Thinking of home.


How would a common (read: living simply in a far-flung town) Filipino view a Balikbayan who has been away from the country for quite sometime?

I have been in and out of the Philippines many times. Most of those times, the travels were short — like those few days in China and a week in Singapore. My more than two years of residency in the Netherlands had brought good memories worthy of treasuring, and a whole lot of curious town folks who could not help praising how my look had changed while abroad. Although there was nothing that I changed in myself, except for cutting my hair short, I was told by many that my living abroad made me looked “fairer” (whatever that means…).

But nothing compares to the perceptions I noticed from the common Pinoy after I moved to the United States and then went back to the Philippines for a short visit. You may disagree with my ideas, but it seems to me being in the U.S. is the be-all-and-end-all of all foreign travels. The moment you set foot on U.S. soil, most Filipinos back home think “you’ve finally got your American dream!” It won’t matter anymore if you have traveled somewhere else. The fact that you are in America, you have already scored a goal most Filipinos are still struggling to find their ways through. Being with Uncle Sam is akin to finding a treasure at the end of the rainbow for most of us. I have a strong feeling that this is the reason why common Kababayans look at Balikbayans from the U.S. with awe and high regard, like they just landed from a successful space mission.

I listed few things of how Balikbayans are viewed by common Filipinos. Read and tick all the right boxes. Note that there are times the connecting sentences may feel like sweeping generalizations. But keep in mind that I wrote this piece thinking of the numerous exemptions!

1. Richie Rich. They think I am rich since I live in the U.S. I have written a long story about this in another article. Let me put it in few lines. A dollar is worth 40 times more than a peso. A Balikbayan from the U.S. should be wealthy enough to even come home. I want to reiterate what I mentioned previously, we are NOT financially rich! What we earn in America may be more than the salary a Filipino gets back home, but when comparing, you have to think in terms of the standard of living. Pips, living in the U.S. is not all bed of roses.

2. Don’t rub me a whitening cream. They think my complexion becomes fairer. Geeezzz. We need to drop this craziness on having lighter skin tones. Why, for God’s sake, would my skin turn light just because I am surrounded by white Americans? I do not use skin whitening nor want to change my color. The way my skin color looked the moment I left the Philippines, will be the same look the moment I come back. Here is a quick explanation why nothing have changed or will ever change: The sun that shines the Philippines is the same sun that shines the U.S. The amount of light rays that hit my skin, then and now, is the same. In fact, I probably am getting much sun exposure here, because I never use an umbrella on summer days (no one does, at least in this county where I reside). So to say that my complexion becomes lighter is only an illusion, a mental product caused by the surprise of not seeing me for years. Wait for few days after my arrival and you’d say that I am all the same.

3. Ano sabi mo? They think I have become so fluent in the English language that I have forgotten how to speak my own native tongue. Frankly, this one knocked me down with a feather! This is the most ridiculous observation ever. No, I am not fluent of the English language. No, I have not forgotten my native tongue. I love the Filipino language that I will never replace it with any other. Also, I grew up in the Philippines and spent most of my years in Cebu, thus if ever there is an influence of the American twang in the way I speak, it is not something to worry about.

If you have lived your first 20 years in the Philippines, there is no way you will forget the language, isn’t there? That’s why it makes me wonder how other Filipino immigrants were able to drop the Filipino language from their vocabulary. Maybe because they seldom, or worse, don’t, use it anymore, especially with their American partners. Or maybe because they rarely talk with other Filipinos in the community.

Again, I say, I love the Filipino language. As a matter of fact, I always make certain to talk in Filipino when I am with Filipino friends. I don’t grasp the need to converse in English when you are in a group of Pinoys. So I made a pact with myself to communicate with Filipinos only in Filipino!

4. I’m cool, look at the brand of my underwear. Talk about being overly inflicted with colonial mentality, some think that all the things I wear are imported branded merchandise. It has always been my principle that I wear anything that fits me, without any regard of the brand or the country where it is produced from. If you see me wearing orig Levi’s jeans or Nike shoes, it is because the items suit me. But that does not mean I don’t patronize local brands. I even wear clothes from Tabo Sa Banay, Happy Mart and items from stores lining the Carbon Market in Cebu City. Last year, my mother tagged me along and we shopped for clothes along Manalili St. I admit, most items may not be as long-lasting as those expensive ones from the malls, but if you search enough, you’d find good deals way better than those in fancy boutiques.

When it comes to wristwatches and perfumes, however, I always go for original brands. These are two of the few products that I always make certain I am getting the “real ones”. Two reasons: Pseudo perfumes smell like shit, you can smell them two blocks away! And, counterfeit wristwatches die in a matter of days! Ergo, spending a $100 for a bottle of perfume and $200 for a watch, will save you some embarrassment.

5. Where’s my Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Some think I own a Mercedes-Benz or any other luxurious cars, like it’s a status symbol in the Philippines. The fact is, I own a fairly decent (I think that’s the other word for crappy) Pontiac. So far my car isn’t giving me major (major!) issues, and it still gets me from A to B. Unless I become a famous person, which of course is close to impossibility, I will never own a classy vehicle. Even if this Pontiac will consummate its last squeal and give up on me, buying a luxury car is still not in my plan.

A day in the life of a traveller.

I don’t blame any Filipino to think all of the above. It is already embedded in us, this too much love for the Western culture. A balikbayan will always be defined as someone who is permanently residing outside the Philippines. The idea that someone is able to travel and live abroad is enough for a common Pinoy to assume that the person (1) is rich (or would soon become rich), (2) could become fairer in complexion, (3) would most likely sit pretty somewhere enjoying life’s luxuries, and (4) may forget to speak the native tongue. When someone assumes and tells that I am, or could be, one of the above, I usually responds with a smile. Not saying anything, oftentimes, cuts off the topic. Now, can we talk about my work?

Did I mention that I once had the same perceptions?