LumpiaLife

It's OK, we're only a couple of months late! As a Filipina living in the USA, I’m definitely feeling the *Christmas FOMO* (FOMO="Fear of Missing Out") this year! 🎄 Back in the Philippines, the Christmas season kicks off as early as September—yes, that’s right, we call it the “Ber” months! Stores are already filled with holiday music, streets are decorated with lights, and everyone’s busy prepping for the most festive season of the year. But here in the US, it’s a whole different story. Christmas decorations don’t usually appear until after Thanksgiving, so while my friends and family back home are soaking up the holiday spirit, I’m still waiting for the festivities to begin. In this video, I’ll dive into the cultural differences between Christmas in the USA and the Philippines. I’ll share why Filipinos are so excited to start decorating early and how we celebrate in a way that’s unique to our culture. From *parols* (Filipino Christmas lanterns) to giant Christmas tre...

 Like any other online dating love story, it all started with exchanging hellos. From there, it took off from hellos to spending countless hours video chatting online, sending letters via emails and airmails, and even expensive phone calls. Finding the right one in person is a gamble, let alone doing it online. We are one of the lucky couples amongst the many others who met online and made it to the altar. Yesterday, May 16, 2020, we marked our 11th year of marriage!   We met on a dating site called Cherry Blossoms ( https://bit.ly/CherryBlossomsDating ) in December 2007 and met her in the Philippines the following year, where we had a big engagement party attended by her family and friends. On May 7, 2009, Maria got her fiance visa (K1 visa), and we exchanged vows in my hometown in Washington State on May 16. It was such a beautiful day!  Maria lived in the States for 10 years (she applied for US citizenship soon after she acquired her 10-year visa and became a US c...