An American mother shared her story of raising her three children in the Philippines, adapting Filipino values and practices in the process.
Amber Folkman, along with her husband and her then one-year-old son, transferred to the Philippines from Seattle due to the nature of her husband’s work. After a few years, Folkman gave birth to two more children.
The whole family has been in the Philippines for 8 years now and their children has since grown up in a Filipino environment.
“My heart soars when I hear my sons refer to any adult as ‘Kuya’ or ‘Ate’ — it is so endearing. It has been such a comfort to be enveloped by neighbors, friends, and yayas who treat you as part of their family. Since we live so far from our relatives, this has been instrumental in our happiness and growth in Manila,” Folkman wrote in a post in Smart Parenting.
Folkman also shared that her eldest son can now speak with a Filipino accent and can easily adjust in conversations.
“I never imagined that the Kuya of our family could switch his accent like a light switch,” she added.
The youngest, meanwhile, first learned the names of body parts not in English but in Filipino.
“One of my most tender memories is my bunso learning his body parts in Filipino before English. These lessons have taught us all that there is no one “right” way to live.”
Despite being a full-blooded American, Folkman considers her family as Fil-Am citizens. She said her wish is for her children to learn that there are many cultures outside their own that they can always explore.
“I wish my three Pinoy boys will always remember that through our humanity we are all connected,” she said.
