A few days ago I was invited to a birthday party of a 10 year old young lady, which this being the Philippines was an excellent excuse for getting all the adults around and having a good drink and food from the hosts.
The event took place in the garden where a computer was linked to a projector and we were treated to music from Kenny Rogers, Beyonce and then one of the family put on a vcd of a American Pinoy comedian called Rex Navarette.
Now I have been to a few comedy bars here and no matter if the sign says its English it will go into the local dialect so the comedy completely misses me as I am too lazy to try and learn the language. So I started to sigh and held my glass of red wine harder knowing it would keep me company for the next half n hour.
The video started in English and STAYED in English and the guy on stage was funny! He was so funny as he very cleverly too managed to show excellent comedy in the differences in the cultures of the Philippines and his new home of America.
What so impressed me was that he was able to really get into some “dangerous territory” about how the Pinoys reacted to Spanish rule and American influences and he mocked himself with a great sketch on the non verbal communication that the Filipino uses and the hilarious results it has when you try that in the West.
The birthday audience was screaming with laughter and so was I!!!!.
He even managed to to show the invited Pinoys guests in the studio audience how the West you to name them “Brown Monkeys” and he showed perfect timing in making audience understand through his humour the misunderstandings that happens between the spoken word and the non verbal communications.
The audience in the garden were roaring with laughter as he mocked his own people and the response of people from around the world who could not understand the non verbal communication nuances.
The main thing I have learnt from this was the ability the Filipinos has to laugh at themselves and see the funny side of its culture and to see how the world looks at them. I pride myself that the British culture always laughs at its self and now my new adopted home can too.
Granted my British humour has to be toned down by about a 1000% sometimes to avoid upsetting my hosts.
Hi John, of course we also laugh at ourselves, the same way the British laugh at themselves & I guess the same goes for the most. We even laugh at our own miseries. I'm sure you have noticed this to your dealings to most Filipinos. Have you seen people who lost their homes to fire? After the fire, they go pick whatever things they can salvage & if there's none they brag that at least they can sell those charred wood for charcoal. The one thing we are sensitive about though is about our women in general. A case in point is how a Filipina maid/& something else is used to highlight the propensity of a certain type of Englsih man to oppress certain class of people. For a good reason, we are stereotyped as domestic helper & worse, something else like that potrayed in the skit. When we see ourselves as such in the media, & the potrayal of which leaves us no dignity, we get upset not because we have no sense of humor but because that which we find embarrassing is being rubbed in our faces.
Now, let's put the other shoe to the other foot. Negative stereoptypes for Filipinos are domestic helpers & prostitutes ( & this works both for both sexes). Can you think of negative stereotypes for the Brits w/c are known the world over? I can't think of any which is unique only to the Brits. My knowledge of the English people is largely limited to the movies of merchant ivory films, w/c is not only fiction but romantic as well. My point is you are lucky that the world over does not have any negative stereotypes about you. If ever, British people themselves made those negative traits, maybe to feel superior over others or to have something to laugh about.
John, I think that you do not need to tone down your humor 1000% times whenever you are w/ Filipinos. That would be shortchanging the person who could benefit from your wit. We could take jokes too except for those w/c I just pointed out.
Nice reply Roy.
I think the stereotype Brit is the pompous "tally ho" type along with the instance on drinking the 3pm cup of tea as bombs fall all over London.
My Mum would tell me that even if the neighbours house was bombed they would adopt the "life goes on attitude", to the point of everyone sitting at the table eating dinner.
Good morning from verrrrrry cold Spain, John!
Not to worry…it's always nice to laugh at oneself. I,, myself have no problem laughing at myself, my husband thinks I'm bonkers. I, too, was able to find some excellent PInoy comedians based in the USA on YouTube and believe me, I never stopped laughing! John, I don't think there's that much difference between British and Filipino humour, however, I seem to find it odd that many of my husband's relations are somehow AFRAID to laugh at themselves. Perhaps, they take themselves too seriously? As for my other British friends, they do love a good laugh. As I mentioned to you before, my husband is a man of few words, but when he finds the time to make remarks or one-liners, believe me, I burst laughing non-stop! yeah, John, just loosen up in Davao and enjoy yourself. It;s your chosen home now. You'll find that Pinoys are no different. Have a good laugh and they'll laugh with you. Regards,
Now, to Roy,
Hi, again, my new cyberspace friend!
