Growing up and then living in Metro Manila for the past 33 years, I have grown to appreciate my Chinese roots.
Though I used to dislike studying Chinese subjects, literature, history and basic phonetics starting at age five, I slowly began to realize how important it is to have a good grasp of the Chinese language.
Since most Chinese are into business and trading, it would be easier to relate with Filipino-Chinese who are known masters of this type of craft since the 16th Century.
Two Mondays ago, I brought my wife again to the heart of our roots—that is, in the Binondo area—where the biggest concentration of Chinese (Fookien)-speaking people reside and do business.
I toured her to the place, beginning in Benavidez Street, which houses Hope Christian High School, one of the known secondary Chinese schools in the Philippines.
At the parallel street, G. Masangkay, you can find St. Stephen’s High school, where I finished my elementary years. It’s the school where I first learned who Jesus was and what he did more than 2,000 years ago for erring people like me.
I remembered the afternoon Chinese classes I had during my six years in elementary and even saw my Grade 2 classroom where my teacher gave me an A- in my Chinese Christian education subject.
Anyway, we walked along the streets of Benavidez and G. Masangkay for 1 and a half hours as I shared the cultural differences of Chinese to Filipino.
We ate Chinese food at Wan Chai restaurant in Benavidez, which was just across Ma Suki, famous for its big siopao and Chinese noddles (mami).
We then checked out a few condominium units open for viewing in G. Masangkay because my wife and I plan to relocate at the heart of Binondo to better assimilate with Fookien-speaking Chinese-Filipinos.
Our walk down the Chinese district of Binondo ended in the rotonda of Juan Luna/Reina Regente where several edifices are found—the Binondo Church, which had been there since the Spanish times, the Tytana Building where the Binondo Full Gospel Church and Metrobank are located.
Along that rotonda are popular establishments like Starbucks, Pancake House and a Bank of the Philippine Islands branch.
As I see my fellow Chinese-Filipinos, doing business, sipping a frappuccino in Starbucks and others dining in at Pancake House, my wife and I uttered a prayer to them—that in God’s perfect time, they will have a personal encounter and relationship with Jesus.