Pancit to Filipino people is like pasta to Italians. It’s the kind of food that I’ve known all my life. My mother was born in the Philippines but moved to the US in the 80’s when she turned 18. Before her trip, my grandparents cooked and served pancit, which is usually served on birthdays or special events. When she lived in the US, she would order pancit from Filipino restaurants, and found comfort in it, basically making it feel like she was sort of at home. Growing up, she would feed it to me. It was a food that I enjoyed eating occasionally. As I got older I realized that this was more than just a simple noodle dish, but a cultural staple. For my 15th birthday, my mom served pancit and I was confused because she would never cook it for birthdays in the US. However, I began to notice that this was something big to my mom and our culture. She was keeping our culture alive which I never really thought about before writing this essay. Being able to be a part of that was nice since it was the first time I experienced the food in a cultural way. Now, whenever my birthday comes around, I usually see this dish on the dinner table next to other foods. I like seeing it as something unique in my life since I only know 2 other people that are Filipino.

– Lucas R.

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant