As a family-loving culture, Filipinos will certainly find ways to meet up with relatives safely. Now that pandemic restrictions are starting to ease, Pinoys are truly looking forward to what is about to come \u2014 reuniting with their families.<\/p>\n
Along with family reunions, you might have to face yet another hurdle \u2014 meeting the titos and titas once again.<\/p>\n
For the younger members of the family, it\u2019s not just a reunion with loved ones \u2014 it\u2019s also a reunion with your tito and tita\u2019s usual greetings.<\/p>\n
While this can be scary at times, you are never alone. Here we list common lines that every pamangkin probably encountered at least once:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. \u201cWow, dalaga\/binata ka na!\u201d<\/p>\n
Every Pinoy kid has definitely heard this once from a tita or a tito. This is because some relatives rarely attend reunions \u2014 but when they do, they definitely emphasize their surprise as to how much you\u2019ve grown.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, family reunions are done at least once a year during national or religious holidays \u2014 and attendance isn\u2019t always perfect.<\/p>\n
Some family members could be an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) and couldn\u2019t come home, while some have other priorities that need to be attended to.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, though, it is all the same greetings: \u201cWow, dalaga\/binata ka na!\u201d. To make matters even funnier, it usually comes with \u201cHuling kita ko sayo, binubuhat pa kita!\u201d, implying that you were still an infant the last time they saw you.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, this is a warm welcome from the titos and the titas \u2014 and hey, they\u2019re just really surprised and proud of your growth, physically and everything else in between.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2. \u201cKaninong anak ka?\u201d<\/p>\n
The older titas and titos might ask you this, especially if you come from a very big family. All the farther relatives may be hard to remember especially when you do not get to meet them often.<\/p>\n
Naturally, when titos and titas with an age meet you, it\u2019s also most likely they don\u2019t remember you. Either they last saw you as a child and couldn\u2019t remember you, or they never really met you at all.<\/p>\n
For others, it can be scary to introduce yourself to older relatives. However, this is also an opportunity to *lowkey* create a good image of yourself in the family. You can tell them who your parents are and a very brief fast track of how much you\u2019ve grown \u2014 typically what you do and how you got to the reunion.<\/p>\n
A bonus would be \u2014 letting the titas and titos know the positive things you\u2019ve heard about them. Who knows, you might end up as their favorite pamangkin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
3. \u201cWhat are you wearing, hija\/hijo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming from a very conservative generation with religious and patriarchal roots, it is understandable that titas and titos may greet you with immediate comments about your clothing.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, it can be related to your skirt being short, or your haircut not being styled according to your \u201cgender\u201d.<\/p>\n
This can be offensive and hurtful when hearing it at times, but it is best to understand the tito and tita\u2019s standpoint. Nevertheless, keep wearing what you want. Reunions are only once a year, but you are yourself every day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
4. \u201cKailan ka mag-aasawa?\u201d<\/p>\n
The older titas and titos probably got married early during their time, so they could be expecting the same from their nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n
Correspondingly, for the pamangkins in their 20s, there is also sort of an expectation that marriage is \u201cin the works\u201d or \u201cin the mind\u201d \u2014 so much that it has become a greeting already.<\/p>\n
In comparison to the dating trends among the young generation, many millennials and gen Zs find it difficult to get married in their early to mid 20s. Some would rather prioritize their personal well-being or careers, which is why this question seems a little bit hard to answer.<\/p>\n
Worry less, though \u2014 your cousins may have been greeted with this too. So the next time you have a reunion, make sure to draft a group response with your cousins.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
5. \u201cMay boyfriend\/girlfriend ka na?\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the classics \u2014 if you\u2019re too young to get married but old enough to date, this question is the natural \u201chello\u201d for titas and titos in reunions.<\/p>\n
Usually it comes with a follow-up question, asking if there\u2019s a manliligaw, or any dating prospects. If you\u2019re lucky enough, a tita will even offer to introduce you to their friends\u2019 child who\u2019s in a similar age as you.<\/p>\n
Titos and titas might just be in their Marites mode, or they just genuinely care about your lovelife, but nonetheless this is probably a sincere question.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
6. \u201cJoin ka wine night, ha!\u201d<\/p>\n
For the young-at-heart titos and titas \u2014 drinking is probably the best way to spend time, and most especially with their pamangkins. So before the reunion actually starts, they greet you with an invite: an invitation to drink, typically wine for the titas, and beer for the titos.<\/p>\n
This is usually an invitation to get in touch with the latest family chika, or just an opportunity to relax and have fun conversations with relatives.<\/p>\n
If the situation allows, they sometimes hold surprise activities while drinking, much for the happiness of the younger members of the family, like you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
7. \u201cHoy, tumataba\/pumapayat ka.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most iconic of them all and every tito and tita\u2019s favorite greeting \u2014 it\u2019s either you\u2019re growing healthier, or you\u2019re getting slimmer as you age.<\/p>\n
Every pamangkin must have heard this, and this is probably the most relatable line out of all that has been listed here. While this can be very trivial for the titos and titas, the younger generation may not take it as lightly as it seems.<\/p>\n
When you hear this, own your body and show off your beauty. So the next time they meet you, they know how else to see you apart from your body. Mindset ba, mindset?<\/p>\n
Pinoy reunions can be chaotic at times, but still fun and fulfilling. Most typically, it ends with \u201cMessage me on Viber, ha!\u201d \u2014 like the real titos and titas they are.<\/p>\n
So before your family arranges your post-pandemic reunion party, make sure to download the tito and tita apps and prepare your scripts for a flawless response to their incredible greetings.<\/p>\n
Find out more of these stories at http:\/\/woman.ph\/<\/a> or you can visit http:\/\/pageone.ph\/<\/a> for the latest news and updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes it\u2019s flattering, sometimes it\u2019s scary \u2014 but this is the best way for titas and titos to communicate their love for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spotlight"],"pageone_source":{"pageone_source":"","author_name":"PAGEONE Online Network"},"_pageone_source":"","zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}