Back To Zero
A couple days ago, an old family friend called me and wanted to make me "Kamusta!" He asked how I was and lately, whenever someone asks me that... I just say "I'm, OK..." It would take too much of my time to explain to everyone how I really felt. BUT THEN, my tito said that he knew exactly how I felt, that my life back in Manila was so good and that I had so many friends there and when I got here, it's like "you're back to ZERO! NADA!"
I guess my situation aint that bad though... My tito, (another family friend) just moved here from Manila with his family... I'm not quite sure of their exact social standing, but I know that they had a really good life back home. He was a big time surgeon and his wife worked for a bank. They were the typical Filipino family that got a big part of their money from, who else, but the parents. Now, my tito is back to ZERO! Him and his son now work for London Drugs (like Mercury), restocking the shelves or attending to customers, being paid just above the minimum wage here. He has to go back to school and take up nursing, just so he won't waste his 15 years of being a doctor. Gosh, what people will do just to be able to become citizens of another country and gain better opportunities...
He says he doesn't regret coming here though. This is what he's always wanted... To give his children better opportunities... He says that even at his age, 50 or so, no one ever discriminates him here. Even if everyone he works with is 30 years younger than him, they all treat him the same. No one has asked him how old he was or questioned his age. When he applied for nursing, no one cared about how old he was or that he was done with his prime years. Despite all he's going through, he like it here... Amazing.
Now he struggles to make ends meet, whether or not he should study full time and sacrifice not providing for the family. He told me that his son promised to give him half of his paycheck every month for their rent and even admitted to crying when he told him that.
Gosh, I wish I could be that strong...
I guess my situation aint that bad though... My tito, (another family friend) just moved here from Manila with his family... I'm not quite sure of their exact social standing, but I know that they had a really good life back home. He was a big time surgeon and his wife worked for a bank. They were the typical Filipino family that got a big part of their money from, who else, but the parents. Now, my tito is back to ZERO! Him and his son now work for London Drugs (like Mercury), restocking the shelves or attending to customers, being paid just above the minimum wage here. He has to go back to school and take up nursing, just so he won't waste his 15 years of being a doctor. Gosh, what people will do just to be able to become citizens of another country and gain better opportunities...
He says he doesn't regret coming here though. This is what he's always wanted... To give his children better opportunities... He says that even at his age, 50 or so, no one ever discriminates him here. Even if everyone he works with is 30 years younger than him, they all treat him the same. No one has asked him how old he was or questioned his age. When he applied for nursing, no one cared about how old he was or that he was done with his prime years. Despite all he's going through, he like it here... Amazing.
Now he struggles to make ends meet, whether or not he should study full time and sacrifice not providing for the family. He told me that his son promised to give him half of his paycheck every month for their rent and even admitted to crying when he told him that.
Gosh, I wish I could be that strong...