No sáan nga makaammó nga nangtaliáw ti naggapuánna, saán a makadánon ti papanánna.

He who does not look back to his origins will not reach his destination.  This Ilocano proverb summarizes the literature used by the Bayan Learning Community that we find ourselves in.  Regardless of our ethnic backgrounds, we must remember where we came from to know where we are going.

My name is Juan and I am a Filipino American.  My father was an immigrant plantation laborer working in the sugar cane fields of Maui.  There he raised our family in a close community of other “Manongs” and their families.  Life there was hard, but simple.  This is my origin, or so I thought.

My journeys have brought me here, to this Bayan Learning Community.  Ignorant about most of my ethnic history, I now vigorously search for my origins that dates before Spanish and American rule.  As I discover more in my studies, I will pass what I learn.  Please share your thoughts, experiences about finding your origins.