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The Pinoy-in-American life

What do you get when you take a 30-something Pinoy, who fancies himself a writer, from the Philippines and transplant him to America? You get “Pinoy in America: The stateside life in the time of Barack Obama, Facebook and Pacquiao-mania,” an immigrant notebook that chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Pinoys in their adopted land.

Lorenzo Paran III, an English teacher at the University of the Philippines before moving to the U.S., takes his cue from his first years as an imigrante, a period of learning and unlearning that, as he finds, many others have gone through before him and many more undoubtedly will.

He shares the stories—always poignant, always moving—of the Filipinos he meets as he tries to carve a home in a new land: old-timers eager to share the voice of experience; young guns audaciously taking on the challenges but also opportunities in the complex landscape that is America; the proverbial Filipinos who are “more American than Americans”; and second- or third-generation Filipinos reaching out to their parents’ homeland.

Paran discovers too that just because you’ve spoken English, gone to McDonald’s and watched Hollywood movies all your life doesn’t mean you’ll instantly fit right in in America. On the contrary, the story becomes more interesting if you think you will.

Witnessing how others have managed to become Americans and yet stay true to their Filipino roots, Paran, a Bikolano through and through, finds that the secret often is to nurture a dual mind-set that allows for constant reminiscence but also leaves room for living in the now. Home is a matter of mind, Paran seems to say in his essays. 

At times lighthearted and at times musing, “Pinoy in America” offers a look at the Filipino-American life from inside, and Paran finds that the story is not always as simple and clear-cut as it often seems when seen from the homeland.

 

What readers say:

"I got this book last Friday that was authored by a schoolmate way back in the Philippines, Lorenzo Paran III (known to us as simply Third Paran). The first thing I did when I received it was to open the middle page of the book, read what was written there and laughed so hard! I am now almost done with it and I totally related to his experiences as a first generation immigrant, who despite of the difficulties and adjustments, assimilated well in this melting pot of different cultures... To all my Pinoy or even non-Pinoy friends who want to learn and explore the experiences of immigrants like me, this is a MUST READ! Go and grab a copy! :)"

— A.C., Oceanside, Calif.

"Thoroughly loving it .... the material is familiar and so true."

— Bing O., Chino Hills, Calif.

"Funny (and) down to earth .... hard to put down!"

— Denise C., Los Angeles

About the author

Lorenzo Paran III was born and raised in Daraga, Albay, in the Philippines. He attended Catholic schools in Legazpi City, and then went on to the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in creative writing.

He was a fellow at the Dumaguete National Writers Workshop in 1995 and the U.P. National Writers Workshop in 1996. From 1995 to 2004, he taught English at U.P. Diliman. He lives, with his wife, in Southern California, where he makes a living editing news stories for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

To buy “Pinoy in America: The stateside life in the time of Barack Obama, Facebook and Pacquiao-mania,” CLICK HERE.