald's because I mean, I don't know who wants that clown. 46:51 β 46:56 Yeah. He's a lovable mascot. I don't know what an equivalent would be. You know, it'd be kind 46:56 β 47:03 of like McDonald's and the Duolingo Owl. Oh, OK. Where like you like love this thing. Yeah. 47:03 β 47:09 But so I think it's because it was one of the few things that I think like went past the 47:09 β 47:14 Philippines, which is why people love it. And like that rarely happens with like Filipino 47:14 β 47:18 food and like, just like cultural things. Like they don't really break past the Philippines. 47:18 β 47:25 So when it does, it's like a huge deal. I think in Jollibee was like in the U S like so many 47:25 β 47:31 people drove and flew like, like so far because it was like such a big deal that it happened 47:31 β 47:35 where like, I know this happens a lot with like Korean food. There's like a lot of like, like, 47:35 β 47:39 like Korean fried chicken change that are in the U S so it's very like, It's very common. 47:39 β 47:44 It's like not a crazy thing when you see that here. Filipinos, think when they see something 47:44 β 47:48 from the Philippines, it's so rare that they're like, it's like a thing. So I think when it 47:48 β 47:54 opened in Houston, everyone in Dallas, all the family members would go down there just to 47:54 β 47:58 like, literally just to go to the drive through. So that was one of the things that I think 47:58 β 48:02 we like, when we did the five or six hour road trips, it was just to go through the drive 48:02 β 48:06 through of Jolly Beach, just to go get it. And we would come back. And so now it's in Dallas, 48:06 β 48:12 which is a huge deal. And then I remember seeing it in New York. There's like one so close to 48:12 β 48:18 Times Square and I was so surprised. okay. But yeah, they, I think that's why it's just 48:18 β 48:22 like, cause if anything, like same thing too, like why I think Filipinos like love Bruno 48:22 β 48:28 Mars or something. They're like, oh, he's half Filipino. Like, yeah, like, like we need to 48:28 β 48:33 support our culture. Cause it's like, there's like a lot of singers who are like mainstream 48:33 β 48:37 that like break past the Philippines. So I think that's why. Okay. I forgot that Bruno 48:37 β 48:44 Mars was. Oh yeah, I forgot that too. So many of those little things. sorry, go No, no, no. 48:44 β 48:48 was going say, well that kind of brings us to another fun question we like to ask is like, 48:48 β 48:52 do you have a favorite celebrity from the Philippines? It might at the moment be Bruno Mars, even 48:52 β 48:58 though he's half Filipino. He counts, he counts. Yeah, I think he's from Brazil. So like, don't 48:58 β 49:05 think he grew up in the Philippines, but I think just like, there's just so few that people 49:05 β 49:10 are like, I think we're not. Like, we're gonna latch on here, like, this is our person. I'm 49:10 β 49:15 trying to think, anytime there's a mainstream person that's even tangentially Filipino, 49:15 β 49:19 all the Filipinos latch on. Even if they're like, oh, they're married to a Filipino person. 49:19 β 49:26 Like, oh, this person, we love them. I don't know what it is. Filipinos, like, anything 49:26 β 49:30 remotely related to the Philippines, get very happy. Well, I think you brought up a good 49:30 β 49:36 point about how, you know, kind of like, how, it's just like... K-pop craze and all this 49:36 β 49:40 stuff. Like, it's not surprising to see, all these, like I said, you know, restaurants there 49:40 β 49:46 serving Korean food and stuff. like, guess that hasn't happened for like other countries 49:46 β 49:50 per se. And then like we were watching. We're big into tennis and so I'm watching like Miami 49:50 β 49:56 Open right now and there's a tennis player like Eyal. Yeah, I think name is Alexandra. Yeah. 49:56 β 50:02 And she's like, I heard she's like a star right now in the Philippines. Yeah. And so like 50:02 β 50:06 she's just kind of like 19 year old. up and coming to like first Filipino person and I 50:06 β 50:09 was like, oh, maybe that's what I just, I just kind of thought of that as you were saying 50:09 β 50:15 it. It's like, even though she's young and up and coming, it's like, like, 100. Yeah. You 50:15 β 50:19 know what? I'm pretty sure I'll probably hear about her very soon. There was this Filipino 50:19 β 50:27 powerlifting woman who was in the Olympics. I remember people were like, I think the rise 50:27 β 50:33 in the number of women who started powerlifting immediately. Everyone just became an expert 50:33 β 50:39 at powerlifting that day. Wrestlers. Were so happy when they saw one person. This is so 50:39 β 