How you deal with expat haters?!!

Sa milyon milyong mga kapwa kababayan natin na nagtatrabaho sa iba’t ibang sulok ng mundo, sari saring kwento na ang narinig ko about descrimination. Depende sa lugar kung saan ka, may mga mag-look down sa’yo dahil you came from a third world country, may mga estupido na ang akala Philippines  are all slums dahil yun lang nakita sa TV…etc. etc basta ang dami!

 Living here in Bermuda is no exception but it’s a bit different. They are the foreign haters! Mga taong lokal mostly itim na galit sa mga expats na nagtatrabaho sa kanilang isla. They are just a few but those are the kind of people that you don’t have to mess up around. Sila yung tipong mga salot ng lipunan…mga walang trabaho, lasenggro na ang binagsakan ng sisi sa kanilang miserableng buhay ay mga expats. Na ang akala inagawan sila ng trabaho kaya sila nagkaganun which is totally wrong. Sus ang daming trabaho dito pwede pasukan pero mga tamad lang talaga.

Last day nung naglakad ako sa kalsada, nakasalubong ko yung  medyo matanda na at parang bangag sa alak at bigla nalang nagtatalak. “You fuckin foreigner are earning money here in Bermuda…you fuckin..(puro fuckin word nalang naintindihan ko). Lumingon ako sa kanan, sa kaliwa walang ibang tao, pucha ako na pala ang pinatamaan ni Manong. Nag-init ang ulo ko ng 360 degrees! Bigla ko naalala yung orientation namin nung bago pa ako dito na the best thing to deal with these people is ignore…ignore…ignore! Maximum tolerance ika nga. Kasi pag papatulan mo walang mawawala sa kanila at ikaw ang dehado. Kaya tuloy nalang ako sa paglakad at hinayaan ko na kung ano ano pa ang pinagsasabi. Hindi ko naman naintidihan yung ibang pinagsasabi eh…

Technorati Explosion

This is my first ever tag from Kotsengkuba of China, kahit di ko pa talaga nagets ang purpose nito gawin ko ‘to for the sake of explosion…heheh

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes let’s hope a long list!) It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! And what are the benefits of Viral Linking:

• One of the fastest ways to see your Technorati Authority explode
• Increase your Google PageRank fast
• Attract large volume of new traffic to your site.
• Build your community
• Make new friends!

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:
*Blognation, Pinoytek, Reyna, Bluep, Kotsengkuba, Buraot, Iris, Banco De Reyna ,Mitch, Melai, Malen, Beng, Sasha, Lloyd Lopez, islander [next please]

I’m tagging

lyzius,
missymisyel
madbong
buhaybarracks
ana_banana

Ang missing kong BAGGAGE

Hanggang ngayon, missing pa rin ang bagahe ko! 20 days had passsed at wala pa ring progress sa paghahanap ng mga inutil na US airlines na yan. Galit na sa kung galit! Mga pucha nila hindi biro na mawalan ka ng bagahe noh!

Dahil first tym kong nabigyan ng US visa, i decided na sa US dadaan on my way back here in Bermuda from the Philippines. And that would be my very first time na  makaapak sa land of milk and honey kuno. Kaya ober excyted ang pucha…! Manila – Nagoya – Detroit – New York via Northwest Airlines then from New York to Bermuda via American Airlines. Yan ang biyahe kong pagkahaba haba.

Pagka checked in palang ng bagahe ko sa Manila dapat continuous na sana yun hanggang Bermuda without me picking up in every stop over. But ang overacting US custom policy na yan, pagdating namin sa Detroit airport kelangan kunin ang bagahe sa baggage claim para isalang muli sa x-ray machine ek-ek nila. Hanggang dun ko nalang huling nasilayan ang pinakamamahal  kong bagahe. I was the last man standing  sa kahihintay ng baggage ko pagdating namin sa Bermuda airport pero walang bagaheng dumating.

Of all airports i’ve passed through, lossing my baggage at US airports is my least worry and something i didn’t expect to happen..but i was wrong, wrong, wrong.  They are the one with lousy service despite claiming the fact of having superior technology. I was more worried on my way to Philippines as it involves a lot of connecting flights. From Bermuda – London – Dubai – Qatar – Manila but i got my baggage intact in Manila!

