By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net
When you are on a foreign soil, you will need a map to guide you to where you’re going. But when the map is useless, the next thing you will do is to ask directions from the locals of the area. But what if no one understands a thing you’re saying. Sign language may help you a bit. But talking with someone who understands you is better.
My mom and I found ourselves lost in Macau after we took a wrong route going to Fisherman’s wharf for dinner. We should have walked but we took a bus with the thought that our destination is far from the Macau Ferry Terminal.
Our problem started when asked the driver if the bus was going to the Fisherman’s wharf. He did not answer, and I presumed that it was because he didn’t understand a single word I said. So from that point, we did not know where we were heading. Luckily, a woman who looked like a Filipino boarded the bus. When we asked her, she just said, "Naku, malayo na kayo. Bumaba na lang kayo diyan sa susunod na stop."
During the bus ride, I wondered at how bus drivers were told stop. In the Philippines, we say, "Para" for the jeepney or bus to stop. But since I was not in my country, I wondered how they said it. Then I realized not a word was said. I only needed to press a button located in front of the seat. I then pressed it and the bus stopped. When we went out of the bus, another woman behind us spoke in Filipino. Thank God. We found another Filipino.
Her name is Vangie Soriano, a domestic helper in Macau. She was on her way to the flat where she and other Filipinos were staying. But she noticed that we were lost. She was on her way home but instead she assisted us to the bus stop, where she told us to ride another bus to our destination.
As we were passing by the European architectural façade of the establishments in the Senado Square, she started telling her story on how she wanted to stay home in the Philippines with her family but the odds in life pushed her to work abroad for her family’s future. If there’s one thing Ate Vangie learned in her six years of working as a domestic helper, it was the value of pakikisama.
Watch my video interview with Ate Vangie.
As we parted ways, I said, “Salamat Ate Vangie!” I don’t know if a word of gratitude was enough to express how much grateful we were. But it was so touching when she said, “Wala ‘yun. Siyempre, kababayan.”
To extend a hand to a stranger is a kind act. Though simple it may seem, a help given to a kababayan can be considered the modern bayanihan.
Kababayan
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mabuhay ka ate vangie!,..saludo ako sa kanyang ugali bilang kababayan..mrami pa rin sa ating mga pinoy na di nakakalimot na tumulong sa ating kapwa pinoy lalu na sa ibang bansa,..isa na ako doon,yuing bang pag baguhan ka sa ibang lugar tapos nwawala ka,may npagtanungan ka na kabayan,right away,inaassist ka kaagad,...ginawa ko na rin yung katulad ni ate virgie di lang sa ating kabayan gayon din d2 sa ibang lahi d2 sa edmonton....again,mabuhay ka ate virgie at ate izah morales!
I'm here in japan working as an English teacher. One of my Japanese colleague went to Paris with her husband. She told me that the sight was really beautiful but the locals were quite unfriendly. She tried to talk to locals and ask for directions but unfortunately she was ignored most of the time.Finally, a couple took some time to talk to them, took their pictures and gave them directions to their desired destination. My colleague then asked if they are from Paris and the couple told them that they are from the Philippines. My colleague really appreciate the kindness of our kababayan. Iba talaga ang pinoy.
It's nice to read and know, that once in a while, there are still glimpses of what our elders taught us, about etiquette, good manners and obviously, right conduct. Sa panahon ngayon, this is rarely seen.. Since the advent of videogames, globalization and an upward trend on overseas Filipino workers, we are sometimes caught in a cultural battle, between adopting the country we have poured half of our life working in, and trying to preserve our own morals ingrained to us by our parents and grandparents. Sadly nowadays, more often than not, people have started to change. Nobody cares no more. Today’s society is a dog eat dog world. If you want something, take it. Or somebody else will. It doesn't matter anymore if there's an old lady standing in a crowded bus, or a mother holding tight to her 3-year-old daughter in an overloaded LRT train to Baclaran, people just won’t care enough to give up their seat. Or help a woman through the door, assist a lady coming down from a jeepney.. What ever happened to the etiquette of “ladies first?" I guess we’ve come a long way since the 1950’s. We’ve learned so much abroad on how to fix or improve our country, but, on our return trip here, we bring a far more deadly disease, crippling our nation, slowly but surely.. We see it happening, we know what’s going on. I can feel it, I know you can too.. But can we stop it?
this is might be true to some... but excuse me, in reality this may not be as real as it may seem... i've had my share of being back stabbed by our own "kababaayans." What hurts me is that these are the people I initially trusted and felt comfortable with. Then for some reason (pera + staying power) they have become that person in the Japanese era we call "makapili"... but this article is a nice way of looking at our being a filipino... however, for me sometimes it's better to scratch your own back!
