Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. 

Jenny Joseph

Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003

Tatak Pinoy!

My first day of work in this foreign land was kind of blank. Everything was new to me and so with the company since it was their first time too to have workers from the Philippines. We were only seven back then and another eleven arrived the following month. We had our orientation in their national language. Without an interpreter…heck! We’re dead by now. They taught us first our names in their own characters and how it pronounced followed by the company’s management system. Writing my name in their language was like I was sketching my pad for a design.

After the orientation, we we’re introduced to our local co-workers in our respective assignments. It was really hard for me then to communicate them. It was good that the company provided us a half blood Filipina interpreter at work for a month while on training. But that one month with an interpreter was not really enough for us to learn everything in relation to our work. The company was not ready for us too since all of the communication and report forms were not in English. Just imagine how we had understood all those forms in that kind of system. As daily routine, a morning briefing conducted by our department supervisor seemed only intended to the local workers and not for us since we never understand what they were talking about. A month after, some forms and reports were revised for the benefit of foreign workers like us. But mostly of the communications passed and posted have no translations. And also, there was no payday we didn’t have problems on their computations. Not fair in all aspects, we thought. We felt a little bit kind of racial discrimination. It’s been a year already and why those communications like that morning briefing, no one would care to explain and translate it for us foreign workers. If we won’t bother asking our local partners, we’ll never know the content to any form of communications.

What I did, I talked more to my local co-workers everyday. I embraced all their criticisms of how I sounded using their own language. I taught them a little English and so they were to me in their own language. And now thank God I can talk a little…I understand, not all but at least I understood what they meant. I’m just thankful that I got local partners who were good. They treated me as their friend. They tried their best to talk and explain to me anything well.

Just last week, the company has undergone an audit to upgrade. People from Germany visited our company to conduct the inspection. Of course, they have prepared everything to show the best of what they have. What surprised me was that the auditor was a Filipina. When she arrived I almost heard everyone’s heart beats including our bosses. The company’s vice president was the one who entertained and talked to her in English with all the department heads at his back. When they reached our station, we were introduced as her kababayan that we came from her own land Philippines. Physically, she was just like those ordinary pinay. She was more like of GMA. I was a little bit taller than her. She was introduced as Ms. Marge. She smiled a lot to us pinay and threw some tagalog greetings. When she scanned our operation manual and reports, she started to throw questions on our boss without any hesitations and showed an unsatisfied look. I saw my boss face and the heads were in panic. They began to create sounds and tried to answer every question. Still, Ms. Marge was not satisfied. She was that smart and brilliant. She was that perfectionist. She scanned every detail and asked any confusion she met. Wow! My boss crawled into the hands of a smart Filipina like Ms. Marge. But despite the unsatisfied look, every time she glanced our way, she smiled a lot. I am proud of her. I am proud to be a Filipina.

I salute you Ms. Marge. Two thumbs up for you.

Yan ang tatak Pinoy!

To the people who tried to discriminate and looked us down…We got even! J