Bonus Episode: Appreciating Culture Through Food | Asian American Pacific Islander Month

Foreign.

Hey, what's up, everybody? My name is Becky, and I am here with

three very special guests. And so I want to give you guys an opportunity

to introduce yourself with your name and with your Asian heritage.

Yeah. My name is Melissa, and I am of Filipino descent.

My name is Chris, and I'm Vietnamese.

My name is Emily, and I'm Mien.

And I feel like the best way that we can truly appreciate other

cultures, aside from sitting down and talking about conversations

and just our background and traditions, is also sharing it over

a meal with really good food. And I am the biggest beneficiary

of today. And so we're here just to talk about some meals. And

so, Melissa, would you start with what meal did you bring today?

And, yeah, just list out the name and kind of what goes into how

you make it.

Okay. So I brought the Filipino staple, the lumpia Shanghai,

and that is one of the most popular dishes that you'll find in

the Filipino culture. It's like a little mini egg roll, as a

lot of people may recognize it as.

Yeah. Okay. Okay.

What about you? Okay.

This is called yoi kuon. In American, like, culture, you'll just

call it, like, a fresh spring roll. So there's shrimp and pork

noodles and a bunch of herbs, and you dip it with a peanut sauce.

It's like a peanut hoisin sauce. So usually it's like an appetizer

in restaurants. It doesn't always have to be an appetizer, but

it's usually paired with something else. It can be. It's so

versatile. You can eat it with anything.

Okay. Okay. And what about you?

And I make kapoon, so it's something that I grew up with. It's

noodles. It's a curry soup. So it's like red curry with Thai curry.

You can make it with chicken, or you can make with fish. It's something

I grew up with eating because it was easy to feed a big group of.

A big group of families. Also, it's just really homey and that curry

ness of it, so.

Yeah. All right, I'm gonna get two, because I'm already. I already

grab a couple. Okay. Okay.

This is how the Filipinos do it.

Okay.

You grab some while you're eating some already, so.

And then do we, like, spoon the sauce?

Yeah.

So there's two different sauces. There's a oniony, vinegary

sauce, which is my personal favorite, or the classic sweet chili

sauce that everyone usually uses for their dipping sauce.

Okay.

I'm shaking so much. And you said it's onion and yeah.

So there's onions, pepper vinegar, apple cider vinegar, a little

bit of sugar, because Filipinos like their entrees sweet.

So you'll like, taste that little hint of sugar in there.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Do you want me to try it?

Then I'll do this.

So I. Julia, do it too.

I'll try this with Charlie after. I kind of want to try this

one version.

Yeah, I'll take some too.

Go ahead. Got the vinegar?

Yeah, I'll eat this.

This is delicious. I've had these before at restaurants where

they've been ordered for me.

Yeah.

But they are delish.

They usually come in with pork. This one in particular is with

chicken. I just wanted to make sure everyone's flavor palette was

10. Not a lot of people eat pork, but it's usually made with

pork. Minced vegetables, a lot of garlic. But this one in particular

is made with chicken. Family favorite, anyone? And everyone is

eating this at parties. There's not even a question on what's

in that. They'll just eat it.

It's like, who's making it? As opposed to, should we have the. So,

okay, you gotta get it. What do you guys think? Does it remind

you of anything?

We have a similar version. This is like the regular egg roll.

Right.

We've never had chicken before.

This is the first time I've ever.

Had it with chicken. This is super good. Yeah, Yeah. I really

like the texture and the flavors.

Yeah.

So we have something similar too. But ours is called egg roll,

but it's made not like the Vietnamese kind. So ours is like

with the vermicelli noodles and cabbage, carrots, minced pork

with mushrooms, like a type of mushrooms in there. So. And then

you just mix it all together with all the seasonings. So it's

very similar.

And are they deep fried or pan?

Yeah.

Okay.

Deep bread.

That's also why I'm not right. Anything.

Pride is good.

Deep bread.

And I'm there. Okay. Okay.

Deep fried.

