New Exiles?

How difficult could it be to be far away from one's first home? Very.

I say it now, thinking back to the days when I first moved to Jersey City, more than twenty years ago.

To so many Filipinos living outside the Philippines, and nestled, I hope, comfortably, in one of the countless nations of the world, being away from home is always a heart breaker.

Your first few days away from home are zombie-like days; you wake up, you do the daily drill, you go to bed, you think of your loved ones back home, you cry, you wake up, you do the daily drill, etc.

As you weave your way and start to work, you'd discover a very different work culture from what you used to know. If you enter a country as an immigrant, looking for your first job could be daunting. If you're on a work permit, thinking of how to pay the money you paid to the recruiter or agency becomes your number one priority.

First, you have to get your social insurance number, and if you're in Canada, you have to get your PRC card, then you open a bank account, get your driver's license, get your health card,
apply for a telephone or get a cell phone, get the kids enrolled at school if you have any, find an apartment.

If you are living with relatives, it is easier; right away, you've got a social safety net. Relatives could guide you through all the process I've mentioned. Plus, there's the added comfort of not having to worry about paying a first month rent.

When I ventured into New Jersey, coming from several months' stay in sleepy, mid-west Ohio, I was pumped. I got the blood and energy flowing into every smallest vein of my body.

On my third day in Jersey, I bought the New York Daily News, looked up the ads, asked my housemates how to take the subway, and walked the streets of Manhattan. I had no idea how far apart the avenues were in Manhattan, and on the way back home at the subway, I took off my leather shoes as my feet got so sore.

That's many eons ago. I got my first job within a week in Jersey; it was a temp job in a government agency (all New Yorkers start with a temp job). Then I got a permanent job after about two months.

When I travelled to Europe several months ago, our small group of Filipinos saw and met Filipinos in most of the places we visited.

In Madrid, while lunching at a mall, there was this Filipino couple who walked by and spoke with us, who'd been in the city for 35 years. In Portugal, while on a free time, I talked to two Filipinas who'd been there several years and who were thinking of transferring to Spain.

Then at the Fatima, there was a group of travelling Filipinos from the U.K. In Paris, the maitre d' in our hotel was a lovely Filipina, married to a French and who'd been there for some fifteen years. At the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, I saw two groups of Filipino travellers who were scheduled to visit that week.

It seemed that everywhere we went, there was a Pinoy in the midst. It was really nice seeing a Pinoy anytime.

While still working at Skills for Change, an agency which helps new immigrants to Canada, I would often ask the Filipino clients why they left the Philippines. The answer had always been the same: economic - to seek better opportunities.

Canada is a welcoming country. The health care is superb; the transit system, efficient; and a lot of support systems and infrastructures exist.

To those thinking of coming to Canada, or to other countries, my five-cent worth of advise is:
research the country where you're headed to.

If you're going as an independent immigrant, find out how you can practise your profession or trade - its licensing requirements, and the technology needed for it (e.g. for accountants, what accounting software you should know). Search companies in the internet while you're still in Manila.

Get a resume ready. Be prepared for the worst, even if you have relatives ready to welcome you. Bear in mind that you are coming to a new culture - people speak and think differently.

For instance in Toronto, people tend to speak louder. And people are more assertive, direct, affront. Don't be intimidated by these.

Connect with Philippine community agencies; they exist to help Filipino newcomers.

When Pinoys come home to the Philippines for a visit and they act different, it is not because they're yabang; they're just so glad to come home.

For an old sport like me, pining for good 'ol Manila will always be there - tucked away inside the heart. It tugs at you especially during the Holidays, when you're alone, when you're watching a movie or hear a song and a scene or the lyrics reminded you of a place or a person in your old life. Or when you think of the could have beens or might have beens of your life.

I am reminded of an old sermon the late Jaime Cardinal Sin once delivered. I only remember its essence now. He said that Filipinos have become like the Israelites of the old testament - travellers, moving from place to place and becoming exiles.