By Ma. Lurenda Suplido-Westergaard, M.D., Contributor
INQUIRER.net
15. GROCERY bags — Since I have to pay for each one I take here in Denmark, I have established a collection of plastic bags from the major supermarkets, all (sort of) neatly stored under the sink. They get to be used many times, until they end up as trash bin liners. I used to have a more massive collection of plastic bags from mall supermarkets in Manila, and they hardly ever got re-used. I wonder what would happen if I brought those to SM and Robinson’s and then say to the bagger, please use these, they’re perfectly recyclable. There’s a fashionable (environmentally friendly) cheesecloth bag here that’s supposed to be used for shopping — to do away with plastic altogether. But if I send this home, it would pale in comparison to our bayong. On her birthday, I gave my mother-in-law a sturdy and finely woven bayong that I bought from Aldevinco in Davao City. It’s her favorite shopping bag.
14. GPS (global positioning system) — There is this amazing car gadget that shows you how to get from one place to another. It has a map that displays exactly where you are and a pleasant female voice that tells you when to turn. Of course this would have to be configured for Philippine traffic where the best option isn’t always the shortest route. There are other factors — peak hours for going in and out of offices, big churches, schools and universities; the scheduling of three-day sales in big malls; fiestas and processions; political rallies; barangay basketball tournaments; burol sa bahay (vigils held at the home of the deceased, with family gatherings spilling over to the street); funeral processions; busted traffic lights; traffic collisions where both parties make a big deal out of superficial scratches on their bumpers; and then there’s flooding…
13. Trains and buses with a fixed schedule — It’s strange to be able to say to someone: “I’ll take a bus at this station at 10:43, transfer to a train at 11:08 and meet you at your office after a six-minute walk.” Yes, in Pinas there’s always a jeep, FX, bus, taxi, tricycle, or pedicab waiting to take you door to door. The adventure lies in when you will actually arrive, and if you have to report your time of arrival, you have to say: “Ah, eh, not sure, siguro mga 20 minutes pa, more or less.”
12. An efficient vote counting system — A few weeks after I arrived there was a parliamentary election. Results were known before the end of the day. Yes, they have a smaller population here, but that would be the equivalent of knowing election results for Quezon City, Manila, Caloocan, Makati, and Pasay within six hours of closing the polling centers.
11. Community newspapers — We get them for free (I guess they’re supported by taxes, not just advertising) several times a week. They’re like Inquirer Libre at the barangay level. I find it most interesting to read profiles of one’s neighbors (ordinary folk, not starlets, rich people or politicians), and get updates on when road repairs are expected to be finished. Today there are four pages on how the barangay’s tax money was spent, complete with charts and bar graphs.
10. Windmills — It would be great to harness the power of amihan, habagat, and frequent typhoons. I’ve heard of a project on wind power in North Luzon. Imagine the country having so many more them, like at the farm level.
9. Bicycle lanes — I bought a second-hand bicycle to avoid the high minimum fare on public transport, and feel safe riding it on specially marked paths. It is possible to get to the supermarket without getting on a road with cars! You can attach special seats to these bikes so a toddler can ride at the back, held in place with a seatbelt. I wouldn’t think of trying this out with my son in Manila though.
8. Packed museums — Yes, we have museums in the Philippines, but what I’d like to see are places teeming with people who are there because of genuine interest — not for school field trips, and not just because of a chance encounter at a mall exhibit. The last time I saw a packed museum in Manila was maybe 20 to 25 years ago, when there was a big display of artifacts from the Vatican, one of the events during a Papal visit. This is not to disparage our museums, or the general public for not patronizing them. I’m just describing the heady sense of excitement I feel in seeing many people share my interest in objects of art and reminders of our history.
7. Fresh milk — My husband looked at the “fresh milk” cartons I used to buy in Manila and wondered why they took so long to expire. Here, shelf life is about one week, opened or not. The milk here tastes different, and there’s the option to buy milk produced ecologically, mas mahal nga lang (more expensive though). Drawback: because there’s no evaporated milk, much less condensed milk, I have to figure out a new family recipe for leche flan.
