Melissa Bulanhagui | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Melissa Bulanhagui

prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
To clarify, Prettykeys--I was just responding to some of the lovely things SF said and wasn't arguing against you or implying that you felt the opposite. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I just got interested in SF's ideas and enjoyed thinking aloud about them. Easy (and fun) to drift off topic.
My bad, Olympia. I thought you meant to "contrast" with my alleged opinions where no such contrast exists because of the post you referenced:
Why place such importance on "clashes" between nations? <soapbox>

...These are my very different personal opinions and feelings on nationalism and the matter of choosing loyalties.
I do not place much importance on national sporting "clashes" but for some reason I was asked a question related to it (e.g. coaching, fan support), despite its irrelevance to the matter of personal national devotion when one must choose to represent a country.

If the issue is so arbitrary and meaningless, then next time I get the opportunity to represent a country maybe I will ask Zaire if they have any spots for me. :biggrin:
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Do that, prettykeys. Seeing Zaire in the Winter Olympics would be cool. Of course, you'd have to have the requisite 2 rinks in the nation to be given ISU membership...
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Do that, prettykeys. Seeing Zaire in the Winter Olympics would be cool. Of course, you'd have to have the requisite 2 rinks in the nation to be given ISU membership...



...is it Qatar or Dubai where they built an entire ski slope indoors? Maybe they'd be up for a few ice rinks.


But if it were I, I'd look into some of those tiny, overlooked places in northern climes where no one's yet thought to set up a skating dynasty. Like, maybe Monaco or Liechtenstein. Or Andorra! And what's that one in Italy...San Marino. Though size may be an issue there. Can they fit two rinks? (Could the rinks maybe be stacked, like those vertical parking lots.)
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
...is it Qatar or Dubai where they built an entire ski slope indoors? Maybe they'd be up for a few ice rinks.


But if it were I, I'd look into some of those tiny, overlooked places in northern climes where no one's yet thought to set up a skating dynasty. Like, maybe Monaco or Liechtenstein. Or Andorra! And what's that one in Italy...San Marino. Though size may be an issue there. Can they fit two rinks? (Could the rinks maybe be stacked, like those vertical parking lots.)

Andorra is an ISU member: Federacio Andorrana d’Esports de Gel

I'd love to see Iceland have a champion figure skater.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Andorra? Truly? How cool!

I'll support an effort to get Iceland a champ. Any Icelandic-Americans free to transfer? Or do we have to depend on Bjork?
 

einna

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
Yes, I can
...

2) Paul and Isabelle both lived in Quebec, which is known as "French Canada". Is wherever Mel from "Filipino America"?
...

I honestly don't particularly care. If the Philippines are happy to be represented by a skater who made them second-choice and the American federation ain't losing its sleep over losing her, then it's clearly win-win. Please try not to take it too personally that she's not my role model or anything

I respect your opinion but I just want to add information as I'm from the Philippines. If Mel B is from California, then yes, its the Filipino America. Tons of Filipinos in California and Florida.

And the Philippines is a third-world country, we lack government funding and I know that even if Mel B chooses to represent the Philippines and she becomes the top lady skater, most of the training money will still be shouldered by her family. This is why we are grateful whenever someone wants to represent the Philippines because it entails lots of sacrifices, too.

And if their goal is Sochi, then wow, the Philippines do not participate in the Winter Olympics so this will be a huge accomplishment if ever she qualifies.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I'm impressed that there seem to be quite a few Filipino skating fans, judging from the participation on this forum. As hard as it is to be a skating fan in the U.S., where we can barely see it on TV, it must be well-nigh impossible in a tropical country that never sees snow. My hat's off to you all, whether you're there or in California. I hope Melissa gets you a spot in the Olympics.
 

prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
I respect your opinion but I just want to add information as I'm from the Philippines. If Mel B is from California, then yes, its the Filipino America. Tons of Filipinos in California and Florida.
Well this topic is dead but I just want to add information as I'm from Canada. Quebec is "French Canada" because the official provincial language is French, the largest ethnic population after "Canadian" is "French", and about 80% of them speak French as their first language.

