Who Am I?

Yep, taken from the that song title by Casting Crowns "Who Am I." This isn't my first blog but would be my first post for my official "relaunched" blog entitled, "Juan dela Chua".

Juan dela Chua is a mix of the traditional Filipino "Juan dela Cruz" - Juan dela Cruz is the national personification used in the Philippines to represent the "Filipino". The name, Spanish for "John of the Cross", is roughly the equivalent of the American Uncle Sam and John Doe. - according to Wikipedia, and Chua coming from my surname, a Chinese derived surname.

I'm a Filipino - Chinese, that's what they call us here in the Philippines. Some other labels include, Chinoy, Fil-Chi, Chekwa/Chequa(I suggest NOT calling any of your Fil-Chi friends here in the Phil. this nickname when in public or when we don't even know each other! This is like calling a Filipino "Indio" or an African-American the N word) , Intsik, etc.

I am 25% Filipino and 75% Chinese(if we're doing technicalities, 25/75) by BLOOD, but traditionally, I'm pure Chinese. Let me explain how. My dad was adopted by a pure Chinese couple when he was still little, like probably toddler little. My mom said that my dad's real parents were half as well. My biological "angkong"(grandfather, fatherside) was Macau and my biological "ama"(grandmother, fatherside) was Filipina. My biological grandfather went back to Macau and had no idea what happened afterwards, this was all just a "theory" of my family tree on my fatherside.

Now my adopted grandfather adopted my dad because they were having a hard time conceiving a child of their own. My "aco" (my dad's only sister) was adopted by my grandfather as well, my dad and his sister are NOT blood related.(can you still catch up?) They're both orphaned but my aco/aunt was pure Chinese(she now found her family).

Traditionally 100% Chinese because, I practice almost EVERY Chinese tradition the stereotype Chinese family has to offer/practices. I.e., We go to temple for worship especially my parents, we wear red when there's a birthday celebration, we avoid wearing white or black because of superstitions. Our unlucky numbers are 4 and or 9, we are asked by our parents as well to marry a Chinese as well, when my parents are around, we speak quite fluent Fukien/Hokien among us siblings or my parents would get mad at us, we studied at a private Chinese school who thought us Mandarin, etc. These are just some of the few things I will be writing about in the following months ahead.

But don't be deceived by all of this, I'm actually NOT the stereotypical Fil-Chi you would encounter everyday. I have a Filipino friend who actually said that I'm one of the few Fil-Chi who isn't Fil-Chi at all, and he only knows two Fil-Chi who aren't your stereotype Fil-Chi.

Anyway, in the following months I will write more about myself, the Chinese community, whatever just for my pleasure and not for yours ;)

Funny how this blog turns out to be in English. LOL.

Anyway, hanggang dito na lang muna, paalam!