Justin’s personal culture

By : Justin Matthew Harp

My cultural
belonging
Ethnic and cultural background
My mother is a Filipino
through and through.
(I wish I still look as
good as I was in this
photo)
Ethnic and cultural background My dad is a Caucasian.
Born and raised in Texas.

(This was the first time

meeting my dad so it was
a bit awkward).

(from left to right: My brother, Dad,

A cute guy, My half-sister)
And that makes me ? Half White/ Half Asian.

(Well filipinos can be considered

either asian or pacific islanders but I
really don’t think it matters.)

I speak both languages. Which was

(Also got my dual
citizenship recently) easy for me since the two
languages most spoken in
Philippines is English and Tagalog.
Where did I live ? In a house……

Born in California (San Diego, Oceanside to be specific).

For four years that is until

the big d came in.

(Not a sexual joke)

Divorce leads to Philippines
And I lived there for twelve to thirteen years and we were living a
middle class life. Life there was great don’t let the picture below
mislead you. People here are nice and friendly and we are always in
small nicely knit together communities

I didn’t live in the urban ghettos but

all the pictures I found online were
pictures to lure in tourists that didn’t
capture the “mabuhay” spirit (This
isn’t middle class by the way.)
Family Organization
As I said we lived in a middle class area enough to fit the four
of us. My sister,brother , me and my mom. (Can’t find a
picture of the houses we have lived in at Philippines sorry.)

Even when my brother and sister was way past 18 we still

lived together as a family. My brother and sister cooked most
times for the family while me and my mom would rarely do so.
(going to restaurants wasn’t as popular in Philippines as it is
here in America.)
Celebrations and events…..

Well Philippines is heavily influenced by America so we pretty much got a lot in

common. Most holidays are just a appreciation day for a “bayani” or a filipino hero
and we get a day off school.

We just celebrate holidays in a more asian way. On new years eve we stockload
with fruits we’re never going to eat and that’s pretty much most I can remember
really. We’re not much for holidays or events
The only unique celebration I have in my culture is ?

My family, the
American part likes to
come together once a
year in a school in
texas and that’s about
it.
FOOD !!!

This is about it.

What did you
expect
I like rice.
Food (Of course it’s not going to be sanitary but it
tastes good)
If I were asked what’s a good reason to go to Philippines the first thing that comes
to mind is not the beautiful beaches and islands but…… Street food

Solidified Banana
pig blood. Cue.(Caramelize From Left to right: Quek- Quek
(yum) d bananas) (Breaded Quail Egg), Pusit (Squid
slices), Pusit (Squid Tentacles)
Food continuation

Chicken Intestines. Do you really need

Use every part of the animal. an explanation ? (My brother told me
There’s pig and chicken feet the funny tasting stuff inside was the
or their heads if you wanted poop but I can’t tell if he’s joking)
Food ? Everyone will tell you that if
you don’t eat a Balut you
are not a true filipino. (I
didn’t eat one)

In fact tourists pressure

each other into eating this
before they leave.

Other delicacies(sarcastic)
include monkey brains,
eyeballs, cow tongues and
the like
Religion
Again Philippines is much like
America.

80% of filipinos are catholic. So

we’re really religious in
Philippines.

(In fact I went to a religious school

but that’s a story for later)
Life Experiences (Story Telling Time )
There’s always someone who
wants to be friends with you
in philippines. First day in
school there I had more
friends than I had fingers.

(Maybe it’s because they

were all religious ?)
The influences of the places
I have lived in (Philippines)
I grew to appreciate what I had
because looking around the place
was a constant reminder of how
lucky I am.

The schools in Philippines made me

realize what the worth of education
was. Because nothing came for free
there. (Not the uniforms,books,etc.)
Speaking of religions and schools I went to a
religious school.
It was weird because my mom never bothered to go to church
every sunday less yet bring us there.

I didn’t like religion because it forced me to remember

thousands of bible verses.

There’s two types of people who go to these schools.

Extremely religious or extremely skeptic.

I grew to become skeptical of religion in itself for a lot of

reasons but going to a religious school is one of them.

