Filipino-isms (?)

So, for Thanksgiving today, my parents decided to eat at Hometown Buffet; our relatives went to Vegas for the Thanksgiving weekend, and we didn't want to cook anything. Anyways, during our lunch at the Buffet, I had a conversation with my mom and it went something like this:



Me: Mom, were you ever a tomboy when you were younger?
Mom: A tomboy? Oh, I wasn't a tomboy -- none of the people in our family were tomboys. I know people who are tomboys, though -- my cousin was like that.
Me: Wait, mom, do you know what a tomboy is?
Mom: What is a tomboy?
Me: It's when a girl acts like a boy.
Mom: Oh, we don't act like that in our family. It's like how my cousins act.
Me: How do they act?
Mom: The girl has a girlfriend. [something along those lines...]
Me: Wait... Mom, being a tomboy doesn't mean being gay or lesbian.
Mom: That's how it is in the Philippines! Ask!
Me: Mom, in America, being a tomboy is when a girl acts like a guy.
Mom: What?
Natalie: Dad, what's a tomboy?
Dad: *just came back from getting food* It's a girl who acts like a boy.






Note, my dad is very much more immersed in Westernized culture than my mom is.

I just thought it was pretty hilarious; I wish I brought a tape-recorder.