I mean, I've seen people kind of like saute it and let it get salt

soggy quickly. I like mine deep fried this size. So this one's

called Shanghai because they're smaller. There's a lot of

different varieties of lumpia. You'll see the bigger varieties,

vegetable varieties. I really like these Shanghai versions because

they're snack size. So you could get away with eating a lot

of them. And nobody knows.

Yes. No one knows if that's your first or your fifth.

Exactly.

And is there a way. Is. Am I eating it right? Is it okay to eat

it with my hands, or is there, like, another way to eat it?

Oh, yeah. We're Filipino, so we eat everything with our hands.

I'm Mexican, and we get the same.

So you're not eating it with your hands. You're not doing it right.

That is delicious. I'm definitely going to come back for

a couple dozen more after this, but I would love to get started

on these. And so is this the same way we can just grab it with

our hands?

Yeah.

I'm going to go ahead and grab mine, then. Ooh. Okay. Thank you.

And I'd love to hear a little bit more about what goes into how

you make these. Any childhood memories that this, like, kind of

brings up whenever you're cooking it?

Yeah. So this is super simple.

So you'll see.

I mean, you're able to see everything in it because the rice

paper is clear, right? So you got the shrimp and pork, the vermicelli

noodles and the herbs. So there's, like, mint, and then there's

the purple herb as well. And so, like, my favorite memory is,

like, this is a type of meal where you can't, like, take it and

then go sit in front of the TV and eat by yourself. Like, this is

a very communal dish, because if you were to eat it at our house,

there's, like, the rice paper, which is completely dry, and then

you have a bowl of water, and in the middle, and you have to dip

the rice in to wet it to make it, like, soft like this. And then

you have to grab, like, the ingredients that you want. Like,

some people don't like shrimp, or some people, you know, want more

herbs or whatever. And you put it all in there, and then you wrap

it up, and then you eat it. So everything's at the table. You can't,

like, leave the table. You have to be there.

This isn't a TV dinner.

And I remember my mom would be like, yours is so ugly, so skinny,

and I need to do it. Why do you. You know, the shift has to look

nice and, like, all these things and stuff. She ends up just

making it, like, you know, and so that's, like, one of my, like,

favorite memories is, like, I'll sit next to the mom and, like,

make sure, you know, I'm doing it kind of right. But she just ends

up, like, hijacking it. I'm like, nick. Yeah. I turn around,

and there's, like, five already made. I'm like, this is what.

You sit next to her.

So is that why you purposely sit next to her?

You know, so so it's super fun. And then this is like the. Oh,

I didn't even try the peanut.

Peanut.

So.

Okay, let me try it.

There's no flavor, because it's not. There's no, like, seasoning

in this. All the flavor is in the sauce. Yeah. So it's a peanut

hoisin, garlic.

I still really like it. I feel like I can taste a lot of the mint,

and I love mint, and so that's really, really nice.

Yeah.

Really refreshing. And I don't feel like this is a meal that I would,

like, hate myself after I eat it. Like, you know what I'm saying?

I feel like I could eat a lot of this.

Yeah.

And never get out all my veggies and. Yeah, it's fresh.

What do you mean?

Yeah, it's really good.

I'm going to try the peanut sauce next. And is this exactly what

it sounds like? It's just peanuts. Okay. And you said it's

like, this is pork and then shrimp.

Yep.

And then are there other toppings that you typically can use,

too, or is those the staple ones?

Those are the staples. You can have different herbs. Like, some

people can put cucumbers, carrots. But we, like, if you're

at a Vietnamese house, like, there's always these two. Like, the

mint and the purple leaves are always going to be in the garden.

Like, so you just go. Go out in the backyard, and you just snip

it and then bring. Wash it and bring it in, and they grow. Like,

every year they come back. I have a garden, and I never. I never

water it, and somehow it comes back to life. Like, they know I'm

Vietnamese, and so, you know, grow for me, and, like, they'll hop

over, like, to our neighbor's side, and I'm like, I China contain

it.

But, yeah, they love that.

So you'll always, like, this is a. These herbs are always in there

because they're just so readily available. You know what

I mean?

Yeah. That's good. That's good. Okay.

I really like the freshness of it.

