Members of the Asian American Association educated an audience about the flag,

Members of the Asian American Association educated an audience about the flag, cuisine, mannerisms and other customs of the Philippines Monday.

The “Discover Philippines” presentation was led by Ann Ignalaga, the president of the Asian American Association, along with Michelle Santos, the social committee chairwoman for the association.

Both descend from the Philippines.

With a computer malfunction, a projector not working, and slow computers, the presentation seemed plagued by technical difficulties. Once the computer and projector issues were solved, the presentation went on smoothly.

Ignalaga, a senior finance major, and Santos, a senior family and consumer sciences major, both discussed various aspects of the Philippines during their presentation.

Ignalaga and Santos began the presentation with telling those in attendance that the full name of the Philippines is the Republic of the Philippines.

Ignalaga also discussed the national animal of the Philippines—the caribou.

“It’s similar to what a cow is,” Ignalaga said. “It’s very sacred in the Philippines, and there are even laws protecting this animal.”

Those at the presentation were also able to listen to the Philippines’ national anthem. Originally titled “Lupang Hinirang,” it translates in English to “Beloved Land.”

Geography-wise, Ignalaga pointed out in her presentation that the Philippines are made up of more than 7,000 islands.

“With that many islands, you can only imagine how many people are living there,” she said during her presentation.

Santos presented the cuisine portion of the presentation, which included discussing how important rice was to the Philippines.

“Rice is a staple for every meal. I try to eat rice every day,” Santos said.

Ignalaga also touched upon weather and climate. She described its current weather conditions as cold and rainy.

“It moves from very rainy to very cold—not as cold as it has been here, but still pretty cold with the rain constantly coming down,” she said.

Ignalaga also commented on the lack of snow in the Philippines.

“It doesn’t snow at all, I don’t know why,” she said. “That’s okay, I can deal with just having mosquito bites and no snow.”

The mannerisms in the Philippines were also a big topic for the presentation. Santos explained customs for when greeting elders in the Philippines.

“It’s a sign of respect to take your elder’s hand, and bow your forehead to their hand,” Santos said.

Along with the mannerisms, Santos also added that hospitality was important to Philippine culture.

“We are very big on hospitality, no matter who you are,” she said. “You could be tagging along with a friend, and we would treat you well and feed you. We would feed you until you’re full, and then feed you some more.”

Santos also said after parties in the Philippines, every guest would leave with food of some kind.

Pop culture in the Philippines was also part of the presentation with Ignalaga pointing out famous actors like Rob Schneider, who hails from the Philippines.

Musically, Ignalaga and Santos said the style in the Philippines is a blended variety of European and Spanish music.

The Asian American Association has been doing presentations on different Asian countries every two weeks since last year.

Thui Phetchareune, the secretary for the association, said in the last year they have done numerous presentations on Korea, Laos and Bangladesh.

Heewon Shin, the public relations committee chair for the Asian American Association, added that they would like to cover every country in Asia this year.

Hoyoung Kim, a junior finance major, said he enjoyed the presentation and learning about a different country, since he comes from South Korea.

The Asian American Association will be hosting a presentation in two weeks on South Korea in the Casey Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

http://www.dennews.com/news/asian-american-association-showcases-philippines/article_5bf5401c-11c6-11e2-82b2-001a4bcf6878.html