I planned to stay a year. Here I am on my forty-first year of living in the country, Canada. I left the Philippines on a one-year leave from my position at work. After the first year I wrote my place of work for another year of extension of my leave. After two years, I went back and personally tendered my resignation.
At the time I had not been teaching but I had my teaching certificate which I obtained after a week of stay in the country. I arrived in December at the height of winter. The stylish coat that my co-staff members gave me was no protection at all to the severe weather. During my third week, I slipped on ice. I thought it was my end.
My teaching certificate was for junior-intermediate levels. My master’s degree from my country of origin was considered a BA because my basic education in the Philippines was only for ten years against the thirteen years in Canada.
I felt I could not stand the cold. I could not stand being out supervising my students and traveling from home to school and back. I decided to look for a job that will keep me indoors.
I found an ad in the papers looking for a supervisor of a student residence. The job called for experience in counselling students and administration of the work of other employees in the residence. Fortunately I had those qualifications. I was hired on the spot by the board that administered the residence.
It was live-in job where I had my own rooms. I sort of lived like in a hotel wherein a housekeeper went to my room every day to do my bed and clean the surroundings. The place had a big laundry room where I learned to do my own clothes. At first my sister who lived in an apartment at that time, got my dirty clothes to them in her place. She knew that I never did laundry in the Philippines.We had a “labandera” who came to our house to wash and iron our clothes.
I stayed in this job for eight years. It took several months to gain the respect of the other employees in the residence. I enjoyed the relationships with college students who lived there. My education and experience in my country of origin helped me tremendously in my job.
I would probably had stayed in that job until retirement had I not received a letter from the Ministry of Education informing me that my certificate for teaching would lapse after ten years and I would need to reapply again.
I taught as a supply teacher for three months and finished the school year as a casual, taking the place of a teacher on leave. I was then given a temporary appointment which I held for another year before I became a permanent member of the staff in an elementary level. By that time I had completed another master’s degree which made me eligible for the top salary of an elementary school teacher. It looked like I was underemployed because I taught in university in the Philippines. I could have obtained a position teaching in college here but I would not be given the full load at the beginning. I decided to stay teaching in the elementary school.
It was a very fulfilling work. My pay was more than twice the amount I got from my previous job. I got along with the parents and teachers in the school where I taught. To this day, I can not tell if I was discriminated or looked down by my fellow teachers. I felt there was some kind of unpleasant attitude in some of them but I ignored those feelings and worked on. I know I was capable of the work and well-prepared, educationally and experientially to tackle the challenges. I felt I was accepted by most.
I taught for thirteen and one-half years before I retired. Teaching in Canada leaves time to engage in community work. I became deeply involved in social issues and advocacy. I started writing a column in one of the ethnic papers, both in English and in Filipino. I sat in community boards as volunteer.
When I had retired, I spent more time in community work. Most Filipinos who came to Canada in big groups starting in the sixties and seventies were employed in their line of education and experience. Most of them were nurses. Doctors who came during that period were able to qualify to practice, after some additional training. There were also medical technicians who were able to obtain positions in line with their training.
From observation, I find that Filipino immigrants were able to settle comfortably and with very little adjustment problems as compared to other groups. I believe our proficiency in English and our training in jobs that are in demand have helped us tremendously in our adjustment. A friend of mine told me a few days ago, “You know I took a cab yesterday. The driver was a doctor in his country of origin. He can not speak very well in English”.
In the eighties and nineties and even at the present time, many Filipinos who are highly educated have come to Canada under the live-in program. The changes in immigration laws left these people no alternative. There are no jobs in the Philippines that can make use of their skills and training. Some of these care-givers have gone on to gobs in their line of training and experience but, sadly, many have remained in low-paying jobs.
We are a people who easily adapt to do a new environment. “Marunong tayong makisama”. Most employers of care-givers appreciate the services that these workers give which most of the time go beyond what they are expected to render. Many of them can tutor the offsprings of their employers.
We came from a country with many cultures and languages. This fact appears to hinder our own unity as a people. We have not seemed to reach similar goals that we can advocate for as a people. We have difficulty in sending our leaders to participate in low-making and administration in government in Canada.
We should start mulling about this barrier, a hindrance within us not between us and other ethnic groups. It is hoped that could a point when we could set aside personal differences and work for the common good. ***