Me, too. It's, like, very refreshing. I really like it. The

peanut sauce is really legit. I don't think I've had peanut sauce

not in already mixed into something before, so. And you mentioned

having an outdoor garden. Is that, like, really common? Almost,

like, necessary for soup for Vietnamese cuisine. Okay.

Yeah.

Because there's herbs in almost every dish that we. There's

always a vegetable and whatever dish. And so it's, like,

pretty cumbersome to, like, go to the grocery store or the Asian

store. Right. There's not like a. It's not like a Walmart. Right.

There's only like, a pioneer is where all the Asian stores are,

you know, so we usually just go once a week and get what we. But

the herbs don't always stay fresh all that time. So it's always

important to have something in your garden. And if I don't have

it, like, I'll go to my parents, and if they don't have it,

they come over to mine. I'll look out the window, and I see my

parents is like, take all you want, and they just, like, grow.

So, okay.

Yeah, we just share the different kinds of herbs and vegetables

that we have. So I'm curious.

Why not?

Okay, that's cool to know. Is there anything like that for you

with. With anything like this or anything other in your cuisine?

Is there anything that, like, you have to have in your house at

all times, whether it be, like, fresh. Fresh herbs or fresh

mint or whatever?

Rice, I mean, I think that's a staple of any Asian.

There's a lot of rices.

My favorite is long grain jasmine rice, but I could get down

with some sushi rice, too. Like, you know, my kids love steak

sticky rice. So, like, all types of rice is actually readily

available in my household. But growing up, it's rice and then some

kind of, like, ground meats to either make lumpia, to make these

other thing called torta. They're like little meat patties

that my mom used to always cook. So when, you know, when she

was in a pinch and she came home late, that's something that

she just fry up really quickly, we would eat.

So.

Cool. Any ground ground meat with, like, vegetables. It was always

readily available at my house because you could kind of put it

in anything. The wumpia wrapper kind of fry it up or.

So Is there any specific kind of meat that is preferred?

I think pork.

Okay.

You see, pork put in a lot of Filipino cuisine with whatever it

is, but they started putting a lot of, like, chicken and a lot of

other ground meats in it, but I see pork a lot.

Okay. Okay. I actually really like pork, but I don't. I think,

like, in. I don't know if I have a whole lot of recipes that

I can think of to like, make it, aside from, like, pork chops

or something. So. Yeah, that's good to know that. Maybe I'll have

to hit you guys up.

Okay.

Okay, great. So now I would love for you to talk more about what

you brought for us.

So I brought Kaboon. So that's something that you always have noodles

in the house. So you're either making some kind of noodles, but

growing up, we had kaboon. A lot of times we had it with fish,

but I, I don't like to make it fish because I don't like deboning

it.

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

So I was like, no. So we kind of switched over to chicken. But

like I said earlier, it's a red curry paste with like a yellow

Thai curry paste with it. So you saute that for a little bit until

it's kind of. The aromas are coming out of it. And then you put

your coconut milk in there. And then on the side you're boiling

your chicken. So the chicken boils for they. About an hour, an

hour and a half, depending on, you know, how. Yeah. How big it is

and how tender you want your meat to be. So once that's done,

you kind of shred it. And I kind of put some chicken into like

a mortar and I kind of just unsmash it so you can have like more

flavor in that soaked into your chicken. But that's what kind

of, you know, I grew up on and something I lied to make, especially

when I'm missing home.

Yeah.

So I love that.

So I'm. Yes, let's dig into this. I'm so excited. And it just

feels like even with all the dishes that you guys brought, there's

just like a lot of like always green stuff, like some element of

green stuff in there. And I feel like, I don't know, maybe my

upbringing was just very carb heavy and so I'm just. I just love

that. It just feels like you guys incorporate a lot of like natural

things like in, in the meals now.

Like growing up, my parents always had a garden. So like your

green mustard, your cilantro, your green onions, all that stuff

came from the garden.

Wow.

So we didn't eat out a lot, so.

Okay. I'm going to try the quail egg first because I'm just

so excited to try.

Don't get addicted. Take a little boil.

They have like a different texture and I feel like regular eggs.

Yeah.

But if you want more.

Or chicken eggs. Not regular, but.

