MATAGAL-TAGAL NA RIN ako sa New Zealand and I confess at least three-quarters of my free time I spend either with family or other Filipinos, call them Pinoys, kabayan, they are my own. By force of habit or because of circumstance, I hardly socialize with other races. These are what I’ve noticed, in the decade-plus I’ve spent here.
walang nasasayang. takeaway boxes, used batteries, hand-me-downs, even leftovers from last week. As long as it can be used, reused, consumed, eaten, it will not be binned (thrown away) and discarded, weeks, months and years may pass but that achara (pickled papaya or pawpaw) that was lovingly gifted from several Christmases ago is still there in the dark corner of the ref (fridge) that’s by-the-way dark because nobody’s bothered to change the fridge bulb.
The practice of saving everything is a throwback to Pinoys inheriting the tendency of the previous generation to never throw away anything that might still be salvaged for alternative use or to give to the junkman (magbobote) for a few pesos. And THAT generation owed it to the postwar generation that never had enough of basic supplies and equipment, so that anything that could be used to improvise or build (or invent) something was kept in storage. All the way to the OFW’s garage where, on a rainy weekend, things could be sorted, repaired and organized for younger members of the family for future use.
religious images, mini statues and all sizes of rosaries. Even if you no longer follow all the rules, rites and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, you still attend Sunday Mass and give uncommon respect to priests nuns and working members of the Catholic religious, those who spread the Good Word and do good works in the name of the Church. In your living room your family displays at least one or more printed image and one or more figure of the following: The Sacred Heart of Jesus or Mary, The Child Jesus (Sto Nino), the Holy Family, your patron saint (whose feast day falls on your birthday or that of your spouse or child).
Three hundred years of being a Spanish colony, during which the Pope was as strong economically and militarily as any king or temporal ruler is a historical reality that dies hard, and 80% Catholicism for most OFWs is probably the tradition that dies hardest. We still think that the Pope is infallible, that priests and nuns should remain celibate for life, and in between Heaven and Hell is a purgatory to prepare us hopefully for the former.
inuman sa garahe . unless it’s an extra special occasion, the males of the house will not waste hard-earned income going to the pub for drinks especially with fellow kabayan. Of course the beloved tradition of drinks and alcohol is never abandoned, but why spend the extra 25% when you can drink at home? Now instead of disrupting the rest of the family, Filipinos often bring the inuman (drinking session) to the garage which is a fixture in many New Zealand homes, an annexed shed originally for the car but used as an activity room or repair shop of the mechanically inclined.
You will usually find the garage full of kabayan ready for inuman, complete with karaoke, videoke and pulutan, staples of every Filipino merrymaking. No closing time, no bouncer, and only the inevitable call from the better halves to finish the songs that remind us of former loves and former lives.
en op kors… lahat ng ebidensya ng hilig sa basketball. Basta may damuhan or kapirasong semento sa harap ng bahay ng Pinoy you’ll inevitably see the basketball goal, usually made of fiberglass so the occupants can pass endless weekend afternoons shooting jumpers, layups pretending to be last-second heroes of their favorite NBA/PBA playoff teams.
Pinoys are eternal basketball fanboys and girls, a throwback initially of American origin but now with a distinct Asian flavor. Basketball courts dot every street corner and sandlot back home in the Inang Bayan, and though rugby union and rugby league is king here in New Zealand, basketball is now one of the more popular sports, aided no doubt by the Filipino migrant community.
Inside the Pinoy household are further unmistakable signs of adherence to the sport: cable TV is always trained to the nearly year-long NBA basketball season schedule, shoe racks are adorned with basketball shoes endorsed by single-name star athletes including Giannis, Damian and Steph (Nike, adidas and Under Armor) and of course, the ubiquitous NBA2K22 video games on multiple platforms.
Every city and large town in New Zealand has at least one yearlong basketball tournament competed in by multiple age groups, and the champions of these usually meet annually in a sportsfest usually held in a host city. There are other events like volleyball and golf, but basketball is king and the top draw. Basketball fosters competition, but also friendship and camaraderie among all Pinoys in Aotearoa.