6. Cheap broadband — Everything seems expensive to me, but in relation to income, monthly broadband subscription costs are very low and represent a small share of household expenses. I’m excited about the potentials of computers and the Internet for education, health care, low cost communication with family and friends — potentials which can be realized only if the technology is ubiquitous and accessible to all. See what we’ve already done with SMS in the texting capital of the world!
5. Candles on Christmas trees — I did not get to see a single parol (Christmas lantern) this year, but we had a real pine tree, and that in itself is a thrill. What I was really impressed with are holders that allow you to light up trees with candles. I know that safety concerns will not make this popular in Pinas — we have enough causes of fires to deal with. So I guess I’ll just send pictures.
4. Bird feeders — When asked about what I wanted for Christmas, all I could say was a bird feeder. I had to explain to my family that I felt sorry for all the birds that have to live in the cold. Their trees don’t even have leaves on them! There are so many different kinds of bird feeders on sale, and supermarkets sell bird food that are meant to be placed outside people’s homes for the consumption of wild birds, not caged pets. The ducks in a stream nearby survive partly because residents bring them left over bread. Of course there’s more to this desire to have a bird feeder. It’s about teaching my son to care for wildlife. It’s about accepting that I live in a country where people don’t eat wild ducks, they feed them!
3. Good fun — Confucius said, wherever you go, go with all your heart. I think for Pinoys, this should be rephrased as, wherever you go, go with all your sense of humor. Many times during my travels to other countries I would happen upon something unusual, scary or downright bizarre, and then immediately make a joke out of it that only a fellow Pinoy would understand. After reading my previous list of 15 things I miss about the Philippines, my close friends and family laughed out loud knowing that I was ably dealing with the stress and bewilderment that accompany migration and being part of a multiethnic household. But those who don’t know me so well sent messages of serious concern for my wellbeing. The country I am in is not bad; neither is the Philippines a paradise. Yes, I miss our old apartment in Malate, and the UP campus but I don’t miss the floods on España and Taft Avenue. There have been moments when a profound sense of melancholy overtakes me and I feel like hibernating for the rest of the winter. I know being homesick is natural and inevitable, but I take solace in the fact that home is where you create your happiness (and where you cook adobo).
2. Free quality education for all — Okay, now for the serious stuff. One of the things I worried about most while growing up was how my parents would take out loans to pay our tuition and how my father eventually worked in the construction business abroad in order to support our education. My two brothers, sister and I went to the best private schools in Manila. We grew up speaking sosyal (elitist) sounding English not because we were economically privileged but because our parents placed the lion’s share of the small household “fortune” into our schooling. Living in Denmark now, I wonder: how did this small country of 5 million people produce 16 Nobel Prize winners for medicine, literature, physics, chemistry, and peace? I believe the answer is in realizing every person’s potential for contributing to society, and that rests on educating everyone in the best way possible. I wish all Pinoy children would have the same opportunity.
1. Free universal health care — Soon after arriving, I received two letters: one from the city health service reminding me to go for a pap smear, a screening procedure for early detection of cervical cancer and other gynecological diseases; a second letter was an appointment for my son to see his dentist. On my health insurance card are the names of two doctors my family has been “assigned” to. Their office is close by, and I have their phone numbers. Beyond hospital or clinic-based health care systems, there is the overriding concern for safety in the streets, creating healthy workplaces, curbing pollution, living well until you’re gray. I don’t need to describe how a Pinoy family can be devastated economically by serious illness, and how patients, especially the poor, don’t often get the care they deserve.
Since the publication of my first list on INQUIRER.net, some readers thought I was whining about my condition as a Pinoy living abroad. Seriously, hindi po (I wasn’t). I am handling it in the same way I’ve faced other major life events: with some measure of grace and the biggest smile I can muster. In this second list, some might feel that I’m making empty (if not strange) promises to fellow Pinoys after migrating (often seen as synonymous to abdicating one’s responsibility to participate in nation building). Seriously, hindi rin po (I am not). The worst interpretation of these two posts is that I left the Philippines because being abroad is better. It is not so. It’s just different. One of my professors told me I’m like a turtle: I carry my home on my back everywhere I go. I think there’s more to that analogy: turtles also have a keen sense of navigation; they know how to go back to the place where they were born.
