Untitled

My dad arrived few days ago for a vacation for 3months here in the Philippines. And yesterday, they invited some of their friends over to spend some time together. Particularly, it was Tito Larry (who's a British by the way.) and Tita Lou. While in the car on the way to the resort, Tito Larry asked me what course I'm taking up, and I told him Nursing. The first thing that he had thought is that I want to go overseas that's why I'm taking up that course but I strongly told him that it wasn't really my plan. I answered him, "No, I don't want to go overseas.. I wanna take up medicine after my nursing course, unless of course my dad wouldn't allow me to. I'd rather stay here in my country than be alone abroad at the same time earn a lot. Never mind the long years I would be spending in studying.." He then answered me that I'm just one of the "VERY" few (take note of the qoutations) people that would say that. I became sad after he said that. I just realized and asked myself, is this the same perception of foreigners to all Filipinoes? Are we that desperate that other countries sees us as if all people who are trying to finish their studies all wanted to go abroad and leave our country?

Ok, I would admit, my parents do work abroad and they have their own reasons. Reasons that I think are similar to other Filipinoes who are working abroad. And primarily, it is because they pay far more better salaries abroad than in our own country. My parents are working not as an Engineer or a doctor or whatsoever work that requires titles and degrees, but rather musicians.. Yep, you read it right, musicians. But don't ever get me wrong, I'm proud of them because for years, they have given us good, or should I say, GREAT life (note the superlative "GREAT"). My dad is an undergraduate of HRM and my mom is a graduate of Business Mgmt. at the same university I am going to right now, but they work as musicians abroad. Thanks to the talent of my grandparents (who were also musicians on the father's side), I was never sent to public school ever in my entire life.

Would you believe that even for applying as a janitor here in our country, they want graduates from college? I could remember last summer, to be able to realize how hard to earn money and to have my first summer job, I tried applying in one of the fastfood chains in our country, they want college level applicants. Why college level applicants when all you've got to do is to serve food? The work is a bit tiring physically and mentally, but guess what, the salary is just a whooping 21.00 PHP per hour!!! I could remember my dad telling me that in America, it's $5/hr. My point here is that this is one of the reasons why we can't blame people going abroad to work. BUT not all.. Not me. If only possible, I wouldn't want to leave our country. (But who could tell what's going to happen in the future?) Anyway, I just REALLY hope that this image that most people from other countries entails with us Filipinoes would eventually change (just like the perception of my dad's British friend). Millions of our fellowmen sacrifices themselves to go abroad to earn more than that of what they could earn here in our own country. They take their chances in the hope of giving their loved ones better life, but we can never blame that.. It's really true that Filipinoes are clever,skillfull and intellegent, but reality bites, some use it to aggravate others in a way that instead of helping their fellow Filipino to have a better life, they worsen it. Thus, rich people becomes richer and poor people becomes more poorer.. What happened to our country?? WAKE UP people!!!