Metro Manila

Metro Manila is the region in the Philippines where Garbes's mother and father grew up. Garbes begins her introduction with descriptions of the area and the way its history shaped her parents upbringings, comings of age, and early adult lives. At the time of her parents' childhoods and adolescences, the region was struggling to recover from the devastation of World War II. Many young women and men were then encouraged to pursue careers in medicine. Much of their labor was outsourced to the United States. At different points throughout the text, Garbes wonders the ways in which her parents' lives might have elapsed differently if they stayed in the Philippines instead of immigrating to the United States.

Tagalog

Tagalog is Garbes's mother and father's native language. Because of the region of the Philippines in which they grew up, Tagalog was their first language. When they had...