Today is my cousin Ayumi's birthday he turned 13 years old, look how time flies. Ayumi was born in the Philippines and spent his 7 childhood years in there. Like me Ayumi is also a Lola's kid (grandmother's kid), with his physical attributes you can never deny the fact that he is of Japanese blood. While still a baby we used to call Ayumi as a shaolin kid, hes eyes were small and does'nt have any eyelids at all, bald, chubby and cute. He's really a source of happiness in the family. When my aunt and his husband decided to bring Ayumi in Japan, off course my grandmother felt so bad about it but later realized that Ayumi also needs to be with his family. When I came here I was surprised how Ayumi can now relate being a Japanese, he's now good speaking the language, he's attitude is more of a Japanese, much more is, he even eats vegetables and even get used in eating Japanese food. Though he's ability to speak Tagalog became poor, but still I am glad he still knows how to speak it. Most half Japanese kids don't even know how to speak Tagalog. The adjustments Ayumi has made is not that easy. Maybe it's lesser but discrimination still exist and that's basically one reason why Ayumi is having a hard time in school. A part of Ayumi is still Filipino. And it really draws a lot of attention from his friends and schoolmates, other Filipino Japanese in their school don't even talk about themselves as being a Filipino. Confused, shy and misunderstood, I guess it's really difficult to show yourself who you are. Japanese has their own style when it comes to fashion and hairstyle, I must say it's a bit weird though. My aunt and Ayumi always argue about his hairstyle. At adolescent stage, Ayumi is starting to have acnes on his forehead, my aunt wants Ayumi to have a clean cut hairstyle revealing his forehead to avoid more acnes, the kind of hairstyle my aunt wants for Ayumi is not "in" he refused and still wants to maintain his anime hairstyle look. My aunt even mind the way Ayumi wears his uniform in school, for us Filipino being groom and neat before going to school is important, and that's what my aunt wants Ayumi to be. Well, Ayumi is a grown up now, I hope he figures that out.
JAPANESE HAIRSTYLES
Hair is the center of Japanese fashion, Japanese people care about their hair more than any other country people. It plays important roles as one of Japanese fashions.
There are so many kinds of hairstyle in Japan. Briefly, women have three kinds, "Long", "Medium" and "Short". These are just length of hair. Hairstyles for male are usually categorized into just one "Men's" Japanese hairstyles are always changing, so it is too many to count.
These hairstyles are created by hair conditioners, wax, mousse, and gel. Actually, Japanese have trendon the hair conditioners. First, Gel used to be popular form late 80's to middle 90's. this hair conditioner was mainly for holding hair. This is because of influence from music which was popular in those days. For example, rock music was popular then. Many people tried to imitate hairstyles of famous musicians like X JAPAN.
And, next, mousse became popular. Mousse is a French word, means fresh cream. Mousse is made of water, so it is easier to set hair and keep hair holding. Japanese still had the trend holding hair. Then, wax got the most popular for setting hair. It enables people to create many kinds of hairstyles, so it is flexible. Now, most people mix mousse and wax for their setting as new trend.
My uncle likes watching sports on TV such as baseball, K1 kickboxing, soccer and so on. In the Philippines, basketball is the famous sports, it was only when I came here that I got interested in baseball and soccer. Well baseball is Japan's national sports, when the World Baseball Classic 2009 started, it was really the talk of the town here in Japan, out of curiosity I became a follower of Japan's battle in WBC, it's triumphant victory was a big buzz here in Japan. Honestly I've never watched any soccer game. Back then the first thing that comes into my mind about soccer is the movie Shaolin soccer, David Beckham not as a soccer player but because of his wife Victoria London and off course Ricky Martin's Cup of Life which is the official song of the World Cup, France 1998. Here in Japan, because of their exposure on TV as endorsers I became familiar with soccer player like David Beckham, and Ronaldinho. But out of those big names in soccer, it was Atsuto Uchida that really pull my attention in soccer. I really got hooked with his charm, butnot because he's a good soccer player, I just enjoyed watching him while playing. I follow every game of Japan Soccer team in preparation for the World Cup 2010 because of Uchida. I have watched Japan vs Australia soccer match yesterday, though Japan lose to Australia I will still continue to support Uchida, Go boy Gnabatte ne! I am a big of yours.
I recieved a call from a friend asking for my presence to attend a Philippine charity concert in Nagoya. The ticket cost 1000 yen and the proceeds will go to the Nagoya Village in Santa Cruz Laguna, to build houses for the less fortunate. Eventhough my schedule is a bit tight on that day, I still manage to go and watch the concert for charity sake. LUZVIMINDA a concert organized by the Philippine Society in Japan Nagoya Chapter was held in Kokaido hall, TsurumaiShowaku Nagoya. Showcasing Philippine cultural songs and dances the concert also aims to share the rich cultural heritage to Japanese people. The Philippines is divided into 3 areas: Luzon Visayas and Mindanao where the concert derived its title. Each region has its own culture and different dialects, thus the program is divided into different suites, a representation of the rich culture of the 3 regions. For Luzon (Northern Part), is the Cordillera Suite which includes ethnic dances such as SayawsaBanga, Monkey Dance, Salip, Intaku, Tachok. For Southern Part of Luzon they have the Rural Suite: Subli, Maglalatik, PaloSebo, Kuracha, Kantahan, Pasiguin, Tinikling. For Visayas, they have the Spanish Suites: La Jota, Castanet Dance, Carinosa, Polkabal, Aray, BalseMarikina. And for Mindanao the Muslim Suite: Kappa Malong, Scarf, Asik, Pangalay Ha Atong, Fan Dance and Singkil. To show the friendship ties between Japan and The Philippines, theCity Mayor of Nagoya, honorable Kawamura Takashi was also present to witness the said concert. The Mayor had his speech wearing a Japanese suite of his local town. As I was watching the concert, I had some flashbacks of my schooldays, every foundation day of our school we always had a presentation of folk dances. The Philippines may not have a culture of its own due to colonialism of other countries, we may be separated because of cultures and dialects but Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao makes up the Philippines making its culture rich and unique. Indeed I am proud to be Pinoy.
Palayok dance from the Ifugao suite
A scene from the Rural suite with the sorbetero (ice cream vendor)
Palosebo a common game played during fiesta or town festival.
On top of the bamboo stick, a flag or money is placed
the player will need to climb the stick to get the money
but the problem is, the bamboo stick has oil to make it greasy.
A dance called Pangalay Ha Patong from the Muslim Suite
Fan dance
Singkil a traditional dance of the Royal Blood in Mindanao
Philippine Society in Japan Nagoya Chapter
was formed to promote mutual help and cooperation among Filipinos in Japan; to develop awareness in Philippine affairs; and to poster closer ties and understanding with the people of Japan .
