Confused about your ethnic identity? Want to know just how Filipino you are? Take this less-than-scientific quiz to rate your Filipino-ness. You might just be surprised at the results!
Scoring: Give yourself 3 points if you can relate to the following characteristics yourself, 2 points if it relates to an immediate family member (Mom or Dad) and 1 point if you know of someone who has the characteristic.
Mannerisms & Personality Traits:
1. You point with your lips.
2. You eat using your hands
and have it down to a technique!
3. Your other piece of luggage
is a "balikbayan" box.
4. You nod your head upwards
to greet someone.
5. You put your foot up
on your chair and rest your elbow on your knee while eating.
6. You use a rock to scrub
yourself in the bath or shower.
7. You have to kiss your
relatives on the cheek as soon as you or they enter the room.
8. You're standing next
to eight big boxes at the airport.
9. You collect items from
hotels or restaurants "for souvenir's sake".
10. Your house has a distinctive
aroma.
11. You smile for no reason.
12. You flirt by having
a foolish grin on your face while raising your eyebrows repeatedly.
13. You go to a department
store and try to bargain the prices.
14. You use an umbrella
for shade on hot summer days.
15. You scratch your head
when you don't know the answer.
16. You never eat the last
piece of food on the table.
17. You go bowling.
18. You play pusoy and mahjong.
19. You find dried-up morsels
of rice stuck to your shirt.
20. You prefer to sit in
the shade instead of basking in the sun.
21. You add an unwarranted
"h" to your name; e.g. "Jhun", "Bhoy", or "Rhon".
22. You put your hands together
in front of you as if to make a path and say "Excuse, excuse" when you
pass in between people or in front of the TV.
23. Your middle name is
your mother's maiden name.
24. You like everything
that's imported or "state-side".
25. You check the labels
on clothes to see where they were made.
26. You hang your clothes
out to dry.
27. You are perfectly comfortable
in a squatting position with your elbows resting on your knees.
28. You consistently arrive
30 minutes late for all events.
29. You always offer food
to all your visitors.
Vocabulary
30. You say "CR" or "comfort
room" instead of "bathroom".
31. You say "for take out"
instead of "to go".
32. You "open" or "close"
the lights.
33. You ask for "Colgate"
instead of "toothpaste".
34. You ask for a "pentel
pen" or a "ball pen" instead of just a pen.
35. You refer to the refrigerator
as the "ref" or "pridyider".
36. You say "kodakan" instead
of "take a picture".
37. You order a "McDonald's"
instead of a "hamburger" (pronounced ham-boor-jer).
38. You say "Ha?" instead
of "What?".
39. You say "Hoy!" to get
someone's attention.
40. You answer when someone
yells "Hoy!".
41. You turn around when
someone says "Pssst!".
42. You say "Cutex" instead
of "nail polish".
43. You say "for a while"
instead of "please hold" on the telephone.
44. You say "he" when you
mean "she" and vice-versa.
45. You say "aray!" instead
of "ouch!".
46. Your sneeze sounds like
"ahh-ching" instead of "ahh-choo".
47. You prefer to make acronyms
for phrases such as "OA" for over-acting, "DOM" for dirty old man, and
"TNT" for, well, you know.
48. You say "aircon" instead
of "a/c" or air conditioner.
49. You pronounce the following
words: "hippopo-TA-mus", "com-FOR-table", broc-CO-li", and "Mongo-merry
Ward".
50. You say "brown-out"
instead of "black-out" or "power outage".
51. You say "Uy!" instead
of "Oops!".
Home Furnishings
52. You use a "walis tambo"
and a "walis tingting" as opposed to a conventional broom.
53. You have a "Weapons
of Moroland" shield hanging on your living room wall.
54. You have a portrait
of "The Last Supper" hanging on your dining room wall.
55. You own a karaoke system.
56. You own a piano no one
ever plays.
57. You have a tabo in the
bathroom.
58. Your house is cluttered
with "burloloys".
59. You have two to three
pairs of tsinelas at your doorstep.
60. Your house has ornate
wrought iron gates in front of it.
61. You have a rose garden.
62. You display a big laughing
Buddha for good luck.
63. You have a shrine to
the Santo Nino in your living room.
64. You own a "Barrel Man"
(schwing!).
65. You have a parol hanging
outside your house during the holidays.
66. You cover your living
room furniture with bedsheets.
67. Your lampshades still
have the plastic covers on them.
68. You have plastic runners
to cover the carpets in your house.
69. You refer to your VCR
as the "Beyta-Max".
70. You have a rice dispenser.
71. You own a turbo broiler.
72. You own one of those
fiber-optic flower lamps.
73. You own a lamp with
the oil that drips down the strings.
74. You have a giant wooden
fork and spoon hanging in the dining room.
75. You have wooden tinikling
dancers on the wall.
76. You own capiz shell
chandeliers, lamps, or placemats.
Automobiles
77. You own a Mercedes Benz
and call it "chedeng".
78. You own a huge conversion
van.
79. Your car chirps like
a bird or plays a tune when it's in reverse.
80. Your car horn can make
three or more different sounds.
81. Your car has curb feelers
on it.
82. You hang a rosary on
your car's rear view mirror.
83. You have those air fresheners
in a bottle.
Family
84. You have aunts and uncles
named "Baby", "Girlie", or "Boy".
85. You were raised to believe
that every Filipino is an aunt, uncle or cousin.
86. Your dad was in the
Navy.
87. Your mom or sister is
a nurse.
88. You get smelling kisses
from your grandma.
89. Your parents call each
other "Mommy" and "Daddy".
90. You have a family member
that has a nickname that repeats itself; e.g., "Deng-Deng", "Ling-Ling",
or "Jong-Jong".
Food
91. You put hot-dogs in your
spaghetti.
92. You consider dills the
Filipino equivalent to french fries.
93. You think that eating
chocolate rice pudding and dried fish is a great morning meal.
94. You order things like
"tapsilog", "longsilog", or "tocilog" at restaurants.
95. You instinctively grab
a toothpick after a meal.
96. You order a "soft drink"
instead of a "soda".
97. You dip bread in your
morning coffee.
98. You refer to seasonings
and all other forms of monosodium glutamate as "Ajinomoto".
99. Your cupboards are full
of corned beef hash, Spam, and Vienna sausages.
100. "Goldilocks" means
more to you than just a character in a fairy tale.
101. You appreciate a fresh
pot of hot rice.
102. You bring your baon
to work everyday.
103. Your baon is usually
something over rice.
104. Your neighbors complain
about the smell of "tuyo" on Sunday mornings.
105. You eat rice for breakfast.
106. You use your fingers
to measure the water when cooking rice.
107. You wash and re-use
plastic utensils and styrofoam cups.
108. You have a supply of
frozen "lumpia" in the freezer.
109. You have an ice-shaver
for making "halo-halo".
110. Your cloth tablecloths
have tell-tale "toyo circles" on them.
111. You eat purple yam-flavored
ice cream.
112. You gotta have a bottle
of Jufran handy.
113. You fry Spam and hot
dogs and eat them with rice.
114. You think half-hatched
duck eggs are a delicacy.
115. You know that "chocolate
meat" isn't really made with chocolate.
*BONUS QUESTION*
You understand this joke
(make sure you read the punchline with a Filipino accent!):
How many bears were in car with Goldilocks?
Four -- the momma bear, the
poppa bear, the baby bear and the driver.