Isa pa sa ikanaiinit ng dugo ko, my housemate just came from vacation as well a week ago and same thing had happen! He lost one of his baggage but at least they found it after 5 days. What’s going on with these airlines….sana tuluyan nalang kayong na bankrupt..!! Mga putragis kayo!!!

Hail to the Champion!

  

It was my second time na napanood ko ang laban ni Manny Pacquaio sa Flanagans restaurant here in Bermuda. Medyo bad trip nga lang kasi naman tong mga taga Coconutrock restaurant pinamalita na ipalabas din ang laban sa kanila. Pumunta pa kami ng maaga para makakuha ng magandang pwesto and we even had our dinner there. Tapos ayaw mapick up yung channel…sayang lang dollars ko sa food hindi man lang nag offer ng discount or complimentary!

Lipat kami sa Flanagans but as usual puno na ang sports bar. Kahit may St. Patrick’s day celebration sa upper bar pero sa dami ng mga Pilipino sa labas binuksan na rin ang mga tv screens pero naka mute nga lang. Ang ingay ng tugtog ng banda pero mas maingay ang sigawan ng mga Pinoys lalo na ng maknockdown si Marquez sa 3rd round.  Kaya tuloy ganado na rin tumoma ang iba nating kabayan at nakipagtalo na sa staff. Gusto pa naman ipahinto yung banda kasi ang ingay daw eh pinagbigyan na nga lang dahil sa daming hindi nakapasok dun sa sports bar tapos mag iinarte pa.

 I read a lot of comments sa mga kapwa Pilipino na hindi daw deserving ang panalo ni Pacquiao, si Marquez daw ang tunay na panalo. It’s not that i love my own but i think it’s more questionable pag si Marquez ang nanalo. During the whole fight i couldn’t see any edge that Marquez had over Manny. Mas tumatak yung pagkatumba ni Marquez  and i guess that’s why na mas lamang ng 1 point sa score si Manny. If it’s not for the knockdown malamang tie na naman yun.

Manny Pacquiao is truly the official Mexican Executioner!!!

Isang taon na

Today is exactly my one year here in Bermuda. Ang bilis, parang kailan lang na iniwan ko ang lupang diserto na kahit papaano may “emotional attachment” na sa akin. Sa mahigit tatlong taon ko sa Dubai  relaks na relaks na ako dun kasi  halos kabisado ko na lahat mapa kultura man ng mga lokal or sa mga  halohalong expats pati na ata lahat ng eskinita ay alam ko na. Doon na rin nag grow ang career ko na hindi man lang pinansin sa Pinas. I started as an ordinay accounting clerk in this hotel and had a management level position at Ritz Carlton hotel but that was a short while dahil pinagpalit ko dito sa Bermuda.

“Where the hell is Bermuda?” unang tanong ko sa sarili nung interesado na sa aking application ang present employer ko ngayon. Hindi ko nga alam anong hugis ng isla kasi isang dot lang ito sa mapa. I remember feeling so confused kung lilipat ba talaga ako o hindi. I already have a nice job, saka wala akong kilala dito ni isa plus i never heard this island before except the dreaded ”bermudatriangle”. Nakakatakot di ba. My mother was against my transfer, baka bigla nalang daw akong maglaho…mas lalo akong natakot..It was a shock for my boss and officemates..they were like “tanga ka ba, Ritz Carlton na’to pakawalan mo pa”. I showed my offer letter to my boss and he got the point…di kasi nila kayang pantayan ang dollar offer plus ang job title two steps higher pa. But he threw me this question that bothers me a lot…The offer was too good pero kaya ko na ba to handle the job na hindi puro palpak. Parang ang bilis kasi…starting as accounting clerk lang then after 3 1/2 years assistant financial controller na ang offer. In my flight on the way to here, ito lang nasa isip ko palagi…oo nga napakaganda ng offer pero kaya ko kaya.