My simple hope is that I could get through the holidays (and all winter) with my Pinoy sensibility intact; to put some distinctive Pinoy touches to a Christmas season where, for the first time ever, I won’t get to hear Gary V. sing “Pasko Na Sinta Ko” on the radio.
Manigong bagong taon sa ating lahat (Happy New Year to all)!
January 16th, 2008 at 1:57 am
this lady doctor is obviously misinformed, or simply dumb and naive …. nothing in Europe is for free! citizens of Europe pay enormous (and hideous) taxes to avail of the social services from the government. it is the people who have work who generate such income for the government where in turn they expect to be taken care of - and this system somehow works in Europe. it is obvious that this so-called lady doctor’s one of those unemployed in Denmark who’s enjoying the benefits of the social system for “free” - get work real fast before you get to be tagged as a social parasite in Denmark. oh yes, you need to study the Dannish language first … if you can’t do just that, you’ll end up settling for meager jobs Danes hates to do.
the next time you write another blog, do a research, know your subject first - you do come across as arrogant, naive and stupid. the Inquirer readers are no dumb lot … for all you know, they are more educated and well informed - having said that, your “doctor” title would even pale in comparison.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
whats up doc!!!! hehehehehe
Once nagluto ako ng tuyo..dahil nagdala ako ng tuyo galing pinas…kinatok ako ng kabilang flat…ano daw luto ko at nababahoan sila….well sabi ko..nagluluto ako ng tuyo..isang uri ng pagkain na gustong gusto ng mga cebuano (gaya ko hehehe) sabi nya di daw ako dapat magluto nun kasi mabaho daw…true enough nababahoan sila pero para sa akin mabango hehehehe at tatwag na daw sila ng pulis kung magluluto pa uli ako nun (gawain nila dito yun..konting problema tawag agad sa pulis)
Well..ang ginawa ko..almost everyweek nagluluto ako ng tuyo…naghihintay pa din ako kung kelan darating ang pulis na huhuli sa akin at siguro ikukulong ako….DAHIL LANG NAGLUTO AKO NG TUYO AT AYAW NG KAPITBAHAY KO ANG AMOY NG NILULUTO KO!!!!
magandang chance para maheadline ako…hehehehe pilipino nakulong dahil sa pagluluto ng tuyo!!!!
Kung minsan, masarap talaga mangasar hahaha
January 15th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Your original thought-provoking article about your life in Denmark unleashed a torrent of responses both positive and negative, but should we not consider the plight of the millions of less fortunate Filipinos; spare a thought for:
1. The nine million OFW who are compelled to work abroad to provide for their families, because jobs are not available for them in the Philippines. The Government tells us that only 6-7% of Filipinos are unemployed, but this is hard to believe when you consider the vast numbers going overseas in search of jobs; perhaps it would be more accurate to say 7% plus nine million.
2. The many thousands of Filipino graduates who are forced to accept menial jobs abroad, particularly those employed as house maids working up to 18 hours per day in appalling conditions, some physically abused by their employers.
3. A Bsc Engineering graduate, promised a salary of US $ 400 per month for working as a housemaid, who on arrival in Dubai, is told by her employers that they will pay her just US $200 a month, and that she would also be tutor to their two small children.
4. The many Filipinos incarcerated in jails in the Middle East, particularly those on “Death Row” awaiting execution by decapitation, with no proper legal defense and no one to help them. There is little justice in a country like Saudi Arabia where a young woman is sentenced to six months jail and 200 lashes for being in “close proximity” to the man who raped her, or in Sudan where a primary school English teacher was sentenced to two weeks in prison for calling a teddy bear “Mohammed”: She was lucky to escape the unruly mobs demanding her execution.
5. The thousands of Filipino doctors who now work overseas as nurses, because they cannot survive here on derisory salaries.
6. The nine million OFW who, having taken work overseas to sustain their families, now find that the strengthening Peso reduces their remittances by 20-25%. Imagine the impact of this on their relatives receiving these reduced monthly remittances. Apart from those repaying foreign loans, who benefits from this?
