It’s great to be back home!

After a very long vacation in America, I could not wait to go back to the Philippines. It was as if I was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz tapping my shoes with my eyes closed and thinking (or dreaming) really hard while saying in my mind, "There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home". Despite the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (commonly known as "SARS") scare and the War on Iraq I decided to go home. It took sometime to convince relatives and friends that the travel will be safe from these factors until finally no one could really stop me and so I finally left. Of course, upon my arrival, I prepared myself to see the opposite of what I had been used in America. Like the welcome of the traffic in the streets and the pollution, drivers not following the rules of the road (not even scared of the policemen on the block) and pedestrians fighting their way to cross the roads not fearing an accident but instead challenging the drivers not to run over them. But even these did not stop me from coming back. I missed the Philippines and I am glad I’m home!

America has so much to offer. It seems that everything is there – from an almost perfect political system (that does not allow corruption to destroy the building of its society) with law and order, a strong sense of patriotism of her people who are quite demonstrative about it, the glitzy Hollywood celebrities who produce great films that we love, to the junk food that makes us fat! People who dream of living in America one day have the notion that America will answer all their problems and frustrations – and that true happiness will be achieved in this land of plenty – I hope that dream comes true because for many Filipinos whom I have met there and who have lived there for more than 10 years their heart still belongs here in our country. You can observe that many especially those who do not hide their true feelings show some sort of "emptiness", some sort of longing that one day they hope to return to the homeland.

Even if the Filipinos living in the US want to go back right now, they cannot. They have to think of their economic situation. Can they managed to survive in the Philippines? America gives them more opportunities to live a better quality of life where they have a good paying job, a good public school system for their children’s education and opportunities to buy a home and even a car which is quite difficult to achieve over here. What a pity! I hope that one day we can further develop our economy and the building of our society especially in the provinces and offer better business opportunities for those OFWs or balikbayans who want to return.

It’s amazing how Filipinos are everywhere – they seem to be spread out in every part of the world. Wherever you go you will see them – be it in a hotel, a restaurant, a cruiseliner, a shopping mall, a hospital, not to forget Sunday Mass. You will surely feel so at home just knowing that there is a Filipino around. Before departing from Manila from Los Angeles, I stayed in a hotel by the LAX airport and was met by a Filipino bell captain. Of course, we went into a conversation. He asked me if I was visiting Manila and I told him, "no, uuwi na ako" (no, I am going home). He said, "buti ka pa uuwi ka na, ako gusto ko na rin umuwi ayoko dito malungkot pero kailangan ko pa mag-ipon" (You’re lucky you are going home, I want to go home myself because it is lonely here but I still have to save money). He said that he will save money and put up a business in his province. My heart sank upon hearing his story; I am sure there are many Filipino out there with similar stories. His was a humbling story. He was a vice mayor of his town and during the last elections, he lost all of his money. This forced him to work abroad in order to sustain his family here. Imagine an ex-vice mayor carrying my heavy luggage. I almost about cried just thinking of it.

It’s difficult to explain it but again as I mentioned earlier, even if America has everything to offer nothing beats the life in the Philippines. Even if there are beautiful malls in America – I noticed that that’s all people tend to do over there – the malls seem to be their main activity. Of course, they have parks, camping grounds and popular theme parks but people go there only once in a while. The daily life there seems to be a routine of waking up, cooking breakfast, washing the dishes, going to work, returning home from work, cooking dinner, washing the dishes again, having a nice stroll around the neighborhood, throwing the garbage and then watching TV before going to sleep. On weekends, you can do some house-cleaning, laundry and gardening, watch a good movie, eat out or go to the mall. Imagine doing this every time – not much variety in my opinion which makes the life quite dull and boring! I am sure many living there may disagree with me but many whom I have encountered admit that this is how they feel over there! In fact, when Filipinos get together (which is more or less more an eating session than a social event) they always talk about the life they had in the Philippines or they long to hear news from the Philippines. Their homes have the TFC channel which is a Filipino cable channel there. When there is a party all eyes are on the TV screen and a conversation is developed from what they see. Of course, the videoke or the magic microphone which allows them to exhibit their singing talent is always part of the party scene. Come Christmas time, many reminisce about Christmas and New Year back home – malungkot (it’s lonely) talaga to spend the holidays there compared to here. Many Pinoys who have experienced Christmas in America say, "Okay lang kahit walang pera sa Pinas masaya naman doon pag-Pasko" (even if you do not have money in the Philippines, it is still a joy to spend Christmas over there than it is here).

For the Filipinos living in the US, it is hard to come up with the best answer on where is it better to live? America or the Philippines? Do they have a choice or don’t they? I found myself indulging in such conversations when I was there (of course I was biased by preferring to live in the Philippines). But the final answer to this question really will depend on the person – it is hard to come up with a final answer. Think about it!

If you want to talk about "quality of life", there are two sides to this. The first is found in America where order, cleanliness, government services are in top condition. The second is found in the Philippines where living a life that enriches your body and mind is satisfied. In the Philippines we are quite lucky to have household help who can cook, clean and launder our clothes – we do not have to do such chores – after work we relax. Mind you, even my driver has a maid so don’t tell me that only a few can afford such privileges. What else? You can pamper yourself in the parlor or at home with very cheap manicure and pedicure services, not to forget a good massage. If you want to grill chicken, you do not have to do it yourself just go to the corner and buy fried chicken or pork BBQ. You have taho, ice cream, and balut right at your doorstep. You even have easy access to the man who sharpens your knives and shines your shoes at home. You don’t need to go to Paris or Italy to buy good leather goods or clothes – they are all found in the tiangges and are trendy, not baduy.

Hey! What else can you ask for? Everyone enjoys these simple inexpensive joys we have just look around. To top it all, we have many fiestas which we look forward to.

Of course, there are still many things to improve in our country but the joys outweigh the problems we face. It will be difficult for me and for many others to exchange such a life with another life abroad.

My only advice to our countrymen is to be conscious of making this place a better place for all of us to live in – we can have both "qualities of life" (the one the Americans have and the one that we Filipino enjoy) if we want to.

Before I end this column, I would like to borrow some words of wisdom from President Jimmy Carter (1976). This should inspire us to achieve greater dreams for our country. He said, "Stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking." The solution of our country’s problems will not come from the President or other government officials but from every Filipino household.