Shrimp Lumpia

Jordan Godlewski

The first time I ever tried lumpia, a Filipino appetizer, was probably when I was a toddler, so I can't even recall what it was like then. I've eaten Filipino foods all my life because it is who and what part of my family is. Every week when I was a kid, we had shrimp fried rice. As I got older, we stopped eating Filipino food as much because most of it is fried and bad for your health. However, one thing that we always looked forward to as a treat, every so often, was lumpia.

It's my mother's side of the family that is Filipino, and they make the best food. Besides the fact that my grandmother can bake about any delicious treat or goodie there is, she is always very skilled at making Filipino food. I like my mom's lumpia, but I love my grandmother's.

There are two different types of lumpia: shrimp and beef. Since I don't eat beef and I love shrimp, shrimp lumpia is my favorite food. In a family that eats mainly healthy food all the time, it is nice to have the greasy and fried lumpia every once in a while.

Lumpia really is a favorite among my whole family. During the fall break of my first semester at college, most of my mom's family went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My Aunt Mandy and my Aunt Carroll both live in Texas, so we see them only once or twice a year. They love lumpia so much that they had t-shirts made that read, "Got Lumpia?" My grandma hasn't laughed so hard in a long time.

Being of mixed ethnicities is fun for me, and I love exploring my culture. My mom is Filipino, and my dad is Polish; and I do enjoy some polish food, too, but I don't eat pork both so it�s hard to eat and like most polish foods like kielbasa sausage and sauerkraut. I think that I love shrimp lumpia so much because it shows my Filipino pride and it is something that most people in the States don't know about. Hopefully, now, many people will be able to appreciate it as much as I do.