Yeah. Whenever Emily makes hot pot, she knows to put quail eggs

just for me. Cuz I could go down on like 10 quail eggs.

They're so good.

Yeah, they're so petite.

Yeah.

Yeah, they're really good. It's like kind of firmer than a chicken

egg. I can't do this but the yolk.

Is like super soft and like kind.

Of just melts in your mouth.

Okay. I'm trying to figure out the process of this because I don't,

I don't eat with spoons like this. And so I'm trying to figure

out, I'm trying to master it.

You got it.

Yeah.

You're doing it. Yeah, you're doing it.

So do you make your own meatballs?

No, unfortunately.

No.

It's too much of a frosting. Store bought meatballs.

Yeah, it was iconic. It's so good. And you said this is coconut

milk, right?

Yes.

Is there ever any dairy in like, like any cow dairy in, in your

food?

No, I can't think of any, actually. Not like. Yeah, no.

Okay.

Yeah, usually a lot of it's like coconut. Like you'll use just

like the coconut milk but not like dairy. Dairy.

Yeah, you did put a lot. Do you want a new one?

I need a napkin. No, no. So some napkins.

There's always behind us.

Don't play with the Asian. Yeah, the Asian spice is a different

kind of spice.

I like it. I always have to have it, but thank you. Like, symptoms

start to develop.

This one that's spicy. Cause my mom grows her own Thai chili.

And then what they do, harvest it and then they dry it out and.

Then they blend it and then they.

They stir fry it in.

It kind of, it kind of, you know, it kind of tackles the back.

Of the girl, you know, steak.

But it is really good. And is there like, because I feel like growing

up, I only had soup whenever I was like, not feeling well. Is that

like part. Is that a thing or is it soup all the time? Like, you

don't need to feel a certain way to have soup.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

It's soup all the time. Different types of soups they make.

So.

Yeah, it's always, always, always on the table.

Yes.

I love that.

Yeah. Like, I always make fun of mother. Mom, why are you making

soup again? It's like once a week we have like a different type

of soup. But then now I was like, oh, I miss it. Yeah.

Yeah, it's like it, it's a little spicy. But the noodles and

the. I don't know, like, I think also the coconut milk helps.

Like it not be. I don't know, it's just a lot of flavor. I feel

like I had spicy things that are spicy and that's all they contribute.

Like, that's the point is just pain. But with this, it's like the

spice is very flavorful like, it's with a. It's good, you know,

Like, I don't know.

I think that coconut milk really helps, like, with the spice

to the. Calms it down a little bit. Then also the freshness of,

like, the vegetables. It just gives that crisp, like. No, it's

not. It cuts through the spice.

Yeah. I love that. Well, and we kind of talked about family or

memory kind of tied to this dish. Do you have a memory tied to

this dish?

Yes. Like, I think what it is, is, like, what I was saying. Like,

we usually make it with fish growing up, so it was like, we'll.

We'll go fishing with my parents, and then when we come home,

like, whatever leftover fish. Is that what they usually. They use

catfish. So we'll go catfishing, like, Saturday mornings

and stuff, like, super early.

It'll be like 4 o' clock.

My dad's okay, we gotta go. Everybody packed the car, and then,

you know, we'll be out there all day. And then at night, like,

about dinner time, we usually come home. And then after that, they'll

just, you know, clean all the fish, put whatever they want on this

side, and then whatever they want for the soup, then, you know,

they'll boil it and just, like. It's just the love that gets

put into it at the time and love it. So it was just something

we always kind of had together. Yeah.

So is there, like, a culture of, like, we cook together and we

eat together? Like, is that part, like, every. Because I feel

like. I don't know. I think for me, growing up, all I can talk

about is my experience. But, like, growing up, like, you kind

of stayed out of the kitchen if you weren't cooking, and then

afterwards you cleaned. Like, that was kind of the dynamic of it.

Is that kind of how it is, or everybody pitches into.

Usually, like, the women will pitch in. Like, the men are like,

oh, I. I did my job. I, I. When I caught the fish, and there

you go. But a lot of times, like, all the women are in the kitchen,

and then we're all cooking together, you know, and then, like,

the men are just kind of hanging out to the side or just doing

something else, but you eat together. That's the thing. So everybody

played a part in making. Putting that meal together or play

some kind of part in it. But, yeah, we all kind of eat together.

