Top 10 activities

TGIF is a trendy and a popular restaurant chain in Southern California where a lot of Americans hang around for happy hour. I have been there and enjoyed observing people watering their sorrows, stress and frustrations with discounted drinks of alcohol and finger food, from 4:30 p.m. to about 7 p.m.

That’s America – live to work, and work to live; drink and be happy at restaurants like TGIF.

During my visits to the Philippines, I was often asked how Filipinos in America spend their weekends. And with the Thanksgiving weekend just around the corner, here are the top 10 ways Filipino families spend their weekends, based on my observation of the Filipinos in America – especially in California.

1. Partying. Any occasion – a birthday, anniversary of any kind, baptism, wedding or funeral is a good reason for families and friends to get together. In every Filipino gathering, there will always be plenty of food and drinks to amaze the non-Filipino guests – because the spread can always feed as much as two or three times the number of invited guests! Of course, this phenomenon leads to almost every one bringing home leftovers (the balot) for next week’s consumption!

2. Gambling. Corollary to many the weekend partying is the gathering of MPG (mahjong, pusoy and gambling games) addicts. I have yet to see home parties of Filipinos where there is no mahjong table with imported tiles that are superior to the domestic variety. Many Filipino families do not indulge in other human activities like going to arts museum, seminars or excursions. A majority also do not join mainstream civic or community organizations (like the Rotary, Lions or Kiwanis) and instead form their own exclusively Filipino organizations where they can socialize and feel at home. The sad part, in my opinion, is that these home parties become gambling "socializations." Even Filipino children in elementary already know how to play mahjong or pusoy.

3. Going to the induction-dinner dance. As there are hundreds (if not thousands) of Filipino organizations in the USA, there must also be an equal number of annual induction-dinner dances. These dinner-induction balls or beauty pageants are almost always done in fancy hotels like the Hilton, Westin or Sheraton. As a businessman, I am often invited, but I shun most of them and instead contribute money for their so-called advertising in glossy souvenir programs – my own little way to help their fund-raising.

4. Shopping in department store outlets. Among Filipino women, possibly the number-one topic is discussing what the best factory outlet is. In California, there are dozens spread all over the state, such as Cabazon in the Palm Springs area, Barstow along Highway 15 going to Las Vegas, Carlsbad on San Diego-Tijuana border, Temecula, Ventura and many others.

5. Going to casinos in Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada. These are very popular destinations of Filipinos – especially during long weekends. Why? Las Vegas and Reno have some of the most popular casinos and recreation and show centers in the world. These are cities where there are possibly more slot machines than residents. Food is cheapest in these cities, and the entertainment shows are generally very affordable. Psychologically, Las Vegas, like death, can offer the average person an ephemeral feeling of being equal to anybody around the gaming table. Watching people’s behavior in Las Vegas (a.k.a. as Lost Wages) is a very good pastime and educational experience. Being in Las Vegas is like being in a make-believe world that can, unfortunately, destroy many people with weak constitution. For instance, we have several clients who are truly addicted to gambling that has made their retirement years very miserable.

6. Gardening. Many Filipinos, especially first-degree Filipinos like this writer, also spend hours and hours in their backyard making their home a replica of their environment as they were growing up in the Philippines. At least for a day or two, the home gardens serve as an oasis that provides some relief from a very stressful workweek. It’s definitely a much less expensive option than going to a psychiatrist’s clinic or to Las Vegas!

7. Going to school and/or church. Many middle-income Filipino families also send their children to private schools, especially Catholic schools. These private schools, however, require the parents to render some volunteer hours to the church or school as one of the requirements for their children’s continued enrollment in the school. Parents put a lot of volunteer hours in the church or school’s annual festival or fiesta that generates extra funds for the school.

8. Watching football or basketball. These are two sports which many Filipinos have learned to enjoy watch. They have in many ways have replaced the popular sabong.

9. Doing the household chores. As there are practically no maids or househelp for most of us in America, we do all the housework. We do the laundry, cleaning the house and wash dishes – everything normally done by rich peoples’ maids in the Philippines. It’s good we have Mr. Hoover (the vacuum cleaner), Mrs. Maytag (the washing machine) and Mr. Sears (the lawn mower) to help us during weekends!

10. Fishing.

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One of the most popular and busy weekends in America is the Thanksgiving weekend, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and is unofficially the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It is also during this weekend when many homeowners start decorating their houses with multi-colored Christmas lights. Even before Thanksgiving, some parking or major corner lots are rented to enterprising businesspeople that sell many varieties of Christmas trees. For extra, customers can have their Christmas trees covered by "snow" (called Christmas "flocking"). Thanksgiving Day, although originally had some religious significance, has become one the biggest weekends for shopping.

How do Filipinos in America celebrate Thanksgiving? Many families get together in a potluck party. Although turkey dinner is the traditional and most popular main course for most American families on Thanksgiving Day, Filipinos still prefer (in addition to turkey servings) traditional Filipino food, like lechon, embotidos, daing na bangus, bachoy, kilawin, and many other popular dishes. Some families buy and butcher a young calf, pig or goat that can still be purchased live in nearby rural areas. Children of Filipino immigrants learn much about their roots during holiday parties, especially when both parents and their American-born children take time to go to these agricultural areas to buy and butcher a pig, goat or chicken. It is the next best thing for parents to educate their children about the life in the Philippines without going back to the homeland.

So this Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks to Almighty God and our Lord for all the blessings that were given us during the past year. To our readers, especially those who took time to write their comments or feedback the last couple of years, our sincere thanks. May our Lord Jesus Christ give us more reasons to be grateful this year and in the coming years!

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On Saturday, November 10, our Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Edwin Bael and his lovely wife were our special guests during the annual Thanksgiving dinner dance of the Filipino American Association of Orange County, about an hour drive south of Los Angeles. During his brief remarks, Consul General Bael read and shared us President Gloria M. Arroyo’s prayer in the Filipino language that was also publicized and read in the National Day of Prayer and Fasting in the Philippines. The words were indeed quite profound as they were beautifully touching. Every one stood in absolute silence and prayed for our dear Philippines with our outgoing Consul General. It saddens me, however, that according to STAR columnist Art Borjal, nobody from the opposition party even took time to appear and show up during the Rizal Park National Day of Prayer celebration. Can all Filipinos not able to show that they desire/ pray for a better Philippines?

Quo vadis, kababayan?

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