February 2021

Dear Kaibigan,

During the coronavirus pandemic, our desire to connect has been amplified by the fear of death and uncertainty, life endings, by the barriers to our health and safety that keep us apart, and by the losses of rituals and routine.

This period has become an opportunity to reassess how we interact, how we exist, and how we create meaning in our lives. Humans, in general, yearn for attachment. Therefore, we have found ways to connect virtually, over the phone, outdoors from a distance, and through masks and, in some cases, through glass to stay in touch and continue relations.

The act of ‘kwentuhan’, to exchange stories, is much needed to maintain meaningful interactions. It is also a ritual that can be shared much like gathering in person over a meal or a cup of coffee. I recall a period when my parents would go to their neighbors’ house every Friday evening for a potluck. Someone would bring food they prepared or lug in fresh seafood from the market for grilling. Another friend would bring their guitar. This group of friends and neighbors talked about their week, what was happening at work, which comrade was MIA and speculate why, and fill everyone on who was traveling where and who was struggling in some manner. Once their tummies were filled with the appetizers and main courses and a second or third round of food was being prepared, the desserts were uncovered, and the guitar brought out. They sang in unison Tagalog and English songs from their youth to the strumming of strings and the drumming of utensils on the table. Those Friday night kwentuhans were like a giant pot of shabu shabu with the laughter, the singing and the cooking combined with the individual friends as the key ingredients.

We use the idea of kwentuhan to reflect and share our experiences of being human to connect and to feel connected in this world. We also use kwentuhan, in a global sense, as a way for those of a diaspora (the dispersion of any people from their original homeland) to come together. Specifically, we want you in the AAPI and other BIPOC diaspora to reconnect with your heritage, alongside others who are part of another diaspora and community.

We form our ties to you and you to others through this Giving Well platform. We want our kwentuhan through workshops and live events to be accessible anywhere and anytime as we know there are those who have scattered from their homeland to nooks across the globe, sharing your culture and absorbing unfamiliar ones as you go. 

We have gotten creative in how we have our kwentuhan moments with those we love and even with those in our educational or professional worlds. There is another relationship that continues to need your creative attention. A relationship that is constantly in our lives whether we share a home with someone or live alone. The relationship with ourselves.

A way we integrate our culture and community ties to you is through a custom of giving you a pasalubong in our letters and on our website. Pasalubong is a Filipino tradition that has been practiced for centuries of travelers bringing gifts or souvenirs for family or friends after being away for a period of time. It is a Tagalog word meaning an offering or a present. This custom is a symbol of gratitude and thoughtfulness.

One of our pasalubongs for you is a reflection exercise that invites you to take a moment for yourself and ponder on the following questions. Write out your thoughts and share them with a trusted confidant. Begin your own storytelling through this space we share…

How are you? How well are you? How is your wellness these days?

How are you connecting with yourself?

What have you learned about yourself over the years, pre-pandemic?

During the pandemic?

How are you connecting to the parts of you that have been feeling anxious, hopeful, sad, angry, frustrated, lonely?

How are you connecting to the parts of you that are creative and artistic?

How are you finding ways to be inspired mentally and physically?

Mabuhay!

Angel, on behalf of The Giving Well