The kids have their own table, the adults kind of have their own

table, you know, so. But yeah.

Is it the same for you guys?

Yeah. Like, with making lumpia, it's kind of Like a communal

experience. Growing up, when we made lumpia, it was a family effort.

So my mom would be the one putting, like, the. The ground pork

and the vegetables together. She'd have this big old silver pot

because she would make them in abundance, because people would order

from her because they love her lumpia so much. So she would just

make a ton. And so she'd have, like, gloves on with, like, just

mixing everything together. She had to, like, put everything

on, like, a wooden kind of thing on the floor so she could reach

it. Cause she's a little on the short side. So she'd be the one

mixing everything, while me and my cousins or my siblings would

be the one ripping the lumpia wrappers apart. Because they come

frozen and all stuck together, and they're so thin. So you kind

of have to be delicate. Be delicate by ripping them, like, apart.

And so we would have a competition, like, who can one rip

them apart the fastest and not rip any of them, like, who has all

the perfect lumpia wrappers? And that's how we would help our

mom. And then someone would be squeezing the Olympia, like, filling

in, Then someone would be rolling them. Then someone would

be closing it up with egg wash. So it's more of a communal

experience for me growing up. And that's why I really love seeing

it in all our gatherings, because it means a lot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about you?

Yeah, it's the same. Like, I hear your stories, and I can imagine,

like, depending on the dish, the different responsibilities that

we're allowed to have. Allowed to have. And so my mom really, like,

likes her food. Like, her pride is in her food. Right. And

so, like, she will do all, like, the main, like, seasoning and

the main cooking. But we kids would be, like, washing the veggies

or, like, peeling them off. Bean sprouts will be, like, plucking

the ends, you know, like, all the prep kind of work, and she does

all the main, like, heavy duty. Yeah, yeah. So that there's

no, like, finger pointing. Yeah.

I love that. I. I think that is something that I see people missing

out on is, like, the having meals together. Like, I feel especially

like younger, young adults, like, if they are perhaps away from

home, like, they're. They're just living with roommates at a different

paces of life. And so, like, people just kind of learn to be roommates

with people. And. And so I. I don't know. I just really like that.

It just feels like the food is not just about being delicious and

being sustenance was about bringing people Together, it feels

like. And I just really enjoy that. That being said, I feel very.

I just love. I just love hearing all these stories because

I feel like all of. I feel like every person and every. Every

heritage has a way that it points to Jesus and how it points

to God's goodness and his creativity with creation. And so

I would just love to ask, like, is there a way that you feel

like these foods, or even just, like, family history or just

family dynamic has been able to point you to Jesus or just, like,

encouraged your faith somehow?

Like, what.

What does that look like?

Well, I think for me, you know, being Filipino, I think what

you could understand about a Filipino is our hospitality. And

so we usually express that a lot through our food. So when, you

know, you go to a family gathering, you ask people, like,

come eat. That's like, the first thing you ask. Like, oh, come

eat. Did you eat yet? Come eat. That's like, the first. Like,

they don't need to know your name. They just want to know if you've

eaten that.

Yeah.

And so, like, bringing that into your house and, like, inviting

people in that way really points to, like, what Jesus did,

right? Like, he communed with people, with different kinds of people.

He made sure people were taken care of. So it really just shows,

like, in our culture how big our God is also with our values and

our traditions.

That's good. That's really sweet. What about you guys?

The first word that comes in my mind when I think of, like, the

Vietnamese culture, I don't know about you guys, is, like, obedience.

Obedience is so big in our culture. Like, regardless of what

religious background you have, it's like, you always obey your elders.

This is just, like, ingrained in us. No matter even if you're an

adult, you know, you have your own family, you still, like, honor,

and you obey your parents. So obedience and love always went hand

to hand. So they would say, if you really love me, then you would

obey me. And even if we didn't fully understand why we had to obey

or the logic behind that, we would trust our parents, and then

we would see the blessing that comes from it. And so, like, that's

how I come to understand John 14. Like, it doesn't, like, rub against

me, you know, like, somebody's like, if you like you, I have to

obey you.