(Also I was taught mandarin which sucked)

My Final Years I spent in Philippines

We were scrounging up money for our flight to America.

Three years before my flight, I woke up to find my classmates
greeting me at the door when I realized they had uniforms on
and I didn’t. I spent three years waiting for my flight while
they went to school without me.
This made me determined to graduate

high school with flying colors quickly

and appreciate solitude more.

Our mom would now rarely show up and was always
spending money on unimportant things
This made me hate the notion of
You would think that my mother always respecting your parents. I
treat the people worthy of respect
would have spent time with her with respect.
children who are about to leave but
she spent it with her boyfriend
(whichever one it was).

It made me feel distant and resent

my mom. And so my sister and my
brother took the reins and handled
the house without her.
This also meant less money for food.
Sometimes I would sleep while I’m hungry.

This gave me the habit of buying cheap

bakery bread that I would eat before I sleep
not only that but I didn’t have school which
meant I slept past midnight every day.

This made me get the habit of eating

past my bedtime and being more
nocturnal.
Time flew by and one by one my friends grew distant
too.
You gotta realize how
awkward it is suddenly
leaving school, then
claiming you’re going to be
in America the next month
then keep living there for
three years. To add to the
insult I saw them graduate
without me.
To pass the time and loneliness.

I went to internet rental shops

where there would always be
people to communicate and
play with.

This is how I first started my

hobby of gaming
Also started reading and that’s how my reading
hobby started
How waiting for my flight affected me

That is three years of no

schooling, no progress in life
and just lazing and slobbing off
in loneliness.

It made me a procrastinator
and a person who enjoys
solitude.

Made me feel like a man

child who developed late.
But there’s always a rainbow after the storm ? Right ?

The time to come to

America finally
came and I said
goodbye to the few
friends that sticked
by me.
Being new to America was a double edged sword

I didn’t grow up with different cultures and was not knowledgeable

about them so I am without bias and prejudice.

But I can also be more racist because I don’t understand the

consequences of my thoughts and how it can impact someone of a
different ethnicity.

I was naive in a sense

First week in Las Vegas and guess what

Our great dad did a lot of things in our first week.

Right after we came off the airport we ate some In-n-Out.

Show us the house and meet the doggies.

Sign up for High school and as for my brother he got college.

Go to the strip and see some… I’m not going to finish this sentence.

(It was a naked old man’s boobs on the strip by the way )

Meet his girlfriend. Which I’m okay with unlike other kids because I never really
felt what it’s like to have parents side by side so I wouldn’t know what it’s like
Three years of being alone can make you socially
inept.
Philippines is a place where everyone
lines up to be your friend.

America is a place where everyone keeps

to their little club of friends since
childhood and wants nothing to do with
you. (Also stranger danger)
No one likes the you that you are right now ?

Then make
a new you !
One thing was clear. I’m not the same person I used
to be.
(Change of language - Change of personality
?)
Maybe it was me assimilating to
this new place.

Energetic ---> more of a cold fish

Light hearted humour ------> Dark
humour
Changing into a high - achiever
(A/B Honor Roll Celebration)

Being a foreigner they just gave me mock grades which

Is all 2.0 but I managed to raise it to 2.8 in two years with

honors and college classes.

(I used to not care about grades and only get C’s)

In fact I was such a high - achiever

When you look at the photo

you’ll notice three things
*Loop made out of cards
*Me in slippers in a public
high school
*I’m alone in the picture
The teacher noticed
that was doing a four
man project by myself
and told me it was okay
if I stopped there
knowing I put in the
effort. But after a whole
lot of struggle I finished
this rollercoaster. Most
groups made it out of
cardboard but we did it
in cards which made it
harder.
To add on to me wearing slippers in school.
I wore slippers so that I don’t lose myself and my culture in the
process of assimilating into American culture.

I was the only male student wearing slippers in high school

and that made me feel special.

The way people treat footwear as a social status it showed how I

didn’t care about appearances.