7. Everyone in the Philippines affected by the spiraling inflation. According to the Government, inflation is running at only 2.8% for 2007, but the people who calculate these statistics must be living on a different planet to the rest of us. We are told that the increased strength of the Peso is helping to cushion the impact of the rising global price of oil and other imported commodities. Does that explain why for example the cost of gasoline, diesel and LPG increased 16 times in 2007?
8. The millions of children packed into overcrowded classrooms of public schools with no books and little hope of receiving even a minimal education. Forget cyber-education, we need classrooms, teachers and books.
9. The 11 million out of school youth, whose future prospects are bleak? Imagine the implications when they all become adults, swelling the ranks of the impoverished unemployed. Who will run the Philippines if all the graduates are outsourced to other countries?
10. The poor people who survive by scavenging in the garbage dumps, the street sleepers and beggars, the hungry and the destitute, and children who sleep in the graveyards of the rich.
11. The patients who cannot afford the prohibitive cost of life-saving medicine, because Congress still has not passed the cheaper medicines bill, and because the pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to block the passage of this bill, simply to preserve their inordinate profit margins.
12. Children with chronic illnesses requiring life-saving surgery whose lives hang in the balance while their desperate relatives attempt in vain to obtain financial assistance. Congressmen typically donate only P 5,000 for open-heart surgery costing P 450,000. Yet the same public officials accept Christmas bonuses of P 200,000 from the House of Representatives in addition to cash received in paper bags at the Palace earlier in the year. What do they do to deserve this?
13. The rabies victim who suffers a slow and agonizing death because the public officials of the Provincial Capital who control the rabies vaccine will only release it to those who can pay P 1,300 per vial (Hippocratic Oath?).
14. TB patients who are denied free Government medicines, because local politicians and health officials give them away to relatives and supporters in the run up to elections, or hoard them until they are time expired.
15. The elderly living in abject poverty, who can expect no assistance from the Municipal Calamity Fund in rebuilding their homes destroyed in storms and floods, because local officials deliberately withhold the money so that all permanent employees of the Municipal can each receive Christmas bonuses of P 30,000 from the “under spend”. (Legalized corruption!)
Be thankful for small mercies in Denmark.
Christian
January 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
geezzzzz..whats the BIG deal about posting these countdown things..seems like this is a kid stuff -it’s just like writing a journal kids do for a trip ..sound not interesting at all to me, u need to work as a doctor and see for yourself what life is for REAL in other countries where u pay for your own liabilities, licensing,insurance and clinic..then share it to your colleagues and for sure that will help and people will appreciate it…not all these crap that’s very routine and not new at all..
oh! boy– it’s a long way to go for you to really know–fil-ams who has been here in United States for sooo0o long has no time writing all these kids stuff–nonsense!!
January 14th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
the author does not live in the Netherlands. She lives in Denmark.
True, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. They pay taxes too. They practice their prosfession in allowed areas and have to undergo regular check-ups.
Selling soft drugs is indeed legal…in registered coffee shops [that's what the
venues are called] in certain areas, also
legally registered and known by the police.
The owners of the coffee shops are only allowed certain amounts, beyond that they can get a fine. The Dutch parliament have passed this law as a sort of “experiement” to minimize the enormous number of drug addicts. They were right…the addicts have lessened in
numbers.
They are not stupid…those parliamentairs…
The dogs the dutch police
use to trace drugs in airports, borders, harbors, etc. are the best trained in the world. Some countries are on waiting list
in importing them for their own countries.
The country is doing its best in minimizing
illegal drugs, illegal prostitution, illegal workers from the former east block countries, illegal coming in of fake brand-name products, etc.
Taxes are indeed high but every citizen
benefits from age 1 to the hour of his/her death.
No one who’s a resident complains…so why should someone from another country should?
Every country has its own culture and traditions…everyone needs to respect them instead of condemning them out of ignorance…remember, the Dutch people
and government donate an enormous amount of euros to the 3rd world, the
Phils. included.
The people may be frugal in their own way, but when it comes to charity, they
have a big heart. And we Filipinos benefit from that…