Unless you're a Filipino or have close ties to Filipinos, you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about when I mention anything about a balikbayan box. The word "balikbayan" is actually a combination word coined in the 1970s. "Balik" means to go back and "bayan" means home town or home country. So "balikbayan" is someone going back to their home country, but it only pertains to people going back to the Philippines.

Since I'm an American living in the Philippines, I become a balikbayan when I return after a trip to the US.

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