Native Tongue

When we got here one year ago, my son and I agreed that we'd speak Tagalog at home. We've been doing that. Whenever I meet Filipino parents, they'd ask me how come my son still knows his native language and I'd tell them about the agreement. They'd nod in approval and then some would lament that their own children have forgotten more than the language, but Filipino values as well.
For my part, I think not forgetting the language keeps my son grounded. If there's one thing I hate when I was back home, it's listening to balikbayans who have embraced everything western and snorts in disdain to anything local, and being very loud and vulgar about it. That just makes my skin crawl.
But while my son keeps the native tongue, I, admittedly, am sometimes powerless to stop him from adapting to a new way of life. Sometimes it's tiring to explain why things are so because a barrage of questions would definitely ensue, but I know it's worth it. And sometimes I wouldn't have the wisest, most ideal answer, but I know I couldn't, shouldn't, give up.