You like to.

But it's like that. There is, like, no dissonance in obedience

and love. Like, in the Asian culture or just in the. Or in the

Vietnamese culture specifically. Like, that was just

an expression of.

Our love that's really sweet and good perspective too. What about

you?

Yeah, I think for me it's a little different because, like, I

didn't grow up in a Christian household or anything like that.

My parents are very traditional Buddhist Taoists, so

for me it was like my grandpa was a shaman, huge in their community.

So. But for him to allow me to go to church or for my. I was in

a tutoring program growing up, and my tutor was a Sunday school

teacher. So she had asked my parents, hey, is it okay for me to

take them to church and kind of introduce them? You know, and

then I was very shocked at like, my grandpa, like, okay, you

know, like, go ahead. You know, and then that's just kind of

like just seeing that. And then like, also like a lot of the.

For me was like, okay, my parents believe in this, but this

is what I want to choose to believe in, you know, so it was a

hard battle, but I think what a lot of it was when I first moved

to Texas, you know, and kind of coming to Philadelphia and just

kind of seeing, hey, this is what, you know, Christians putting

my faith more into Christ and, you know, continuing to do that.

So my parents didn't really not let me go to church. So kind

of just seeing my mom's support now, especially now, more

like, I. If something's wrong, like, just pray. And my mom would

never say that before growing up. So it's just like, I guess me

putting my faith in Jesus and kind of having her see the difference

in me. Yeah. So it's different from my parents perspective and then

just coming to faith, being here, being with my husband, and

I guess growing up, it's. In my culture is like, if you married

somebody that outside of the culture, that's kind of like what

you have to follow. And so my husband was Christian, so my grandpa

was just like, okay, well, now this, you know, this is, this is

a route you're gonna take. You're kind of like not kicked out,

but in a sense kicked out of like our, our, our ancestral, like,

line. Now you're with your husband and you have to, you know,

follow what he believes in and yeah, he practices.

Yeah.

So it's very like, they respect marriage.

Yeah.

Like they respect like your husband's leadership. Yeah, that's.

That's really, that's really interesting because I feel like.

I don't know, I think I've. I've heard and seen of people that

have maybe, you know, become believers and their parents aren't.

And there's like a lot of combat It's a very combative, volatile

situation. So that's encouraging to me that your parents

seemed very respectful.

Yeah. I was first scared to, like, let them know, hey, you know,

mom, I've been baptized, you know, but, like, kind of like, okay,

it's time to tell them, like, hey, Mom, I got baptized. And for

her to, like, good, you know, like, okay, anything you need, always

just pray to him, you know? So just kind of seeing her, I was like,

okay, yeah, yeah.

No, that's really sweet. I. Yeah. I think, you know, we talk

a lot about Yalls upbringing and just family dynamic. Is there

one thing that you wish people knew about, you know, your respective

heritage? Like, is there something specific that you would,

like if you had 5 seconds to share with someone, one thing. What

would that one thing be?

I think for us, a lot of people ask what mian is, but. Or,

like, where. Where they're from. And we don't have a country.

We were originally ancestralized back, back, back, back.

I don't know when we were originally Chinese, but because of

the war that broke out in China, a lot of people fled. A lot

of people fled to the mountains of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia.

And they kind of created their own language because they didn't

want to be captured. So they were captured. They would be imprisoned

back in time. So they created a language in the language and culture

that's Myan. So I speak Myan, and that. That is my culture. So

that's something that, you know, where we don't consider ourselves

Chinese anymore, so we consider ourselves Yumian. There's

seven clans in Myan. So if you notice a lot of Myan people, their

last name are Sei Chao, Se Li, Se Fong, Sei Chen. So there's seven

of them. But the se part came from when a lot of people were in

refugee camps when they fled to Thailand. So the Americans had

added that, so say part to a lot of their names. So once a lot

of man people became US Citizens, they removed that say part.

So my parents are back to Chow, because that was the original

name. So, yeah, it's just something, you know, a lot of people

don't know. Like, people like, what is Myan?

