Assignment 1-Define your Culture?

This is a hard question for me, because I see my life so far in three phases - my birth(Philippines), my childhood (Cyprus), and my adult life (Canada) - therefore I see myself as being tri-cultural, if there is indeed quite a word.

I was born in the Philippines and from what I can remember, I played a lot with my big sis and my two cousins, ate rice and eggs for what it seemed like, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and lastly, I recall only leaving the gates of our house once. I left my homeland when I was four and moved with my family to Cyprus, where we lived for 8 years.

My memories of Cyprus are wonderful. I went to a convent school, where we learned to speak Greek, French, and English and we studied about the ancient world, practiced our languages, and went to Mass as obedient Catholics. My family and I enjoyed the Mediterannean lifestyle of beaches, amazing food, and relaxed lifestyle. My father was working aboard a cruise ship liner, where his band provided entertainment for the vacationing tourists. Our summer holidays were spent in Greece, Israel, and Egypt. But after 8 years, my parents decided to move to Canada where "opportunities awaited us." I always think back to how great my childhood was living in Cyprus and often cry to my parents that they should have left me there (since my passion is art and history, and I believe with my career path it would have served me better to stay on that side of the continent). I would have been fluent in 4 languages by the time I was done highschool in that convent school!

Oh Canada......I arrived here when I was in grade 6 and my friends could not understand my "accent". I think they still believe my accent (filipino-british?) was the Cypriot accent...lol. I adjusted well to Canada but I missed the beach, the food, my friends, and the beautiful weather. But I have been in Canada for 17 years and I have grown to love it for its many beauties. After visiting the States, we have to love our Health System, our friendly Canadian attitude, and having a taste of everyone's culture right here in multicultural haven - Toronto!

So to put this introductory blog to an end...

• I am very much Filipino in my adobo-eating, sinigang-loving, and ube icecream-licking ways (all food references). I eat with a fork and spoon and can eat rice with almost anything (chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.). I am proud to still live with my parents past 18 yrs --and rent-free! (In our culture, we can stay as long as we want)


• I am Cypriot (or Greek) because I want a lemon tree in my backyard, I am very much a big fan of siestas, I cook a mean sheftalia dish....oh and I can throw my tissue paper in the waste basket and feel ok about it!


• And lastly, I am very much Canadian (eh!) in the sense that I am not American (as one Greek asked me today "Are you Philipinas-Amerique?"), I call that holiday in May, "the May 2-4 weekend", and I vacation in Niagara Falls on the regular......oh and I soooooooo have a problem with throwing tissue paper from No. 2's in the waste basket! lol....
  
  Therefore, because of my life's experiences and travels, I see myself as being tricultural.