I can put my hand on my heart and say that indeed I do know and I emphasise the word "know" about the British, their customs, traditions and the like. But, it will take an enormous amount of volume to fit the words through…So, do make it a point to visit Spain so we can have a chat over pansit (?) Look forward to your email. Regards, Hill
Hi John, that's what I thought so RE the negative stereotypes associated to the English people. But those are really not negative stereotypes. Pompous "tally ho" types are just misinterpreted know-it-all's. At least for me, I enjoy characters like these when done by the british themselves. & as for the english's insistence to have a proper dinner or tea ("this tea is ghastly!") in whatever circumstances they find themselves (we've all seen these in the movies), again I think that this is not a negative stereotype. For me, it represents the best of human spirit for its persistence in maintaining the same level of civility despite trying times. Again, these are characters I've seen only in the movies or BBC telemovies. The most unflattering side that I've seen so far are the junkies in "Trainspotting".
Was it John Lennon who said that the english man feels that it's their divine right to live where ever they want? If he really did, that's another stereoptype w/c could be negative for it reflects the colonial mentality of the english.
Hi Hill, I did email you already. We really have a lot to cover; I can't wait. Pancit ? Tired of paella?
Hi,Roy,
No, I haven't received your email. When did you send it? It must have bounced.
Try again. Thanks.
Thanks, John, but I needed to acknowledge Roy.
Hi,Roy,
I just read your additional comment above. You have been watching too much period drama films usually made by BBC. Hahahahha! It's laughable to think that the majority of Brits behave that way—-and the way they speak! Quack…..no Roy, they aren't that pompous in many respects. They are down-to-earth and do not even bother (nowadays in the south of England) to use proper bone china. Instead they use the mug for their afternoon tea. "I'll put the kettle on." is a very common line in northern England. But as you go down south, they'd rather drink coffee and again, straight off a large unattractive mug. Where my husband and I go, in Cumbria/Lake District, it is still the norm to serve tea in proper bone china. When you come and visit us, it's the same thing: you get proper bone china not because we're part of the old era of bone china tea drinkers but because when you start a collection of , for example, Royal Albert bone china, you do not have a choice but to use all of them! Besides, tea tastes better drunk from bone china or ceramic, but never in transparent glass. I for one can never enjoy coffee from a transparent cup or glass, but some Spanish people do not mind either. I haven't heard my husband say, "ghastly tea…" or something to that effect. We leave that to those who wish to live the era of India—where black Indian servants come running to serve costumed, nicely-turned out bejewelled insecure blue-eyed women flutter their eyelashes and say, "Ohh, thank youmy dehhh…"the bottom line is, no such pompous behaviour exists in the confines of housing estates, bungalows, or terraced houses. Those are long gone. Let's leave it to the BBC to pretend that things have not changed. After all, just recently, they have already been accused of producing filth, more filth and other downmarket so-called work of art, i.e., comedy/sitcoms.
Regards,
Hill
Yea John on You Tube there is alot of Rex Naverette video's and OMG that guy is hilarious poking fun at filipino customs haha
Hi John! Yes Rex Navarette is hilarious!!! There's another asian we have seen who is good (maybe better) than Rex. Russell Peters, check him out.
Hill
Just tried to use my YOUTUBE but nothing loading today so I will try later to see more of Rex.
If it was not for the humour between me and my Pinoy friends I think we would have been frustrated with each other, but the humour always brings us closer even if sometimes we have to explain it to each other. lol,.
Cathy
Russell peters I will look up too is he English speaking comedian also?
Tommy
Why I love Rex is that he takes the comedy out of the Pinoys and us too..very refreshing.
Roy
Hill is right we are a drink tea from a mug country now , but we still have a humour that is based on self satire and irony, which does not always transfer across the world unless its done in slap stick ways like Mr Bean
LOL Cathy i have seen him too so very funny too but i think he is from India
Maayong buntag, John,
Mug country…..figuratively or otherwise???? Cheers! Hill
yes John if you can laugh eat yourself then you can laugh at the world and with the world too
Phil n Jess
HI john and tommy. Russell Peters is Canadian though his parents are from India. Very funny guy. Oh my husband discovered one more guy, Jeff Duncan. He's a ventriloquist though.
I love his segment about "SBC Sheet Packing Company" I saw a few years back.
