Pilipiiinss???!!!

I am back from being fat and happy on a week’s cruise-vacation to Bermuda.  This may sound corny but aside from the great company of my HB and our friends from Connecticut, my vacation was made awesome by the crew of the cruise ship VeenDam.  Thirty percent of them were Filipinos.  Others were Indonesians and from other countries as well like Chile.   I have never seen diversity in one closed space than at any other time.

Whenever I’d smile at someone at lunch in the buffet bay and say “Salamat,” they would say, “Ate, Pilipina ka?! Taga saan ka? Ano gusto mong iluto ko bukas para sa iyo? Dagdagan mo ang kay Ate!” In one of those encounters, they gave me more than I could eat despite the portion control that they seem to put into subtle practice.  The next day, there was chicken adobo in the back burner, waiting for me and my husband. I was touched.  Di ba naman?

Let me share my one close and memorable/amusing encounter with a paisana:

I called the spa and spoke with a girl who identified herself as Analyn. I suspected she’s Filipino.  I wanted a spa treatment and I was ready within ten minutes. She said they could accommodate me.  I went up to the spa.

-Hi, are you Analyn? I called a few minutes ago. I have an appointment.  Cabin 374.

She gave me this big smile, her almond eyes made me wonder if in fact she was Chinay. “Hi Ma’am, welcome! Here is your form to fill out.  Where are you from?”

-I was born and raised in the Philippines.

“Pilipiiiins!!!!????  She said,  almost screaming, with joy.  “Te, ang cute-cute naman ng accent mo, bakit para kang hindi Pilipina kung mag-Ingles!” She then eyed and treated me like some laboratory specimen.

-I am fluent in Tagalog.

“Naku “Te,  ang CUTE mo talaga mag-Ingles! Ay naku, hihihihi!”

-Ah, teka kasi panahon pa ni Gomburza, nasa States na ako. Haahaha, you know nong bata pa si Crisostomo Ibarra, loka!

She was silent but grinning widely at me—ahah, hindi siguro nagbasa ng Noli!

-Taga saan ka, Analyn?

“Cebu, ‘Te.”

-Ay, nindot ang Cebu!”

“Hihihihi, ‘te, para kang Thai, oo!  (Huh? –batok!)

With this, she started kneading my back and proceeded with our lively “interview” session.

I learned that Analyn is building a house for her parents; that she sent herself to vocational school so that she can earn a living;  this was only her 6^th month in this ship, she considers Filipino boyfriends liars and she has an Indonesian boyfriend; and that she was confused if the US dollar is used in Boston, where she would conclude her contract and from where she will go home to the Philippines.  I lauded her, sincerely, for her efforts to help her parents. 

After an hour: Ok, tapos na, ‘Te!

-Analyn, ano bang treatment ang ginawa mo sa akin, bata ka? Bakit parang wala namang nangyari?

She giggled.

“’Di bale 'Te, nag-chikahan naman tayo o di ba? She said, conspirationally.  “Bili ka kaya sa akin ng milk bath, $70 lang para may benta ako.”

-That is too expensive for a milk bath.

“$1,000 naman ang hawak mo sa States, ‘te!”

-Sino bang mayabang na Fil-Am ang nakausap mo?”

“Di ba yon totoo?”

-Hindi!  A  $15 bottle of shampoo is expensive.  My husband will divorce me if I pay $70 for a bottle of milk bath, I said laughingly. -  will just give you a nice tip, how is that?”

“Okay yun ‘Te, thank you.”

-Ikaw talaga, wala nang massage, may raket pa?”

We both laughed.  Every time she would see me  around the spa section, she would give me a wide grin and “that look”, as if waiting for me to transform into a unicorn or something, then she would say, “Hi Ate!”

I was humbled by the exchanges I had with these hardworking Filipinos and Indonesians aboard the ship.   While I consider myself blessed and certainly deserving of some days when I can forget the inconsequential inconveniences of my daily life, they toil each day, happy to be of service, of making it a point to serve with a smile, doing their 150% to please their guests.  While they are in that ship for as long as six months, serving 1200 passengers each week, cooking, serving, cleaning, etc.,  I can go home each night to my family.

Analyn told me that the Filipinos sing karaoke every single night. Frankly, I would have been shocked if that were not so.  Karaoke singing is such an integral part of being a Filipino and during this cruise, there was a Filipino Crew Night. They danced a jota, a pandanggo, and tinikling and there were two song numbers.  The finale of their show was a heartfelt rendition of “Bayan Ko.”  I wept when they sang, “Ibon mang may layang lumipad, kulungin mo at umiiyak…” I realized that the Filipinos are free but they are still hostage to the economy of a nation plundered by its own leaders.  It has been thirty seven years since I have sung that song with my fist up in the air.  I set myself free...

The next day after the Filipino Crew night, I made a u-turn on the way to the dining hall  when I spotted the  dancers and singers and congratulated them personally.  I even shared a secret to the “sway balance” in Filipino folk dancing to avoid hitting each other. (ever the theater person that I am)  I did mention to Luchi, the leader , to give out her instructions softer than the music because I told her that I could hear her “O ikot kanan. Diyan ka sa left. Sway balance...asog ka, aray, natapakan ako.”

I told her that I was the only Pinay in the audience/guests and so I understood her instructions but the others can hear her too. I said, "Naloko na!" into my husband's arms and stopped myself from laughing loudly.  Luchi and the others laughed as well when I told them this and they started to practice what I taught them while waiting for the drinks they were about to serve the poolside guests.   It was a happy moment.

In the last thirty seven years of my life, I have always looked back to the chapters that started when I set foot in the United States and commenced a journey that has, along the way, given me opportunities to look not only from the outside in but more importantly from the inside out.  At the end of the day, I actually do like myself and what I have done with my life and I consider myself fortunate to have met and continue to meet people who make my life more colorful, more meaningful, and profound.