I am Filipino and Proud to Be One!

The other day I posted about the best "Pasalubong for the Pinoys Abroad". Why? Because I wanted to basically share that we take for granted a lot of simple stuff (this goes for those who live here in the Philippines). Living abroad is not only about missing loved ones. It's about being far away from your homeland. Try celebrating Christmas in another country and you'll learn to appreciate singing our local Christmas carols. Believe me, we were all crying during Christmas eve while singing "Ang Pasko ay sumapit tayo ay magsiawit nang magagandang himig...", by New Year I already locked myself in the bathroom out of depression. I just wanted to go home.

And my Filipino colleagues who were born and raised abroad always come to me to learn more about their roots. Actually those who are abroad have more yearning to be home. They might be better off, but they always tell me that they always feel something is missing. Home.

Jake the Miserable left a really nice comment on the Pasalubong post the other day, he said -

Pero ate, it's pretty interesting that you actually choose to stay here in our Motherland when most of our people are really pushing through to work and live outside. I also choose to stay and die here here, helping this nation through my own small ways. Abah, Batang Maynila ako. Nyehehe. Medyo pangarap ko nga lang makabisita sa Japan.

I have always been emphatic about staying home. I blogged about this a few months ago and my stand stays. It would take a lot to uproot me from here. Matinding negotiations yun. I have very high respect to those who are forced to go abroad to earn a living for their families. I feel their sadness whenever I'm in an airplane with them. I feel the sadness of their loved ones when I do trainings for educators and kids whose parents are abroad. I am sad too because I basically grew up an only child because my brother and sister left when I was still in elementary school. I missed out a lot on them because they've lived in other countries for more than half of my life already. And I wish that I had my nephews and nieces around to annoy as well. Sigh.

And that's why I was really upset when I read about the article that Malu Fernandez did. I do not wish to rehash it here because I don't want any of it here in my blog, you can read up on it at Tingog.com. All I can say is I am at a loss for words and am very sorrowful over the comments she made about our brothers and sisters who are abroad. I definitely do not find what she wrote humorous. Na-ah, not at all. Nakakapikon. As in, pikon na pikon ako kasi just the other day andami kong kasabay na OFW ulit sa airplane. And it is sad that we are losing a lot of our best people to other countries.

I am definitely proud to be Pinoy and will never be ashamed to say that I am one and I'm definitely planning to wear that yellow shirt wherever I go (especially abroad!). And, if ever, I ran into someone like her I'm just going to stare back and raise my brow. Helloooo, go be a citizen of another country if you're not proud to be pug-nosed, brown and simply Pinoy.

This definitely made me cry today. Hmpf.

What about you? Why are you proud to be Pinoy?