Since joining TikTok last December, I've been immersed in learning about pre-colonial Philippines, & baybayin (the writing system) which led to my newfound appreciation of my culture.

In spirit of #AAPIHM , I'm starting a thread of my Filipino self-discovery journey so far

Ordered a book on Amazon, found a free "workbook", and a pretty journal to practice Baybayin

(Shadow wanted to be part of the pic )

So I learned super basic Japanese in college, so I can read Hiragana & Katakana. Kanji is my kryptonite

I will say that Baybayin is SUPER easy. You just add a 'kudlit' to change the vowel. Now it's just practice and memorizing the symbols.

I'm like most Fil-Ams, I can speak Taglish (Tagalog-English). I can understand Tagalog, but I have a hard time responding back.

I FINALLY found a FREE app that teaches you Tagalog.

It's called Drops & it's one of the most interactive language apps I've ever used.

The methods in this app is like a mini game: drag and drop the image to the word. Word search. And the usual listen and write it.

It's def helping my ADHD brain to stay engaged.

They also have languages like Maori, Samoan, or Hawaiian!

Unfortunately, there is a paywall to unlock unlimited lessons, but I might just do it since I'm so eager to learn and train my brain to finally learn Tagalog

And finally, I started a brand new account on TikTok that focuses on my Kali training (Filipino martial arts)

But throwing in food, baybayin, and other Filipino related things

Follow me (@)atejemellee

I'll add more to the thread when I feel like sharing and will probably continue after #AAPIHM is over.

I hope y'all don't mind some Filipino content on your feed

Ok I'm dying cus we have words that I thought was slang but I guess it's normalized now like CR for toilet.

But then we have straight up English words that we use in Tagalog like restaurant