Gospel: On a hot sunny day, a teenage girl has decided to look back on her roots.

Precious is a
pure blooded Filipino who was born and raised in Canada. In spite of being a pure Filipino, she
was never taught about the Philippine culture. As she grew up, her curiosity about Philippine
culture grew wide as well. She stayed curious for a long time, not until her interest in the said
country couldn't be contained anymore—she finally decided to go to the Philippines to meet her
relatives.
Through the whole flight, nothing but excitement and nervousness can be felt by her. As she
reached the airport, she was warmly welcomed by her distant relatives.

Kristine: Welcome home, Precious! I am glad that you landed safely. By the way, I am your tita
Kristine!

Precious: Hello tita Kristine! I'm sorry if I would ask, but what does tita mean?

Kristine: Oh, tita means aunt! By the way, these are Elaiza, Jholan, and frances. They are your
cousins or pinsan in tagalog.

Precious: Hello, my pinsans. It was nice to have a chance to meet you guys. Thank you for
picking me up here in the airport.

Elaiza: You're welcome, the pleasure is all ours.

Jholan: We should get going so you can rest.

Mary frances: It seems like you have packed a lot. Do you mind if I carry your luggage?

Precious: Not at all. Thank you!

*Next scene*

Gospel: The next day, Elaiza and Jholan took Precious to a local market. In the market, she
witnesses the hard work of Filipinos, using their voices as a tool to sell their products—
something Precious will see and experience for the first time in her life.

Jholan: Welcome to our simple and unique marketplace! You can buy whatever you want
because everything you need is here, especially fresh food.

Precious: This place is so amazing! Thank you for bringing me here. There are a lot of people
and products. I’ve never seen anything like this in my country, which is why I’m interested in
learning more about everything in the Philippines.

Jholan: You’re welcome, my dear cousin. I promise that you will enjoy your vacation in our
country.
Precious: Can I try buying something? I also want to practice speaking Tagalog so I can learn
more Tagalog words while I’m still in the Philippines.

Elaiza: Of course! You are free to buy whatever you want, but remember to use 'po' and 'opo'
because that’s how you show respect. Simple politeness is one of the most important practices
among Filipinos.

Precious: Hello po, how much is this one po?

Yesha: singkwenta lang yan miss murang mura na yang hair clip ko kaysa sa iba kapa bibili, bili
kana

Precious: what is singkwenta po?

Yesha: englishera naman pala tong customer ko e, mano nosebleed ako neto e.

Precious: what po?

Yesha: Wala miss ang sabi ko 50 in English singkwenta in tagalog, ano miss bili ka?

Precious: yes po

Yesha: eto miss oh, thank you

Precious: welcome po

*Next scene*

Gospel: After precious, jholan and elaiza buying in the market elaiza said….

Elaiza: Did you enjoy buying in the market?

Precious: Yes, I really enjoyed buying in the supermarket, even though I don't understand what
they’re saying.

Jholan: Yes, and Filipinos here are easy to approach too.

Precious: Yeah, they’re so kind and always smiling, I like how they’d talk to me. I want to go
back to the supermarket again.

*Next scene*

Gospel: When Jholan, Elaiza and Precious got home to her aunt's house, Precious's friend
from another country called her.
Maricon: Hey girl! How was your vacation in the Philippines?

Precious: It's fun, I learned a lot about their culture, they always say "po" and "opo" to show
respect to other people.

Maricon: Oh, they really respect each other.

Precious: Yes! and they have a market that is very crowded, noisy and a bit hot but I enjoyed
buying things there.

Maricon: Wow, it's really fun there, I wish I could go there in the Philippines.

Precious: Maybe when I come back here let's go together.

Maricon: Sure! oh I'll hang up the call. Bye girl, enjoy your vacation.

Precious: Okay bye girl.

*Next scene*

Gospel: The next day, Precious woke up and she saw her tita eating using her hand. She's
curious because she doesn't do it when she’s eating.

Precious: Tita, why are you using your hands when you’re eating?

Kristine: Haha, this is the way we eat here in the philippines, look come here i will teach you
how to use your hands

Kristine: First, use it to take a handful of rice then eat it.

Precious: Like this tita? (showing her hands to kristine)

Kristine: Yeah, like that. wow you’re a fast learner ( smiling to precious)

*Next scene*

Gospel: After they finished eating, Khristine washed the dishes while Precious sat on the living
room. One her cousin, Jholan just came back from the store and did a gesture that she never
seen before.

Jholan: Mama, Im home. Mano po, I bought everything that you asked me to buy.
Precious: I would like to ask something Jholan and Tita, What kind of gesture is that? What did
she do?
Jholan: Oh, its “pagmamano” or your hand please is a another way to respect your elders. We
sometimes say, “bless po” or “mano po” and then take their hands and put it on our foreheads.
Khristine: You should pay your respects when you see as well, Precious.
Precious: Yes, maybe I should. Thank you for letting me know.
Mary Frances: Hey everyone, how about we go to the beach tomorrow? I know you haven’t
been on a ocean before.
Precious: Oh yes, it’s a great idea. In Ontario, the province I lived in, we have a very big lake. I
read that the water in the ocean is salty. Can we go to the beach tita Khristine?
Khristine: Sure, the beach are not far from so we can go. Pack some extra clothes maybe we
can rent a cottage.
Precious: I’ll prepare my stuff.

Gospel: While preparing, Elaiza thought something to ask Precious.

Elaiza: Precious, do you have a boyfriend?

Mary Frances: Now that’s a good question.
Precious: No I don’t, I’ve been talking to someone but I think I’m not that ready yet. How about
you Elaiza?
Elaiza: I don’t have one but someone’s courting me for a while now. Last week, he came here
and the Harana caught me off guard. The way he plays his guitar and his voice is so romantic.
Precious: What is Harana?
Elaiza: Harana is a cultural type of courtship here in the Philippines. It’s when a guy sing a song
for a lady to court her. It’s a very old tradition and because of technology, Harana is fading away
as well. Still, that Harana is one way to win a women’s heart.
Precious: That’s very romantic, I wish someone will court me like that.

*Next Scene*

Gospel: The next day, the occassion arrives, it’s beach time. Precious: Wow! This is the
beach? It looks like our lake but its salty.

Elaiza: Yes, this is it. Here in our country, beaches is one of our tourist spots. The blue
water, fisheries, and the sand.
Jholan: I heard there’s sirena and siyokoy here. Siyokoy likes beautiful like you,
Precious laughs
Precious: What’s a siyokoy? I know serina is a mermaid.
Jholan: Siyokoy is a merman, one of our my mythical stories. They are the Guardians
of our Ocean.
Mary Frances: Ohhh guys! Let’s buy some coconuts, I know you’re going to love it
Precious.