Pea is finally flying home to the Philippines to see her family, and instead of clothes, bags and curling irons, her luggage is full of fishing rods, American panties, a whoopee cushion and lots of candy. She explains the Filipino tradition of pasalubong and the reasoning behind each gift, from why her fisherman father has never owned a fishing rod to why Filipinos ask foreigners for Western chocolate. She also previews the chaos she expects at airports in the US and from fuel shortages and price gouging in the Philippines.
A casual video
- Normally Pea picks a topic and structures the video around it. This one is casual because she's packing to go home to her mom, dad, siblings, Lucy and the cats.
- Most women she knows pack clothes, bags, shoes and curling irons. She's packing two fishing rods, a whoopee cushion and a whole lot of candy.
What pasalubong is
- A Filipino tradition of bringing things home from the places you visited. It doesn't have to be from abroad. Any trip counts.
- It's how Filipinos tell family and friends "we were thinking about you while we're away." She says it's almost like an obligation.
Fishing rods for her dad
- A year or two ago she made a video fishing with her dad, and many viewers were surprised he didn't use a fishing rod, even though he's a fisherman. "Imagine a fisherman without a fishing rod."
- Why: it's not that the Philippines doesn't sell fishing rods. Her family lives in a remote area without big malls or a Walmart. And her dad is frugal. Everything he uses is improvised. He just uses a fishing line and a hook, which she calls very primitive. He usually drops the line and hook by hand.
- Viewers told her to buy him one, and specifically told her to get an Ugly Stick. She bought it at Walmart. It's open-faced, which she isn't familiar with, but her Patreon community says it's easy to use. She plans to present it as "your very first Ugly Stick."
- She bought herself a cheaper closed-faced Zebco, which she has used before, because fishing together is their bonding time.
- She also got him an assortment of about 100 fish hooks in big, medium and small sizes, and an artificial bait dipped in a chemical that's supposed to attract fish. She isn't sure whether Filipino fish are smart or dumb enough to take it. The bait looks like the teeny tiny fish her dad usually catches.
- She isn't sure he'll like the rod "because most of the time Filipinos don't like to try new things." She plans to film him using it to see if he catches more fish or fewer.
American panties for her mom
- Her mom loves American panties because the ones they get in the Philippines are cheap ones from China that "disintegrate over time."
- She anticipates viewers saying you can buy quality panties at malls in Manila or Cebu. She knows, but her mom isn't an online shopper and they live far from the big cities. She wants her mom to have something quality from the USA.
- She chose Nine West, which she has never seen in the Philippines. They're seamless and cool, good for the Philippine weather. Modest, "not grandma panties" and not the cheeky ones. She jokes she was looking for crotchless panties for her mom, then says she's kidding.
- Her mom will think they were expensive, but Pea got five for $9.99 at Ross. She hopes her mom doesn't see the video and ruin "the illusion of exotic, expensive panties from the United States," but her mom doesn't speak English, so she isn't worried.
Why Filipinos ask for Western chocolate
- If you're dating a Filipina and ask what pasalubong she wants, she'll usually say Western chocolate.
- Why not just buy chocolate in the Philippines? It doesn't taste the same. Philippine chocolate lacks the chocolatey, milky, cocoa taste and "just tastes sugary."
- She has about 10 kinds of American chocolate. As far as she knows, all but one aren't available in the Philippines. The exception is Reese's, but none of her family has tasted it because it's considered a luxury brand there.
- She plans a video of her family trying American candy for the first time and voting on favorites.
- Her candy haul and comments:
- Warheads: extremely sour. She can imagine her niece's, mom's and dad's faces.
- Baby Ruth: she thinks she used one in one of her outros.
- Mary Jane: "I hope these are not the smokable" kind.
- Almond Joy: because her family loves coconut.
- Butterfinger: one of her favorites.
- Junior Mints: she loves them.
- Snowcaps: she blames them for a lot of the weight she gained in 2023.
- Andes, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties ("Smarty pants? No, Smarties").
- Chick-O-Stick: she hasn't tried it yet and will try it with her family.
- Pop Rocks: she can't wait for her mom to try them because she won't expect the explosion in her mouth.
The whoopee cushion
- This is the gift she's most excited about. She'll pretend to film a very serious video with her mom, invite her to sit on it, and "let it rip."
- She admits it's childish, "one of those things that Johnny Somali would do," but says it's her mom and she'll get over it someday. She hopes it goes viral.
- She may get an extra one to use on her brothers after embarrassing her mom.
Why no clothes
- She can buy a whole wardrobe for under $30 at an ukay-ukay (secondhand clothing) store in the Philippines, so she saves luggage space for candy.
- She wishes she could film the TSA agent checking her bag and discovering "this lady is a candy smuggler."
Bad timing for travel
- In the US she's heard of long airport lines and some canceled flights due to the temporary government shutdown, though she isn't sure it's true.
- In the Philippines there's chaos from a fuel outage, and she's heard the price of rice has doubled due to price gouging, which she says happens "all the time if they could find an excuse to do so."
- She'll report on what's really going on once she's there, "but hopefully I'll survive this trip."
Plans for the trip
- Film everything: street interviews, beach videos, restaurant reviews, and hidden gems known only to locals.
- Videos with her friends Richie and Angel and the rest of the gang.
- Viewers can request specific videos in the comments.
- Next time viewers see her she'll be at 30,000 feet.
Outro skit
- Pea calls herself the girl next door: no costumes or superpowers, just someone who keeps her eyes and ears open. She knows both Western culture and her own, so she can be a valuable resource on all things Filipino. She promises fresh content twice a week, plugs Patreon, and ends with "Can I borrow a cup of sugar?"
