Growing up in a very diverse city, and also in a multilingual and very worldly house hold is something that many people could wish for. I on the other hand found it as a struggle, even though as a grew up I found it to be awesome and I am very thankful for it. The main language spoken in my house is English, although there is also a lot of Tagalog that is spoken as well. My grandmother always tried to teach me Tagalog, and at the least have me understand it, but that never came close to being a success. English was my first language, but at the age of 3, I was enrolled in a Spanish immersion school beginning in Pre-k, which would later remain my source  education for the next 7 years until I graduated the 5th grade. All of my classes were in Spanish everyday except for an hour or two that were in English, where we were taught the language as if were a second language to those who had leaned it as their first. Being surrounded by the culture, people and language, I feel and know that I have adopted the culture as my own by growing up around it my whole life, not just in my school, but in my neighborhood and community as well. It became hard at home since my extensive vocabulary and way of thinking and learning was basically all in Spanish, and my parents did not know how to speak Spanish and barely understood it as well. Therefore, there was a communication barrier which most kids at a young age do not have with their parents. This was also a struggle when I went to middle school, since all of my classes were now in English and only in Spanish a few times a week. Since I was more dominant in the Spanish language at this point, the way I read, spoke and wrote was affected and it did not seem as if I spoke much English at home. I spoke, read and wrote as if I were directly translating from Spanish to English without any form of grammatical rules. Even to this day you can see it in my writing or even hear it in the way I speak. When I got to high school, I began to learn French. There are many similarities between Spanish and French, therefore I was able to pick up the third language very quickly and easily, yet I would also mix up my vocabulary and the way I would pronounce words. With practice, I was able to overcome this problem.

LANGUAGE:

Even though I never really got to learn the language besides counting to 3, here is a video on how to learn to speak basic Tagalog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkm-XaKPj0

Since people in England speak English as well, here is a video on how to speak with a British accent since people feel they sound more sophisticated when they speak in the accent… it’s also just very fun to speak in!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldAKIzq7bvs

CULTURE:

Even though I do not embrace it as much as I should, the Filipino culture is very unique from the mixed Spanish, American and Islander culture. Here are two links that talk about the culture in the Philippines.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/philippines-country-profile.html

http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/cultural-discoveries/?page_id=647

On my dads side, I am more exposed and linked to the British/ European side when it comes to what I grew up with.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/uk.html

Here is some cultural Filipino food. It may not always be that appetizing looking, but it sure is delicious!:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/delicious-filipino-foods

I’ve never been a big fan of British food, but here’s a peek:

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/british-food-and-recipes.html

Geography:

The Philippines is made up of thousands of islands that make up the whole country, with some of the most beautiful beaches and scenery that you will ever see in your life.

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/your-philippines-photos/#/burnham-park-lake-baguio-city_33962_600x450.jpg

http://www.thephilippines.com/p/philippines-photo-gallery.html#.VH2ND76GnzI

Here are some pictures of classic sights from England, but mostly London since that’s where my family is from:

http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-england/

http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-london/

(Yes, these palace guards do exist in real life, they are not an Austin Powers creation)

Just be careful and watch out for the aggressive taxi drivers that swarm the city!! The British are also known for their colorful vocabulary and sailor mouths..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSG6fs-ng0