Have you ever come across something so wildly relatable that you stop and question whether you've ever had an original experience in your life? Well, that happens to me every single time I come across The Cheatcoders — a group of Filipino-Australian podcasters — on my social media feed.
Recently, I (along with the spirit of my ancestors) found myself taken aback by a concept that they dubbed "Filipino Math".
Why? Well, other than the stereotype that we Filipinos have no concept of being on time, I had no idea the "rules" of Filipino Math were so widespread across the community. Joke's on me.
"Filipino Math" is an iteration of the controversial "girl math" trend that took TikTok by storm back in August, but tweaked to the specific spending, buying and living habits seen in Filipino households.
In a video snippet of the episode posted to Instagram, three of the four Cheatcoders members — Cristian Garcia, Raf Flores and Don Valix, along with podcast guest Lara Andallo — shared their favourite examples of Filipino Math. Soon enough, viewers were adding their own experiences in the comments section.
Here's a round up of all the "Filipino Math" rules I pulled from The Cheatcoders episode and comments:
No one tell the aunties that we're exposing them.
1. Starting off strong with this rule about time
2. This rule that explains ✨priorities✨
3. This rule that reminds us that it's all about the journey, not the designer handbag
4. This rule that shows off the Filipino people's resourcefulness
5. This rule about sending care packages back home to the Philippines
6. This rule that explains why some Filipino families are big (by western standards, anyway)
7. This rule about airport arrival times that challenges the 'always late' stereotypes
8. This rule that takes into account the value appreciation of luxury items...sometimes
What type of "math" did you experience in your upbringing?
Share it in the comments below!