Interviewer: Sir, What is the name of your company?
REX: Well, as you can see, behind me SBC (made it sound like "it's busy in Filipino twang)
then towards the end Rex got "mad" and started yelling at his SBC employees to bump up production and keep packing all the sheets to meet their clients needs.
"you, Pack this sheet, Pack that sheet and pack that sheet"
Classic…but you have to hear it and understand "Filipino speak" to get the joke.. but it's not hard once you watch him on stage.
Rex Navarette and Russell Peters are equally funny. I stumbled upon Russell Peter's act on youtube while looking for the movie that Bob recommended, entitled Outsourced.
Here's the link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lZsLL-M_Dik&fea…
and just follow the links from there for parts 2 to 8.
oh, you don't need to click any links from there. It's a playlist and will continuously play through the last part.
Here's Rex:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ABU9GTFEXos&fea…
@ Beth- That's how we discovered russell peters too!
Hi Cathy,
I just had a good laugh watching Rex and Russell all over again the other day.
Btw, I'm not a lesbian or anything
but I just want to say that you have a very pretty face. I like all the photos that you posted here (gravatar). True Filipina Beauty!
Mr. Roy;
“For a good reason, we are stereotyped as domestic helper & worse, something else like that portrayed in the skit. When we see ourselves as such in the media, & the portrayal of which leaves us no dignity, we get upset not because we have no sense of humor but because that which we find embarrassing is being rubbed in our faces.”
Just an opinion for being a domestic helper; I am a Filipino, working as a “Professional Domestic Staff” in a capacity of a “Private Chef”. In U.S.A. if a Filipino national would just do it right, these jobs that are merely called housemaids, houseboys, Yaya etc. in our country are far better off in this part of the world.
I am very proud of being one of them for a big reason. “Yaya’ is equivalent to “Nannies” out here. The lowest yearly salary of this position is $45,000.00/year with free board and lodging, free health, medical and dental insurance, a car is assigned with a gasoline allowance and a mileage pay if it requires traveling by car. This is only for this particular position. Other designation differed in salary scale but share the same privileges and benefits. Butlers, Personal Assistants and Private Chefs are getting paid higher compared to Nannies, Housekeepers, Landscaper, Yardman, Handyman and Chauffeur. You may not believe me but you can check it at http://www.domesticherald.com.
Until now the national minimum wage is $5.50 per hour for any regular jobs at this country. There are companies that are paying $6.50, $7.50, $8.50 up to $9.50 dollars per hour. This is not the private homes who can afford the luxury of maintaining “Professional Private Home Domestic Staff”. This are the normal businesses that you can find anywhere in the world.
In Philippines doing this type of job is something that you had described. I do not have any idea in UK or other parts of Europe, but here in U.S.A. “Professional Private Home Domestic Staff” are not just a necessity but as well as a luxury. It is so expensive that only millionaires and billionaires can afford to have some of them or us serving them at their homes or estate. We are not just a “Katabang or Katulong” here. This jobs is not just a mere job, it is a professional career and handsomely paid.
Likewise, we do not look for a certain job; we have agents who look for our jobs. We do not pay any placement fee, it is illegal here if the placement agents collects a certain fee to a job applicants like us. It is the responsibility of the hiring clients to pay to the placement offices and agents if they wanted to hire a certain position of a “Professional Private Home Domestic Staff”.
Since hiring clients are located all over the country, if and when a job interview is requested; the clients will fly in the applicants to the desired location, rent a car for them to use, reserved a hotel if they do not have a space for them to stay at their property and pay the daily wages if the candidates are required to show or perform a job. At my last job interview I cook for three days I get paid $1,000.00 for it. My spouse who is interviewed with me as the Executive Housekeeper was also paid the same amount. This is on top of everything that I had mentioned earlier such as; airfare, rent a car, hotel room and meals during the duration of the job interview.
For Filipinos and Filipinas that are on this career at our country or in any other part of the world being a “Housemaids or a Houseboys” of whatever designation you are getting. There are places in other part of the world that we are a very important staff. It is just a matter of how to find the right placement offices and agents. Not a local one in our country, use the power of Internet!
Just imagine in our country if we all just stop one day serving our employers. What would happen to their daily lives? In America people who are building houses worth in million of dollars, they are very much aware that they needed another millions to maintain it. That’s where we came in!
thechef1955
from Cebu City