The First Day Of Class.

"Why would a Latino like me would get interested in a class which focuses primary on Filipino American history?", those were my thoughts before crashing into the course.

My original intentions were to get classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, and the only English class(ENG-114) available was Mr. Haronson's class. I tried to submit into the class in webadvisor, but the computer would send me a message that I needed a permit from the instructor. That was weird. I went to the Cesar Chavez building for some clarification and they informed me that I was required to get into Ms. Abuan's PD-100 course and join something called the Bayan community if I ever wanted to join Mr. Haronson's ENG-114 course. I would end up taking classes from Mondays through Fridays, and I became a little disappointed based on my first intentions.

Besides, both classes would focus on Filipino American history, I'm a Latino, why would I get interested in Filipino American history?( At that time I was more interested in the Mexican political history due to the Mexican elections this past summer, 2012). I just wanted an ENG-114 course, pass it , and be done with it.

2 weeks passed and I became curious about the class, I got out of bed and went to school that first Monday. There were people inside, everyone kind of quiet at first. I took a seat, and the class started. The 2 instructors executed some "break-the-ice" exercises like rock-paper-scissors and talk-to-the-person-next-to-you, and the mood in the room became kind of friendly. It was just the first day of class and I got to meet 5 classmates! This was fun. The course was not just about Filipino American culture, it also promoted communication between students and instructors.

The class wasn't what I expected, I needed units, and I would get into 2 of the best courses I have ever taken. It was a win-win choice.

Later on, I learned that Filipinos and Mexicans were both colonized by Spain(something I have in common with them), and I also learned the painful stories of Filipinos being victims of racism in America, how some Filipinos gained colonial mentality, and how their history is kind of ignored. Filipino American history was more interesting than I thought, I reflected about my ignorance, and wondered why Filipino American history wasn't taught in my world cultures class in high school.