Pinay 1: How long have you been here?And, that's how the conversation ended. I was speechless for a while but managed a smile and a weak "Have a great day!" when the elevator opened.
Pinay 2 (aka Jaine): Just a little over 3 months.
Pinay 1: Are you here for work? Do you mind if I ask where?
Pinay 2: Yes, for work. (I then told her where we both work). How about you? (of course I had to ask, it was sort of expected ...)
Pinay 1: Oh, I've been here for years!!! 20 years in New York; 35 years in the country.
Pinay 2: Long time ... you must be a citizen by now (no-brainer comment, right?! But no!)
Pinay 1: Nope, not yet. I'm so tamad to file it.
Pinay 2: Hassle?
Pinay 1: Yeah ... the form is soooo long, I don't have the time. I'm really so tamad to do it. (At this point, I was like, "Duhhh! 35 years and you don't have the time?!!!")
Pinay 2: Well, you don't really have to. You can stay as a resident and keep your Filipino citizenship.
Pinay 1: Well, no but I want to, I need to 'cause I travel ... not a lot, but I do. I want to ... 'cause you know, whenever I travel and they see my Philippine passport they're like .. (roll eyes).
It made me sad to hear that. Hindi naman ako OA about being Pinoy but I'm proud of it. Not everything about it but I'm not the type who will talk badly about my country to just anyone. I will complain to Joric, my family, my friends. It stops there. I make it a point not to talk badly about our country to my children. Especially now that we're away. Anyone can ask Joric. I'm OA about that.
I wanted to tell the Lady that having brown/red/blonde hair and a new passport doesn't make her American. She's still Filipino so people in airports will still react the same way - if she expects them to. I travel too ... not a lot, but I do (pun intended) -- but I never really experienced that. Sometimes we just expect other people to scoff at us and when they do, we blame our being Filipino. Stop and think ... maybe it's YOU, not your being Filipino. Maybe it's your dress, makeup, or attitude, not our FLAG! Or better yet, maybe it's THEM because they're racists?!
Ikaw ba ang mali, tayo o sila?!
I know we feel that we don't have the best reputation in the whole world but in my short stay in New York, I've heard so many nice things about our country and our people from foreigners -- there was this French Dad in school who told me about the Filipino male nurse who took care of his Dad until he died. He said he loved that nurse, and made sure he found a new home after the Dad died. Then there's this Malaysian Mom (also at school) who came to me one day and asked me if I'm Filipino. When I said yes, she told about the wonderful time they had in the Philippines while her husband was stationed there. This woman's son was so excited to meet Aaliyah because he loved talking to Filipinos, he said. They're funny and warm. And there's this PTA Mom who kept calling me up to ask me to have a table to represent the Philippines at the school's annual International Night. She said we have a rich heritage. Wow. That was something ...
And of course, I've heard many, many people shouting "We love Pacquiao!" when they learn we're Filipinos. I know it's generic, but why not? Bask in the glory of your kababayan! Take it at face value!
There will always be people who will put us down because we are Filipinos but I believe there are more people who make us feel proud of our heritage; who will make the negative things about us trivial. Filipino or not, we should always know what we stand for so we don't let others scoff at us. We should stop being critical of our nation unnecessarily because it gives others the license to do the same.
(Moved from FB: Jan 2012)
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