2nd blog entry: How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife / The Mats

2. Compare and contrast the dynamics or relations between families then and now, or between families of different cultures.

From what i read and understood. One element that i see that is in both stories is that Filipinos are very family oriented. This i guess is the biggest and most evident element of Asian culture and not ONLY filipino culture(of course, to the resentment of filipinos). Details put aside, my father's side of the family starting with my dad and his sisters are all Eurasians, that obviously making all his/their offsprings me included eurasians as well, 7 of my cousins are caucasian and we all grew up in a hot-pot culture of a family, my moms side doesnt get that much simpler either, starting with my grandmother, chinese blood is present, thus making my mom and her brothers yet another mixture of cultures. I lived in Singapore for a while and made good friends (them being chinese), being invited and such to their families, I too have noticed how the chinese treat families and guests. Much in contrast to my european side, though make no mistake europeans are very family-oriented as well, not just as tightly knit as the asians or filipinos in the stories' cases. I wouldn't really know if filipinos still retain such family closeness and bondings but i am fully aware that the chinese are still very much into it. Most festivities in the Lunar calendar are mostly for ancestors and departed love ones and even for the living relatives, they make it an effort to keep in touch with one another and such.Even for my korean friends, family is one aspect that even in a fast-paced society such as Korea, is one that will never disappear, for it seems to be engrained in the very foundation of their culture.  For my eurasian side, I feel it is a great event, because everytime we have a gathering in my father's side, it is a harmonious mix of cultures, ranging from japanese, spanish, italian, dutch and of course filipino. We usually adhere to the Philippine setting, but my relatives all get along and spend a whole day just talking, while i play with my cousins and such.    

Eurasian culture "best of both worlds":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasians_in_Singapore

Korean annual festival of thanksgiving "Chuseok":
http://2worlds1family.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/%EC%B6%94%EC%84%9D-chuseok-korean-thanksgiving