The Return of eLf ideas

ideas of an eLven being in Canada

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Mga Filipino Nga Lang Ba ang Masisipag?

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Another article from my column in The Filipino Journal:

In my only half a year’s experience of working here in Canada, I was able to interact closely with people of various races—Caucasians, Blacks, First Nations, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Hindis, Italians, and many more. Because I am broad-minded and multiculturally tolerant, I usually get to engage many of them in serious conversations about life and struggles. And based on these once-in-a-while interactions and my observations on how they approach their jobs, I can confidently say that most of them are hardworking individuals and each possesses commendable work ethics. I therefore refute the popular belief of many Filipinos that they are the only people who possess a distinct sense of industry and hard work. If only we are to widen our cultural perspective, we will realize that all working individuals—regardless of race—strive hard in their jobs with a common purpose—that is, to be regarded as worthy of their chosen professions or occupations and to be able to earn well, enough to meet the daily needs of their families and to save sufficiently for their future.

Real Lives, Real People
Here are some of the people with whom I get to interact in my day-to-day working life here in Canada—individuals who I believe possess a laudable sense of work ethics.

Natalie, a Jamaican, works tirelessly eight hours a day, five days a week, at A&W Restaurant. She performs her multiple tasks without the need to be reminded of. Whenever the store is not busy, she never idles around. She usually looks for ways to keep herself occupied. She doesn’t hesitate to be of assistance to her coworkers, helping especially the new hirees and making them feel confident in their newfound jobs.

Tobey, a Caucasian, another former coworker of mine at A&W, despite being already a store manager, still does the tasks of an ordinary service crew whenever we were understaffed. She would unhesitatingly clean the washrooms, empty the garbage bins, and sweep or mop the floor.

Always possess a sunny disposition despite the typically stressful environment in the workplace.

Rachel, an Ethiopian working as a fellow health care aide at Riverview Health Centre, always possesses a sunny disposition despite the typically stressful environment where we work. To some, orientating students and newly hired workers is another unnecessary task; but to Rachel, this serves as a learning experience not only for the person being orientated but also for herself. During a break time, I had the opportunity to engage her in a conversation. I learned that she was working doubly hard because she financially helps some of her brothers back home. She said that helping a family member is part of their culture. And isn’t this outlook the same with that of Filipinos?

Many immigrant workers strive doubly hard to be able to help their families back home.

Ajeet, a Hindi taxi driver, who happens to be the one who usually picks me up early in the morning whenever I work the day shift, takes out his cab even though the weather is unfavorable and the snow on the ground is knee-deep. He said that being a cab driver is a dangerous and tasking job, and yet he is on the road usually twelve hours a day. Because of this job, he was able to send his children to university, most of whom are now professionals; and he takes pride in telling me these accomplishments.

Judy, a Caucasian working as a nursing coordinator at Tuxedo Villa, is always on the go. You will never see her glued at her desk. She always visits every station to address whatever is needed there. I usually see her helping the staff feed the elderly residents during meal times, a task which I’m sure is no longer part of her workload. She is also good at remembering names and faces, addressing every resident and member of the staff on a first-name basis.

Sa Madaling Salita
Hindi namumukod-tangi sa kasipagan ang mga Filipino. Bawat taong naghahanapbuhay—anuman ang kanyang lahi—ay iisa pa rin ang pangunahing mithiin: Ang makapaghanapbuhay nang maayos at ang kumita nang angkop sa kanyang kakayanan upang matustusan ang mga pangangailangan sa buhay at para masiguro ang kinabukasan ng pamilya at iba pang mga mahal sa buhay. At bawat lahi—hindi lamang Filipino—ay kakikitaan ng mga halimbawa ng indibidwál na kumikilos nang higit sa hinihingi ng kanilang mga trabaho—mga taong inuuna ang serbisyo sa kapwa at pangalawa lamang ang pera sa kanilang mga adhikain sa buhay.