50:44 rare. I got you. I remember actually, were, I don't know if you remember this, Alyssa, 50:44 β 50:51 but we were with Alyssa's Filipino friends one time when a Filipino woman won Miss World 50:51 β 51:00 or Miss Universe or whatever. Yeah, and they were so proud. Yeah, it's nice. when you 51:00 β 51:07 get that representation. sure. Yeah, I think so. It just happens so rarely. I think it's 51:07 β 51:12 also something interesting I've seen is that a lot of... I have some friends who are like, 51:12 β 51:19 oh, some people when they see other people that are the same race as them, they sometimes 51:19 β 51:27 don't like it. for example, I know some Koreans who when they see... like other Koreans, it 51:27 β 51:31 could be a good or a bad thing where they're like, they're like, they either like, oh, they're 51:31 β 51:35 probably bad. Like, like, like, let's not talk to them. Filipinos. It's like if a Filipino 51:35 β 51:40 sees another Filipino, they're just like, oh, we're family. Like, yeah, they're like so happy. 51:40 β 51:45 Or if you literally it's even to the point where, again, if you say like, oh, my friend is Filipino, 51:45 β 51:51 they're like, oh, you're amazing. Like, think you guys like look Filipino. So if you told 51:51 β 51:56 anyone, that's hilarious. She gets that a lot more than me. Really? Okay. Yeah. Close enough, 51:56 β 52:01 like you're Filipino. Like I said, one of my best friends still to this day is Filipino. 52:01 β 52:06 And, you know, I've been to her house and birthday parties and has been around her family 52:06 β 52:11 and it's like, they are always very welcoming. I will say that. So it's very, very true. So, 52:11 β 52:17 yeah, no. And I do. I do. That's the number. Well, I get Filipino or just some kind of Hispanic 52:17 β 52:23 a lot. But like ever since I left my in Miami, people. don't really see me as that. then like 52:23 β 52:27 ever since I've left Miami, that's like the number one thing people just like assume I'm 52:27 β 52:32 Filipino. And I'm like, I'm not. Our mom is Chinese, Jamaican. It's very Jamaicans are 52:32 β 52:37 very mixed up with a lot of things. So it's amazing in there. It's just deep in there. 52:37 β 52:45 Anyway, can Chinese. OK, that I can definitely see that. OK. Most people are like, Yeah. 52:45 β 52:51 It's understandable that people would like. They see the Asian, I think, and that's naturally 52:51 β 52:56 where they just go, oh, maybe Filipino. Because I don't expect people to think of Jamaican 52:56 β 53:06 Chinese. They think of Bob Marley with dreads and stuff as Jamaican. Yeah. All right. So 53:06 β 53:11 our last question here is, since you've been to the Philippines quite a few times, actually, 53:12 β 53:19 do you have a happy place there, your favorite place there when you go? Yeah, I think I do 53:19 β 53:24 like there is this one beach that I have not been back to for forever, but I do remember 53:24 β 53:31 it's called Boracay. So that's like a beach area. And I know that it's like been closed 53:31 β 53:35 for a long time. I think it's reopened now just because of all the like the hurricanes and 53:35 β 53:41 tsunamis and like kind of destroyed it a little bit. But I do remember that like just the entire 53:41 β 53:46 time there when we went there. And I think I was maybe like, I don't know, nine or 10 or 53:46 β 53:51 something, but It just stuck out so vividly because I was like, there is literally no place 53:51 β 53:54 on earth that I've been to like this. And I remember like visiting California and going 53:54 β 54:00 to beaches, but I was like, this is just so different. Like it just does not feel like 54:00 β 54:04 I'm even on the world right now. And so I always remember that and I still haven't been back, 54:04 β 54:09 but now that I heard it's reopened, I heard it's like 20 times more expensive now, apparently 54:09 β 54:13 like it's, uh, it's still exactly like just as nice, maybe even better because they like 54:13 β 54:19 renovated a lot of things. Um, but that's. for sure, I think, where I'm like, I bet if 54:19 β 54:23 I went back, I'd probably still have the exact same feeling. That's awesome. That's so heartwarming. 54:25 β 54:29 Awesome. This was a great conversation, Chris. This is a lot of fun. I always like to get 54:29 β 54:33 to talk about the Philippines. Like I said, I grew up around a lot of Filipinos, so I feel 54:33 β 54:39 like I know a little bit more than maybe the average person. That's always fun to talk about 54:39 β 54:44 this topic. So, yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. We had a great time. Yeah, 54:44 β 54:45 absolutely. Yeah, thank you guys so much for having me.