Fish Out of Water

I was given a glimpse into the excitement of Filipino culture last Friday, as dancers dressed in tribal skirts and loose white blouses jumped around in front of me.

Joining my younger sister for a culture event at my old high school, as soon as I arrived I was greeted by the hustle and bustle of Filipino students rushing to get dressed and practice last minute routines.

Just about every month, Mount Pleasant High School's Kasama Club performs in front of a crowd of fellow students during their lunch period.

The club consists of Filipino students who were born and raised here in San Jose, but participate in the club to practice traditional dances.

It was extremely interesting to see these young teenagers exchange their skinny jeans and hoodies for more traditional pieces of clothing.

The girls all wore their hair in neatly pulled up buns that rested at the very tops of their heads, with very little makeup on their faces.

The boys joked and socialized with each other before the performance and occasionally slipped in words in their parent's native tongue, Tagalog.

At first, they didn't seem uncomfortable or even nervous about performing in front of their peers.

If anything, I would say they were all pretty confident and excited.

It wasn't until the students lined up to perform that I noticed a few of them shake their hands and legs, as if to physically shake off their jitters.

I recalled performing in a cultural dance group much like theirs in high school, but a Hispanic one.

I couldn't help but compare the Mexican dances I had learned a few years ago, to the odd stick dance that was happening before me.

The students were participating in a traditional Filipino dance called Tinikling which involves four dancers: two holding long bamboo sticks, and two dancing and hopping over the bamboo that is slammed and lifted from the floor repeatedly.

It displayed such exact coordination from the students because they had to be quick and agile enough to move and dance through and over the bamboo without getting their feet caught.

I had never seen this dance before, and was immediately impressed by the obvious dedication that these students had towards their parent's home culture.

It was certainly an experience to see teenagers here in San Jose so comfortable and in touch with their roots and I imagine that none of them were probably even born in the Philippines to begin with.

Given that I don't know much of any Asian or Pacific Islander nation, I enjoyed watching these kids bridge the gap between an old tradition, and the busy lunch time of high school today.