The family that plays together stays together

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My sister's tiles... did she win? Not this round! But she won the games later on! I honestly don’t remember when I learned how to play mahjong. I do remember that it is an informal rite to adulthood in our family. I started with putting the bricks together to form a pyramid, a house or stack them next to each other caterpillar-style to create a domino effect. I think it was around sixth grade when my cousins and I started observing our aunts and grandparents “wash the tiles” and shout out “Bunot,” “Todas,” “Todo chow,” and many more. We wondered why they could play till the wee hours of the morning.

When we tried our little hands at the game, the next generation of mahjong players was born. When we each experienced our first win and shouted out “Todas!!!!” it was as if we were welcomed into a circle only grownups could belong to. It was as if we were given badges that said “I am no longer a kid.” Though we each had an aunt or an uncle coaching us from behind our seats, we felt like adults. From then on, parties would have two mahjong tables: one for the oldies, one for the newbies (and a circle of chairs for our coaches). The stakes at the oldies’ table were much higher and my cousins and I weren’t ready for that. Our little newbie stakes would have to do.

Mahjong. I owe a lot of my family bonding to this game. My cousins and I would talk about life and love over Kangs and Chows. With time we got better (and older), and so our aunts and uncles would join in the game. The game bridged generations. Maymee (my maternal grandmother) took pride in playing the game with her grandchildren. She would never lose on purpose, and since she’s a REALLY good player, we grandkids were challenged even more. It was her way of training us, I guess. In between mahjong tutorials, she would tell us how she and Wowo (my grandfather) met. While she and three of the grandkids played mahjong, the rest of the clan would always be nearby eating turon, maruya and fried kamote, listening intently to her stories.

Our family parties are never complete without mahjong. The game has broken the generation gaps in our families. It has brought in-laws closer. I think this game is one reason why my relatives and I do end up being close to another. Sure, we have our little misunderstandings once in a while, but there’s nothing like a good game of mahjong to tie everyone back together.

For as long as there are little ones willing to learn the game, mahjong will live on in our family and continue to glue our clan together.

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