But the rest is history. One year na ang nakalipas at andito pa rin ako. Lakas lang ng loob talaga at tiwala sa sarili ang kailangan sa pakikipagsapalaran nating mga OFW.

pinoyinbermuda blog  

re-opening soon…

My first scooter drive

I have learned a new thing here today …driving a motorbike or popularly known as scooter(a small 50cc bike).  This is the most popular mode of transportation here which suits perfectly to a very narrow roads. Besides not all can own a car even if they can afford to because of one car per house policy. This is to control number of vehicles out on the street otherwise traffic would be  a mess as almost all roads here  are single lanes.

 Back to my practice session, i have rented a bike for two days at Oleander Cycle for 117.00 dollars so i just spent my whole weekend practicing. I haven’t touch a bike before so have to start from the scratch. Buti nalang mahaba ang pasensya ng ka opinina ko na nagturo sa akin. I found a perfect place to practice right beside the airport na walang dadaan na mga sasakyan, mga eroplano lang ka kompetinsya ko.  I was there last Saturday from 3 PM till 8 in the night.  This Sunday i found a new site a huge car park which is empty. Ang ganda pa ng view across the street ay ang Clear Water Beach na, wherein there’s a group of Filipinos na may nagcelebrate ng b-day nakikain pa ako. Ang sarap may bbq, shrimp, pancit..kapal ko ano nakadaan lang nakikain pa. On the other side  naman is a motocross venue na may mga nag paparaktis na mga bikers. So it’s a sort of inspiration to me na habang sila ay pinapalipad na ang mga motorsiklo samantalang ako hindi pa halos makapagpatakbo ng matulin. While i had some occassional fall down but thanks God ain’t got any bruises pero sobrang sakit lang ng boung katawan ko. While i’m typing this blog entry hindi ko nga magalaw ang right hand fingers nasobrahan ata sa kakahawak ng accelerator. Anyway it was good learning experience at ang sarap ng feeling pag napatakbo ko na para akong nakalipad .

Bermuda National Day

Yesterday was my first time to witness Bermudians celebrate the major festival on this island, the Bermuda National Day. As soon as i disembark from the bus i can feel a party atmosphere right away. Loud cheers, drum beats, reggae music and a huge crowd cheering every contingents in the street parade, it reminds me our own Sinulog festival in Cebu. Homesickness strikes me at this time but suddenly gone when the preformers came along. Most of the performers here are wearing skimpy costumes and performing some sexy dance routines ala Rio carnival in Brazil. One thing i’ve notice here is they don’t have problem in crowd control unlike the Sinulog in Cebu that can be rowdy sometimes. Anyway what is 60,000 population compared to close to millions in Cebu. People bring their own folding chairs coupled with coolers filled of beers  and lot of foods. It’s just like they’re having a picnic along the street.

While i was busy with my heineken beer, i notice some fellow ”kabayans” closed to me are getting excited to the incoming contingent.  When i check out was a big sign of “THE ASSOCIATION OF FILIPINOS IN BERMUDA” contingent dancing to the tune of Filipino music.  It makes me smile when i hear the song, it sounds “jologs” but funny i don’t know the title and artist but it starts with this…”The coconut nut is a giant nut..its a kokoprut” in a very thick english accent. Anyhow this makes me more proud of being Pinoy here which just shows that there is an active Filipino community here and we are  significant to Bermuda society.

      

Hello World…Welcome!!!

Welcome to my first blog in WordPress!!!

 It’s been my two months now here in Bermuda and so far so good. Though i’m not fully settled yet but i would say things goes on pretty well except some changes in my past daily routine back in Dubai that require some considerable time of adjustments. Things  that i wish to be around even if i’m now in new place but i just know it can’t.  Having get used to have life wherein everything is provided like free transportation to work,  church, & malls, free meals all day, free laundry and pressing, lesser workloads and responsibility, more time to “piteks”…hehe but those were gone now.  I have to do everything on my own this time and live on my own. I get lunch for free in the office and have to rely take out food for dinner, take bus daily, a walk to laundry shop for a self service laundry and ironing which i hate most! But the plus side is it’s clean and less crowded that even a public bus ride is a pleasant experience unlike in Dubai that i almost puke one time, beautiful beaches and friendly locals.