Of Jackaroos and “Pinoy Ako” performances

Of Jackaroos and “Pinoy Ako” performances

On their first day inside the PBB house, the Teenternational housemates were welcomed by Big Utol’s candid banter. He gave three of them – Carson, James and Bret – several to-do’s inside the Villa household, where they pretended to be foreign backpackers. They were able to accomplish all but one of their tasks. According to the deal made with Big Utol, one of their housemates would carry the consequence should they fail, and fail they did at leaving souvenirs. They decided that Jack seemed the most able to deal with anything, and fortunately, he was game to do so. Appropriate to the failed task, Jack was chosen to play the part of a human souvenir. Soon enough, he was Jackaroo: Jack outfitted as a kangaroo. To complete the outfit, he needed someone to play the joey (baby kangaroo) in his belly pouch, and he chose James. The two had to hop around until the rest of the house accomplished the task. Ryan, the Korean housemate who claims to be Pinoy at heart, belts out his version of “Pinoy Ako”, and took Kuya’s fancy. His task, then, was to teach the rest of the household the song and if Kuya was pleased with their performance of it, then the hopping of Jackaroo and James would come to an end. Ryan made a second attempt at singing the PBB teens theme song, and despite the mangled lyrics, Kuya was satisfied. With a routine that ended with the girls in various gymnastic poses, the Apartment Teens were able to deliver and the two housemates were set free.
The Teenternational housemates, all of whom have stayed in the Philippines for quite a while, also engaged in a discussion of Filipino culture, good and bad. Among the things that they liked were the Pinoys’ openness, optimism and friendliness. On the downside, though, Pinoys could lessen the unwarranted discrimination, develop cultural pride, nationalism and love of the native tongue.
Would it take the Teenternational housemates to develop a sense of being Filipino in the Pinoy housemates? Maybe it’s a wake-up call for all teenage Pinoys. What does it truly mean to be Pinoy at heart?