Recently, after moving to Manila from Davao, I really had to be conscious about speaking in English. Back in Davao, I was really used to speaking mostly Bisaya with my friends. I would also speak in Tagalog but I never really preferred speaking English during conversations which is why I felt really awkward talking to people in AdMU. I remember OrSem and it was awkward because it took me some time before I could reply to people talking to me. Some of the manila slang they used even made me cringe. I didn’t know what they meant. It’s like even when I’m in simple conversations, I have to use System 2 because I’m really not used to it. Speaking straight English doesn’t come naturally to me. I can more genuinely express in Filipino especially when I react to things. I usually instantly say “buanga uy” or “naunsa ka” instead of slang English terms.
Now, a month later, I feel more comfortable talking to my blockmates but sometimes they can’t understand me and I’m unaware of it. From time to time, I get lost and start speaking Bisaya words that I always thought were Tagalog. So to help this, I ask my closer friends if a word is actually Bisaya or Tagalog. For speaking English however, I think I do better now and my System 1 has adjusted to speaking English phrases often. It feels a bit more natural to me now and my mind doesn’t lag as much in thinking of a response.
I do admit that I’m biased in the way I anchor how much English I should speak based on my classmates. I base whats ideal on how they talk and I changed the way I express myself because of that. Now however, having some close friends, I try to teach them some unique Bisaya words that I can’t translate into Tagalog and other expressions commonly used in Davao. It feels much more natural to me and I’m more comfortable using those expressions.
Understanding the Self 