What?

What? Do you have your own country?

What country is it?

Yeah, so we don't. But a lot of us are from Thailand and Laos.

Like, my parents were from Laos. They fled to Thailand. I was

born in Thailand. I was born in the refugee camp. Because we waited

so, so long to come to the United States. A lot of us were sponsored

by Christian churches But, yeah, so that's just kind of who

we are and who I am.

Yeah. So, yeah, that's good. What about you guys?

I think, like, by thinking of the broader audience, like, when

they would interact with Vietnamese people, and, like, I know

it sounds so stereotypical, but, like, in nail salon is probably,

like, where most people will, like, truly, like, interact with

the Vietnamese person and very, you know. And so I think, like,

to help the broader audience kind of understand because, you know,

Vietnamese people are very blunt, and especially the older generation.

I can't say this to everybody. Like, we'll just say and ask questions

just because we're curious. So, like, if they don't see a ring

on your finger or whatever, like, why you had no husband, why

you. You know this. And they're not trying to be judgmental.

Oh, they're really just curious. They want to know why, like,

you're a beautiful person. Why aren't you me? You know, and so I

think some people can, like, take that offensively. Like, they're

asking too many personal questions. They seem, like, judgmental,

but it's actually out of place of curiosity. So if anyone had, you

know, growing up, my aunts and uncles, like, if I, you know, I would.

You know, I went to college. I wasn't living at home. And when I

come back, you know, I may look different or I'm skinnier or

I'm fatter or whatever, they would always make a comment, like,

they'll let.

You know, what are you eating?

Like, what are you? And I don't take offense. You know, it's

just like, they're curious. They want to know because they care.

And so that's the. That's one thing I want people to understand.

I'm a Vietnamese person. Asks you what. You might feel like an

offensive question. It's just because they. They were curious,

and they want to care.

Yeah, yeah, that's. That's a good thing to keep in mind. Don't

take offense. Like, it's okay. Like, they legitimately just want

to know. Yeah, that's good. What about you?

I think for us, for Filipinos, you know, not a lot of people. I

mean, Filipinos are known, but not well known within the Asian community

as, like, Asian. So, like, yes, there's a lot of different Filipino

skin tones, colors, languages. We have, like, over 100 different

dialects in Philippines alone. So, like, we get, you know, kind

of characterized as just being Asian. But, like, Filipinos have

adapted a lot of different. Different communities, like, from

my food, like Olympia, Shanghai, that came from China, we

Just kind of adapted it to our tasting, our language. A lot of our

words come from the Spanish language, you know, so we have a

lot of different things that we say the same hoochara. Like, all

these things are the same.

You said something earlier, and I was like, that sounds exactly

like in Spanish. But I didn't say anything. I can't remember.

See, our torta is a little different than your. So, like, we've

adapted a lot of these different cultures within the Filipino

community and kind of just made it our own. And I think that's

what I want people to learn, is that Filipinos, they are adaptable.

You know, put them in any situation, they'll thrive, whether

it be, like, you know, in the Philippines being American or coming

to Texas, you know, you'll find a Filipino cowboy. So, like,

I don't know, but they're fully adaptable. So that's why I

want people to know about them.

That's really cool. Yeah. Like, now that you're saying that,

I'm like, oh, my gosh, like, now. And, like, with these things

in mind, like, I'll know what to look for. Like, and I'll have,

like, conversation starters in that, too. And so, like, that's really

sweet. And I think it's just, like, the beauty of community and

of being at a church that isn't afraid of diversity, but, like,

embraces it. And, you know, I came into this knowing very little

about what we were going to talk about, but if you have kind

of the. The understanding of, like, my. My understanding of life

is not the only one, and my understanding of life is not superior

to anything else. Like, and there's just so much beauty in creation

and in God's people that we can all just come together and get

to celebrate and enjoy food, enjoy stories, like, and even just

different culture dynamics that are just really sweet. Yeah.

I just. I love that we get to talk about this and talk about, you

know, being someone that's completely ignorant to all of these

things. Like, it's just been. Thank you, guys for sharing, like,

your stories and this. Yeah, I just think that's just one of the

beautiful things about being in community and being part of a

church that celebrates. Celebrates and embraces diversity

of different. Different heritage, different culture, different

languages, different people. And so with that in mind, like, I.

