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.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
@ No Koreans Allowed–Thanks for taking time to read.
@Buboy–I hope I won’t meet “ate sungit..ate yabang…”
August 25th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
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…
August 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Good article! Made my heart melt.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:33 am
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.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:41 am
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.