I also danced in the dance team events in slippers as a fun fact

Non curricular activities that let me expand myself
This is Mr. mojave. Wanting more friends and just craving for attention I joined
every social activity possible. I may like solitude but that doesn’t mean I hate
attention (Mother told me I have ADHD but my other family members say it’s BS)
Here we see a specimen who stays in his cave most often trying to be
more social than to gain people he can exchange precious memes with
Dance Team/Club If you can notice I’m the
only white guy there. (The
Made me love solitude more other white skinned
females were either
mexican or italian).

I felt alienated because

they are from the ghetto
and I was new in America.
(I honestly love the ghetto
and do not mean that
derogatorily).
Crossfit and the crave for attention

I got that cast because I

was being a show off. I
deadlifted twice my weight
for the first time and I was
proud of myself even at the
cost of my hand.
But for some reason this
social being doesn’t talk
with people from his
high school no matter
how hard he tried.

Which reinforced my
longing for solitude
With assimilation came the clash of both my cultures

In philippines we would get a job when we we needed the money

or possibly when we get to college.

We would leave the house when we have a job after college or

when we get our own house.

A driver’s license wasn’t that much needed

as public transport is easier.

But in America….

Get

* a job

* driver’s license

*and to get out of the house once or before you turn 18

And that leaves me with
A sense of shame. That I still don’t have my driver’s license and living
with my dad.

A sense of disappointment. That I feel like I am lagging behind

everyone.

A sense of sadness but not loneliness. That my friends from high

school would leave me one by one.

A sense of determination. To be on the same level as my friends.

And a promise built upon these feeling to become someone I could be

proud of.
To become someone
my niece could be
proud of !

I got off my bum and started

going to college. (used to be
all online.)

Got my instructional permit.

Started taking on more

responsibilities.
How I got into this class (reason for wanting to be a
teacher ?)
I’ll be honest, I went to a college fair and one of the recruiters there told me that
your education would be paid for and all that. (Which I wish was true because
I’m paying out of pocket.)

After learning it might have been a sham I didn’t stop and think of other choices. I
took MTTP (Mojave teacher pipeline program) and after being told the pros and
cons I still wanted to be a teacher.

I still don’t know the reason but maybe it’s because when I tutor my fellow
classmates and they get it right it feels good
My experience with driving

For some reason my mom only taught my

brother and sister to drive but not me. So
when I got to America I had to learn everything
by the book and experience driving here first.
Another note on driving….
I have been through two cars already. A cop car (ford crown) and a sebring
2011. Both were in crashes (but they were not my fault). The cop car got
destroyed while I was away on a trip and the sebring hit someone trying to
turn right from the middle lane while I was on the right lane. (I was the unit 2
driver as the cop says which means

I’m the victim.)

This instilled me with a sense of fear

for driving and to always obey the

laws of the road.

After everything I’ve been
through I graduated
Just look at my graduation
picture. I have become so
mature and went through
so many hardships to be
standing there donned in
medals smiling proudly.
My worldview in this present being (Summary)

I always try not to waste my food because I knew what it was like to go hungry for
days.

I value home cooked food and not always just going for take out

I believe in bonding with my family more due to my mom leaving us.

I value people who can take a joke and not being offended by it.

I believe that working hard can get you what you want.

I respect not judging based on appearances.

I value hobbies knowing it’s the only things that can keep people going
sometimes.
I believe in respecting the people worth respecting and not just giving it due to positions.

I am naive in the sense of being a foreigner to prejudices and biases.

I believe that everyone must have something to move forward in and not be in a rut like I
was for three years.

I am not a religious person due to being in a religious school.

I value the importance of relationships due to all the ones I’ve lost.

I also value solitude due to all the time I spent by my lonesome.

I value education, because I know that it is a privilege and not a right for some
people. Also, I am motivated to be educated because of the lack of school I
faced.
I value differences and individuality.

I value my family’s opinions of me.

I value safe driving and the ability to do so.

Credits
Images taken by : Justin Harp

This presentation done by : Justin Harp

Writing done by : Justin Harp

Credits done by: Justin Harp

Guy who bought lunch for us : Justin Harp