Mapps created Learn Filipino by teaching herself a new set of skills like web development through resources at the library. “I had the thought of creating a community where I could freely share my thoughts about my own culture and language.” “Conversation is usually contained to life here, which I am still learning and discovering,” she says. For her, creating a website was a way to write in her new language while sharing information about Filipino culture with those who might be unfamiliar with it. She felt like she didn’t have much to talk about with strangers, and that strangers knew little about her Filipino experiences. Mapps mentions that the challenge of learning a new language is compounded when speaking to people who don’t have a shared cultural background. ![]() “I first learned the English language from school and spoke it with fellow Filipinos, but it is a different story when you do it on a day-to-day basis and with native speakers,” says Mapps of her language learning experience, part of the inspiration for starting Learn Filipino. In an effort to bridge those two worlds, Mapps created Learn Filipino, a website that provides human Filipino translation services, travel advice, a line of products that depict Filipino culture, and a look at the many lifestyle insights that help define Filipino culture – things like comic strips or the country’s enthusiasm for the Ms. For these reasons, Mapps moved first to Canada and then to Colorado, where she embarked on a new journey that would lead her to better understand Western culture while still celebrating the one she grew up with. Despite this, life in the Philippines was often difficult – not enough food to eat, outdated roads and houses, and deadly typhoons. A strong emphasis on hard work and education was placed on Mapps while growing up. Mapps had left behind her native Philippines for, as she puts it, greener pastures. ![]() For Brighton resident Donna Ignacio Mapps, transitioning to life in North America from the Philippines came with many challenges – a new language, new culture and meeting new people.
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