In contrast, California's official language is English like the rest of the U.S., the largest ethnic population after non-specific White is Mexican by far, the largest Asian ethnic population belongs to the Chinese, and the majority of Californians speak English. So, if California is not "American America", then it is going to be "Mexican America" or "Chinese America" before it is Filipino America. Also, icenetwork tells me Mel B is from Pennsylvania and trains in Delaware anyway.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
There are a lot of Filipino ethnic people near any Navy bases--back in the day, many Filipinos joined the Navy in order to become US citizens. When they retire, quite often they retire near Navy bases, just as other Navy veterans do.

So no, they are not limited to California.

Here is a list from Wikipedia of so-called "Little Manilas" where there are concentrations of Filipino Americans (and yes also concentrations of ethnic Filipinos in other countries.

Virginia

[edit] Hampton Roads

Almost 100,000 of Virginia's residents are of Filipino descent. Filipinos in the state are mostly concentrated 45,000 within the Hampton Roads area. There are several Filipino-owned restaurants, stores, bakeshops, remittance centers, medical offices in Virginia Beach. Many Filipinos serving in the U.S. Navy who were stationed in the area decided to settle down in the area as well.

[edit] Northern Virginia

There is a sizable conceration of Filipino in Northern Virginia. Most of them and the businesses that serve the community are in Fairfax County.[citation needed]

So yes, Melissa is not the only Filipino American in the DelMarVa area.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Quebec is a province with a French speaking majority but French Canada is everywhere in the country now. As we can see, almost all Canadian representing skaters are bilingual, at least. Being from French Canada offers as much legal ties with France as being born and raised in Little Italy or Chinatown does with Italy or China. The Duchesnays wanted opportunities to compete internationally and they made the right decision as they did have legal status in France. The Canadian Federation was hardly the only skating officials who did not support their innovative style and there were teams more competitive than they in Canada but not in France. They still had to struggle for years before being recognized and winning medals.

Nationalism is good for expanding inclusiveness from smaller units such as families and local communities but too bad when it becomes the limit of inclusiveness. It's like drawing a circle around oneself. It may be used to include or exclude. However, any one can choose to draw a much larger circle to encompass and include these nationalistic circles. There are valid reasons to use national units in sport competitions but I surely hope such divisions are not taken too serously, in and especially outside of sports.
 

ballerynna

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
I respect your opinion but I just want to add information as I'm from the Philippines. If Mel B is from California, then yes, its the Filipino America. Tons of Filipinos in California and Florida.

And the Philippines is a third-world country, we lack government funding and I know that even if Mel B chooses to represent the Philippines and she becomes the top lady skater, most of the training money will still be shouldered by her family. This is why we are grateful whenever someone wants to represent the Philippines because it entails lots of sacrifices, too.

And if their goal is Sochi, then wow, the Philippines do not participate in the Winter Olympics so this will be a huge accomplishment if ever she qualifies.

Haller fellow Filipina! Actually we do participate in the Winter Olympics. We haven't in a while because we haven't had any athlete who wanted to and/or qualified to do so.

The sad thing is, much with what happened to the Dragon Boat team, Melissa probably won't be able to enjoy as much government support. Sports that aren't as popular don't get the needed clout to get politicians to appropriate enough budget for them. Then again the government barely supports the national teams (much of the Azkals, the football team, money is from private backers and the swimmers also have sponsors), our politicians just decided to use the money for sports to buy themselves luxury cars and overpriced casino coffee.

There are a lot of Filipino ethnic people near any Navy bases--back in the day, many Filipinos joined the Navy in order to become US citizens. When they retire, quite often they retire near Navy bases, just as other Navy veterans do.

So no, they are not limited to California.

Here is a list from Wikipedia of so-called "Little Manilas" where there are concentrations of Filipino Americans (and yes also concentrations of ethnic Filipinos in other countries.


So yes, Melissa is not the only Filipino American in the DelMarVa area.