Mike Pastor,
It is unfortunate that you had that "bad" experience. But the good Pinoys outnumber the bad ones. So, hang in there. Pick up the lessons learned and keep moving and forgive.
1600Liz
Many Filipinos who have read this article were so much proud of you ate vangie..you are right Ms. Izah, what ate Vangie have done is an act of modern bayanihan..domestically, I have encountered some instances same as yours..and it was really a great feeling that I have extended my simple way of helping..how much more if I were on the other country already..it was so sad that in other parts of the world..there Filipinos who choose to betray their kababayan rather than helping them..hope there were many Ate Vangie around the world.(",)
dear all
it does not matter what race you came from, i have both bad and good experience dealing with "kababayan". you are lucky to meet ate vangie but i can assure there's ate sungit, ate suplada, ate yabang, ate inggit and so on.
my wife told me off why i keep saying hello to all filipinos in every country i've been. i told her it's just our way naturally.."friendly" but times change because of the poverty, corruptions in p.i and around the world.
it won't matter what religion you have indonesia (muslim) and philippines (catholic) are next to each other for being against their own teaching. i pray for ate vangie that she get ten times reward up in heaven as she did not expect anything in return. thats it ..the problem of today is take take take, thank goodness others are more giving without expecting anything in return.
with regards to your bayanihan, its still happening but the other side of the fence is scary. the greediness, commercialism and the injustices is very much alive and well in front of your very eyes in the PHILIPPINES.
kind regards
Hola Izah! I am here in Spain, married with spanish national with 2 children Gabriel and Jasmin. With my 5 years of stay here I´ve learned a lot in dealing to another (pakikisama) to spanish nationals, another immigrants and also to our co-filipinos. Pakikisama is good huwag lang abusuhin ng iba, try to stand by your own feet kasi kung minsan kung sino pa yong inaasahan mong tutulong sa yo sila pa tatalikod sayo. Sipag, tiyaga at pagtitiis lang talaga ang kailangan pag nasa abroad ka ang pinakamahirap kalaban dito is homesick. Please mga family sa pinas, huwag namang abusuhin yong mga padala ng mga OFW´s natin di lang ninyo alam kung ano yong hirap nila to find the money they are sending. Thanks for your interview with ate vangie, nakakatouch naman.
Hi readers! Thank you for taking time to read and comment on my blog. :) Ingat.
@ Mike--Sorry to hear about your "bad" experience with some kababayan. Hope you meet someone like ate Vangie.
Good article! Made my heart melt.
I have the same experienced too, when I was in Dubai for the first time, with my colleague… as we are strolling the main road and try to find out some shopping malls where we could dine and do some windows shopping…
Along the way, we tried to ask some folks hoping that they are more familiar with the area… we have approached some Indians and our own kababayan…
Just like anybody else’s experienced there are really Good Samaritan’s and vice versa on both nationalities… sabi nga ni Aner Marcelo “na merong ate sungit, ate suplada, ate yabang and so on…”
It depends on what they are in the society eh!!!... Just like that you have mentioned that Ate Vangie is a domestic helper… but I believed that if she (Ate Vangie) was not a domestic helper they might snub you out…
It’s normal in our culture that low profile person just like Ate Vangie, really knew how to respond to the needy kababayan…
Vice versa with some high profile kababayan abroad, they feel that they don’t need everybody’s help and assistance… or the other way around, to give help and assistance to other kababayan…
And they belong to “ate sungit, ate suplada or ate yabang…
@ No Koreans Allowed--Thanks for taking time to read.
@Buboy--I hope I won't meet "ate sungit..ate yabang..." :)
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