We kind of talked a little bit about, like, what's one thing you

wish people would know? But again, like, why is it important

for people to embrace other cultures and heritages? Like, what

is what. What, as believers, should we be changing Our perspective

on, as it comes to engaging in people from different backgrounds.

Like, what is. Like, why. Why should we even have to. Is it okay

to kind of live in your bubble of what you're familiar with? Like,

why should we engage with one another in that?

Well, I think it's biblical, right? We are called to go out to

the ends of the earth of all nations, to make disciples of all

nations, not just our own nation, you know, so it's important

for us to not only recognize other cultures, also celebrate them

so they know, like, we have the love that Jesus has inside of

us and we love who they are also. They might be different. They

might value, have other values and traditions, but we love them

because we're all one under Christ, you know? So I think it's

important for us to know their culture and how to reach them in

that way.

Yeah, yeah, that's good. I think tying with that, you know,

just understanding them because, you know, letting them know

that, hey, you know, we love Jesus and because Jesus loved us,

we need to love others the same way and not judge others just

because they are different, just because their skin color or

their culture is different or their religion is different. We still

need to love them the same. Like he loves us.

Yes. No, that's great.

I kind of echo what you're both saying. It's like you think

in Revelation, right? When at the end of time, and they, you know,

you see, like, people of all tribes and all tongues, all people

there, and they're worshiping the same God, right? And you have

to wonder, how did they get there? Yeah, yeah. Like, how did

these. All these diverse people get there in this perfect

kingdom? Is because somebody told them the Gospel. It wasn't inherently

in their culture to know who Jesus is, but somebody brought the

good news to them. So if you don't understand someone's culture,

like, it's hard to build bridges to the Gospels. It's hard

to make connection. And, like, when you do that and you embrace

these different cultures, you're playing a role in God's story

of the kingdom that we're going to see. Like, you're part of

this bigger story that you're going to see at the end of time,

and that's already forming right now as we're talking, and then

also thinking, like, we're all image bearers, right? Like, we all

bear the image of God and no one person, no one culture can bear

that image perfectly. Right. Like, we're so different. But every

aspect of the Hispanic culture, the Mien or Filipino Vietnamese

Culture, even as you're sharing, like, about hospitality

or about, like, valuing marriage and cleaving to your husband

or honesty or obedience, like, those are all one aspect of our culture

that point to, like, the perfect image of God, right? So,

like, by appreciating, celebrating our differences and our

diversity, we're able to see, like, a fuller image of the image

of God.

Yes, yes, I agree with you 1 million percent. And I. Yeah, I agree

especially with the. I believe every culture and heritage in their

own way, points to King Jesus. Like, and I've, you know, in visiting

other countries, like, I've been able to identify, like, they're

already like Jesus and they don't even know it, you know? And

so, like, what a beautiful way to be able to point people to King

Jesus. Like, this is what he's done in my life. He can do the same

in yours. Like, we don't have to have common ground as far as,

like, familiarity. Same food, like, same skin, same language. Like,

we don't have to have that foundation. Like, we are all made

in the image of God and like, and so. And God is worthy of our

praise. Like, he's worthy of our worship, but he's also worthy

of their worship and their praise. And so it's just whenever

you're able to expand your horizon and be just, like, curious,

like, but not curious to, like, I don't know, to be better,

a better, more cultured person, but just curious as a genuine

desire to, like, I want to know this person. I want to see them.

Like, how. Tell me about your family. Like, tell me about kind

of what dinners look like. Like, tell me about those aspects.

Like, I think it's just such a beautiful thing that it makes you

appreciate God and His creativity and his sovereignty more.

Right?

So I agree with you guys. So thank you guys so much for sharing

this delicious food. I'm gonna take this to go, but thank you guys

so much for listening. Again. Here at Builder, we love and we're

cherish and celebrate diversity, but we also want you to

know that you are loved and you are seen by King Jesus, and we

would just love to see you guys on a Sunday or a Wednesday.