In the year 1991, a little girl was born in Oakland, California. Within a few months, this little girl’s grandfather suddenly passed away. So at barely even a year old, this little girl went back to her family’s hometown, Pampanga, Philippines. As her grandfather had managed a lot of businesses, there was no other choice for the family but to take on the family business. This is how this little girl grew up within the Filipino culture, speaking a regional dialect called Kapampangan,the standard language, Tagalog, and English, as a second language.
For 18 years, all she knew was the Filipino culture. In fact, she was so content with her life that she never really gave any thought about other countries. Back then, there were barely any foreigners in her country. Everyone was Filipino, speaking the same language and sharing the same culture as her. You can say that the only world that she was interested in was her own.
That all changed when she was 19 years old when her family decided it was time to move back to the United States. During that time, she was upset with her parents and did not want to leave. When she arrived in the United States, she felt very lonely and missed her friends back home.
