Why am I so proud to be Wasian?

Hi everyone! If you don’t know what Wasian is - Here is a little explanation. Wasian is someone who is Western and Asian. You can also call it Eurasian for some - Mix of European and Asian or like they say in the Philippines ‘Mix Mix’. I am myself a Wasian. My father is French and my mother is Filipina - Or Pinay. And I am so proud of it. Here are some points that make me proud of being who I am.

- I grew up with two cultures. I know it might seem boring. I had the opportunity to grow up with my dad’s French culture. I grew up in France and my French family. But my mom raised me with the Filipino culture and delicious culinary dishes and all… I also had the chance to see my family in the Philippines often and I even studied there for a bit when I was younger.

- I had the opportunity to travel a lot and young. I took the plane for the first time before I was one. I know a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to travel until they are adults. So I feel really lucky and proud to have had that opportunity since I was a baby.

- My taste buds have tried so many different dishes that my Westend friends wouldn’t try in a million years, but that are absolutely amazing and so worth the try. Chicharon (Fried pork skin), Dinoguan (I do it with pork belly and black pudding myself), Lechon (Whole pig roasted) Arroz Waldo (some people don’t like how it looks). Filipino food is delish.

- My friends loved coming to my house. In the Philippines, you always have food for your neighbours and for anyone who would come to your house. My home was the place if you wanted cake or homemade dishes. My mom loved cooking for them and my friends loved coming over for some food. I was sometimes wondering if my friends would come to see me or to see my mom and her food.

- I have family all over the world. My Filipino family is spread out in almost all the continents. I literally have family in France, England, EAU, Canada, USA, China, Singapore… So many places and so many family members. It’s just nice to be able to go somewhere and just in case there is any problem, I get in touch with my mom who gets in touch with her relatives and help... help. That’s fun.

- I’m good with languages. I was raised in France so I speak French. My mom and my dad used to talk to each other in English when I was younger so I am bilingual in English. Then I used to understand and speak my mom’s native dialect. I can’t speak it anymore but I understand it. I also leant Spanish in school, and as Filipino uses loads of Spanish words, learning Spanish and the accent was easier for me in school. That made me realise the importance of languages. Being able to communicate with many people is amazing.

- I love karaoke! I am not saying that I am an amazing singer or anything. But being half Filipina has sort of given me the courage? To sing at karaoke.

- I understand the value of things and the chance I had while growing in Europe. When I go to the Philippines, I can see how fortunate I was being raised in Europe. Just for things like free school, and being able to have hot/cold water from the tap - That is moreover drinkable. Just the simple things like that, that we all take for granted sometimes, but that some other people aren’t as lucky to have in other countries in Asia.

- I know how to make rice. Loads of Western people - See uncle Roger’s videos, still don’t know how to make rice. I feel like rice making is a life skill (haha) and if you don’t know how to make rice, life is so much more difficult.

- I can cheer for two different counties during events. Ok, granted, the Philippines aren’t in every sports event, but the little number of sports they are playing in, I am sooooooo proud. During the Olympics, I’m cheering for both the Philippines and France. Same for Miss Universe and those beautiful pageants. More chances to win. And the Philippines surely knows how to win beauty pageants.

There are probably a lot more things that make me proud to be Wasian, I’m sure as soon as I finish posting that article, I’ll be able to think of other things. Oh well, I might have to do another article. Anyway, I hope you liked that article, please don’t hesitate to share, and if you want to read more of my posts, I have written a post about ‘Things that you know if you’re Wasian’ as well as ‘Asian cooking tips’ amongst many other posts.

Have a lovely day!

Axelle