J.O.U.R.N.E.Y: My Big Fat Filipino Weekend

Have you seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?"

If you have - you'll be glad to know that that movie is a good depiction of my life.

Craig's family is extremely small - no cousins and only 1 aunt.

I have 2 aunts and 3 uncles - I have close to 20 first cousins...just on my Dad's side.

There's a part in the movie where Toula - the main character - is talking to her American boyfriend about her family. She takes a deep breath and rants about how her family is huge, how they are involved in each others life...like TOO involved, how they eat and eat...

That's pretty much my family. I can't speak for all Filipinos - but sometimes I feel like I can. I don't know what it is - but when I meet someone for the first time and they find out I'm Filipino - they bring up how they know someone Filipino from work or from church or from school and if I know so, so...I graciously say - I don't think I do and then go home and ask my husband - if he meets a white person do they automatically bring up they know another white person and if he knows them...
Craig just laughs and says it never happens to him and then says it probably happens because Filipino people automatically make you family when you meet them.

I have more Tita's (aunts) and Tito's (uncles) than I can count. I've also lost count of those Tita's and Titos that I'm not related to - but still call Tita and Tito.

We eat and eat and eat. And then take a break and sing Karaoke and eat some more. If you come over to my house - be prepared to be asked if you're hungry. Then after you politely decline - be prepared to be asked 10 more times if you're hungry until you fold and eat something.

Don't know what that thing is that you're eating? Probably an awesome egg roll. Or maybe intestines or beef tongue. What...did you think Andrew Zimmern was the only one eating Bizarre Foods??

Have a weird growth or rash on your skin? No - we don't use Windex - come on now! We use Baby Powder. Have an itch, a bunyon, a hangnail?? Use Baby Powder.

Over laughers? Yup - that's us! We laugh and laugh and laugh, take a break from laughing and eat, get a tummy ache from laughing so hard - then stick Baby Powder on our stomaches to make them feel better :-)

But this weekend was on Filipino overload. My mom was inducted as the President of North Texas Association of Philippine Physicians. I am so proud of her! This organization provides health fairs for the North Texas area and travels back to the Philippines for medical missions.

This year - we (and we meaning mainly my family) organized a Black and White Cowboy Gala at Eddie Dean's Ranch in Dallas to raise money for the medical mission for February 2010. It was a hit! Imagine over 300 Filipinos and 3 white people - my husband and my sister's husbands - dressed in Cowboy gear ready to party it up. If there are a few things that go together better than peanut butter and jelly - it's Filipinos, Cowboy hats and line dancing....and line dancing they did...

And of course - nothing says medical mission like a Filipino Transexual Stand Up Comedian Singer. What? You don't have a gender ambiguous stand up act as the main entertainment at your events?

We had family from all over the world - come for the weekend festivities. Of course - my parents hosted lunch on Friday and lunch on Sunday for family and friends. Isabelle met more brown people than she can count on her itty bitty fingers.

I don't know what more you could have asked for in a Big Fat Filipino Weekend - food, laughter, family...and Craig in cowboy hat...priceless...