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3 Comments:

  • At Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:58:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief
    Albanian - Te dua
    Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)
    Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)
    Armenian - Yes kez sirumen
    Bambara - M'bi fe
    Bangla - Aamee tuma ke bhalo baashi
    Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu
    Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo
    Bulgarian - Obicham te
    Cambodian - Bung Srorlagn Oun (to female)
    Oun Srorlagn Bung (to male)
    Cantonese/Chinese Ngo oiy ney a
    Catalan - T'estimo
    Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse
    Chichewa - Ndimakukonda
    Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)
    Creol - Mi aime jou
    Croatian - Volim te
    Czech - Miluji te
    Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig
    Dutch - Ik hou van jou
    English - I love you
    Esperanto - Mi amas vin
    Estonian - Ma armastan sind
    Ethiopian - Ewedishalehu : male/female to female
    Ewedihalehu: male/female to male.
    Faroese - Eg elski teg
    Farsi - Doset daram
    Filipino - Mahal kita
    Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua
    French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore
    Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort
    Georgian - Mikvarhar
    German - Ich liebe dich
    Greek - S'agapo
    Gujarati - Hu tumney prem karu chu
    Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw
    Hawaiian - Aloha wau ia oi
    Hebrew - Ani ohev otah (to female)
    Hebrew - Ani ohev et otha (to male)
    Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw
    Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hai
    Hmong - Kuv hlub koj
    Hopi - Nu' umi unangwa'ta
    Hungarian - Szeretlek
    Icelandic - Eg elska tig
    Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw
    Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu
    Inuit - Negligevapse
    Irish - Taim i' ngra leat
    Italian - Ti amo
    Japanese - Aishiteru
    Kannada - Naa ninna preetisuve
    Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka
    Kiswahili - Nakupenda
    Konkani - Tu magel moga cho
    Korean - Sarang Heyo
    Latin - Te amo
    Latvian - Es tevi miilu
    Lebanese - Bahibak
    Lithuanian - Tave myliu
    Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu
    Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu
    Mandarin Chinese - Wo ai ni
    Marathi - Me tula prem karto
    Mohawk - Kanbhik
    Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik
    Nahuatl - Ni mits neki
    Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni
    Nepali - Ma Timilai Maya Garchhu
    Norwegian - Jeg Elsker Deg
    Pandacan - Syota na kita!!
    Pangasinan - Inaru Taka
    Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo
    Persian - Doo-set daaram
    Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay
    Polish - Kocham Cie
    Portuguese - Eu te amo
    Romanian - Te ubesc
    Roman Numerals - 333
    Russian - Ya tebya liubliu
    Rwanda - Ndagukunda
    Scot Gaelic - Tha gra\dh agam ort
    Serbian - Volim te
    Setswana - Ke a go rata
    Sign Language - ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing 'I Love You'
    Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan
    Sioux - Techihhila
    Slovak - Lu`bim ta
    Slovenian - Ljubim te
    Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo
    Surinam- Mi lobi joe
    Swahili - Ninapenda wewe
    Swedish - Jag alskar dig
    Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di
    Tagalog - Mahal kita
    Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li
    Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe
    Tamil - Naan unnai kathalikiraen
    Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
    Thai - Chan rak khun (to male)
    Thai - Phom rak khun (to female)
    Turkish - Seni Seviyorum
    Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu
    Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
    Vietnamese - Anh ye^u em (to female)
    Vietnamese - Em ye^u anh (to male)
    Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu
    Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh
    Yoruba - Mo ni fe
    Zimbabwe - Ndinokuda

     
  • At Sunday, February 18, 2007 1:48:00 PM, Blogger Ivan Henares said…

    Just dropping by and checking out the Pinoy blogosphere!

     
  • At Wednesday, February 21, 2007 11:11:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi Alfie,
    Can I have your e-mail address? I have some things to request from you about music. Do drop me an e-mail at westleyte_express@yahoo.com. Thanks!

     

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