One thing that really connects me with my parents Is food, specifically Filipino food. My parents love to cook and when It comes to Filipino food, they love to tell me how to cook It. One main dish that I recently learned how to cook Is called Sinigang. Sinigang Is a tamarind-based soup that Is a little sour and filled with vegetables. My parents tell me It was one of the first foods they made, particularly because It was fundamentally easy. You can basically add anything you really want In It. This dish Is also an easy dish to make for a big family with very cheap Ingredients. This Is very helpful for families that Immigrated to a new place without that much money. For my family, that was their situation. Both my mom and dad Immigrated to America from the Philippines. They never told me If they were running away from something, but they always told me they came here for a better life ad a brighter future. Similar to Chinese Immigration, they came over to America to escape the third-world country and get rich here.  When they came over to the United States, they did not have much. All they had were each other and a few things they could bring with them from their native land. Some physical objects, but a lot were Intangible things they learned from being back home. One of those things are recipes of traditional Filipino dishes. Though I may not speak my native language, I could still connect with my Filipino family through our cultural dishes. 

– RL

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