You may be wondering why I titled this blog post, "Being Lost in a Foodie World" I guess you can say it's a little catch for today's podcast guest! When I was planning out my podcast episode for this Season 8, I said to myself, "Surprise me." This Filipino identity is so rich with different people coming from different regions of the Philippines, majority of the podcast guest this season -- their family, specifically is from Ilocos Region while there are some guest whose families is from Cebu and Pampanga which will segway onto our guest for today.
Blessie aka @ohmyono, which you may be familiar to on the foodie ig world. She highlights her journey as a foodie influencer as well her journey as a LPN, Mentor, and A Daughter of His Most High. When. you get the chance in your day, feel free to take a listen to her story and narrative. Otherwise, here are some post interview reflection questions that I have asked Blessie after the interview.
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF DURING THE INTERVIEW
I learned that there is still a lot more that I need to learn about my Filipino culture. This made me do a lot of introspection about how I was raised and how that has affected the way I perceive things. It’s a shame that I wasn’t as interested about my Filipino heritage when I was growing up as much as I am now. Perhaps it was because Filipino media and food wasn’t part of pop culture, but East Asian culture was.
2. HOW CAN WE BE PROACTIVE IN SHARING OUR CULTURE?
We can be proactive in sharing our culture by sharing our food and music. We can create spaces that encourage open dialogue about Philippine politics and the rich Philippine history, or even slip this in our conversations with friends. We can also push, at the very least, for the Tagalog dialect to be offered in high school foreign language curriculum. By promoting this in an appealing way, 2nd generation Filipinos and those afterward will become interested in taking the course and learn more about their culture.
3. WHAT ARE QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK CHACHIE?
I would like to ask Chachie what she sees in Kasamahan Co’s future. I love her heart behind the project and what she has done with it so far. I would also like to know which conversations held on the podcast were the most meaningful to her. Sure, all conversations are interesting in different ways, but there are some that strike a chord for some people.
In conclusion, with all the conversations that I have had and had the opportunity to hold which has to be last season's podcast with Mc Erl Dave Andres which you can find here https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ldUK9kNcrQVwLQObSljl4?si=69e404a696c54f4d
The reason behind this selection is due to the conversation in regards intersectionality and identity which we go on more on that episode. But truly, in all honesty this podcast has been a gift that keeps on giving. I not only have the opportunity to hear their story but it humbles me a little because it shows me that there are so much more to explore and there are so many great people out there yearning to share part of their narrative to to be seen. With that said, I would like to thank all my past and former guest to the podcast which I am very grateful by.
You can connect and follow Blessie's journey on instagram at (https://instagram.com/ohmyono) as well as visit her website to purchase her devotional book: https://www.ohmyono.com/