My cousins live in Virginia, in Fairfax County to be exact. There's a quite a number of Filipinos there to warrant its own Filipino store
 

islandpaddler

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 15, 2006
Country
US-Virgin-Islands
I'm a big skating fan from the Caribbean. It's not hard, just lonely. Forums such as this keep me in touch, and now that there's Icenetwork, I can actually see it other than the pittance that NBC opts to show. No Universal Sports here, alas. And when Skate America or Worlds comes to some place that's convenient, I do get on the plane and go. Nationals is tough because who wants to go north that early in the winter, but it's on my bucket list.
 

dwiggin3

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
My cousins live in Virginia, in Fairfax County to be exact. There's a quite a number of Filipinos there to warrant its own Filipino store

Ballerynna - I live in Arlington Co. - right next to Fairfax and there are several Filipino markets in both counties. I do have one question - and my ignorance is showing (I'm sorry) but why is the letter "f" used rather than the letters "ph"? Is there a cultural significance?
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Ballerynna - I live in Arlington Co. - right next to Fairfax and there are several Filipino markets in both counties. I do have one question - and my ignorance is showing (I'm sorry) but why is the letter "f" used rather than the letters "ph"? Is there a cultural significance?

This has more to do with American vs. British English. Countries that follow the British way of spelling (Australia, UK, even Canada) tend to spell Filipino with PH. Countries that use American spelling (USA, even the Philippines) use F. The true way of spelling it is Pilipino. However, a lot of non-Pilipinos are offended whenever that spelling is used (the reason for this is in our native alphabet, and in the one we inherited from the Iberians [Spanish/Portuguese], there is no F or Ph. That sound is not natural to us, so use P. It carries over when many native Pilipino speakers speak English. A friend of mine who is an anthropology master's student at UCSD was shocked when I'd say Pilipino instead of Filipino. He felt I was mocking the accent, when I was just being true to how it should be said.

So, long story short, Pilipino/a, Filipino/a, and Philipino/a, and Philippine are all correct.
 

Apollo13

Spectator
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
This has more to do with American vs. British English. Countries that follow the British way of spelling (Australia, UK, even Canada) tend to spell Filipino with PH. Countries that use American spelling (USA, even the Philippines) use F. The true way of spelling it is Pilipino. However, a lot of non-Pilipinos are offended whenever that spelling is used (the reason for this is in our native alphabet, and in the one we inherited from the Iberians [Spanish/Portuguese], there is no F or Ph. That sound is not natural to us, so use P. It carries over when many native Pilipino speakers speak English. A friend of mine who is an anthropology master's student at UCSD was shocked when I'd say Pilipino instead of Filipino. He felt I was mocking the accent, when I was just being true to how it should be said.

So, long story short, Pilipino/a, Filipino/a, and Philipino/a, and Philippine are all correct.

The Philippines was named after King Philip II of Spain (of Armada infamy). In Spanish, Philip tanslates to Felipe. During the Spanish colonization, the Philippines was called "Las Islas Filipinas" (the Philippine Islands). The Spaniards who migrated to the Philippines, their descendants as well as half-breeds (also called mestizos) were called Filipinos. The Spaniards called the native islanders as Indios. But later on, the term Filipinos became to mean all the inhabitants - Spaniards, mestizos and Indios.

Another complication is the fact that in the Philippine language (Tagalog) the letter "f" does not exist. For that reason, the inhabitants of the Philippines call themselves Pilipino.

And that's the whole truth!!!
 

ballerynna

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Ballerynna - I live in Arlington Co. - right next to Fairfax and there are several Filipino markets in both counties. I do have one question - and my ignorance is showing (I'm sorry) but why is the letter "f" used rather than the letters "ph"? Is there a cultural significance?

Other people replied to this with really good answers already but (according to a friend) Filipino is derived from Filipinas, the Hispanized spelling of Philippines (King Philip is Felipe in Spanish). Pilipino is also used like others have said but for me Pilipino is the local term and is more Tagalog than Filipino which is well, a different language. Tagalog is mostly used in central Luzon, the island and area where Manila is located. Filipino is the national language which borrows words from the other languages and dialects in the country.

Personally I say Filipino more often because I speak Filipino fluently and Tagalog less so

Now I've gone and confused people

Did anyone read Melissa's new interview? It's very insightful http://figureskatersonline.com/news/2011/10/18/bulanhagui-it-is-my-chance-to-compete-for-them/
 
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