The Image at Right is NOT My Wife
Because of her dark complexion and curly hair, my wife was often teased for being "
igorot" or "ita" during her childhood. Like many of her fellow Filipinas, she'd prefer to be fair-skinned. It's funny that people of color often covet fair skin while ultra-pasty types like myself strive to be tan.Family Ties
Upon meeting her lola and tito, both of whom possess strong family features, I thought the following: This is a nice family and I bet that their ancestors killed a-hole European explorers back in the day, shrunk their heads and celebrated by donning their newly-acquired undergarments. Well, I discovered on Wikipedia that headhunting was common in the Philippines (along with many other areas of the ancient world) so my instincts were sort of verified.
Switching Gears
Okay, now that I've offended at least two or three ethnicities in this update, I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge the terrible land slide that claimed so many lives in Baguio City. If there's a silver lining in such tragic times, it's hearing TV Patrol World anchor Ted Failon say, "Salamat, Rowena 'Ina' Reformina." Kudos to Ms. Reformina for wading through the flood to report on the environmental disaster unfolding in Luzon.
