THE STRUGGLES AND FULFILLMENT OF WORKING ABROAD

December 9, 2024 Lifestyle

Every Filipino wants the best life possible for their families and in order to accomplish that aim, they are taking risks and gambling for a low success rate of working in another country. One of the dream countries to work for and eventually, live permanently is the United States. Filipinos believe that the American dream is possible and there’s no way but to rise from the hardships and poverty but in reality, the feeling of homesickness makes them weak and vulnerable to emotional, mental and physical stress.

It’s fortunate that the place where I worked has its own Filipino workforce and didn’t lose the ambience of being in the Philippines. I worked and trained at Marriott Overland Park, Kansas City United States as Server/Barista which compliments the fact that I am a current Tourism Student. 70 percent of the workforce is of Filipino descent. That’s why I didn’t feel homesick and lessen the burden of the work itself because of their positive aura, jokes, mood, etc. We managed to greet each other in two different languages, Filipino and English, so that it won’t be hard to
communicate at work and other stuff as well.

We were also implying our traditional and cultural background through the means of using greetings that originated from our country such as, “magandang umaga”, “mabuhay” etc. In that way, we can cross the bridge of diversity and make everyone connected and appreciated in the work environment. However, the sadness and longing for our relatives became more intense as time went by.

We felt the missing presence with our family members as we were staying in Kansas. I believe that working in the diverse culture and norms make the difficulty and challenges even stronger because we cannot please people all the time and criticism is one thing that we should think and accept clearly because it will help us to further understand the mistakes and the things that could have been done differently.

The work is decent, the employees were all accommodating and giving us the same treatment no matter where we came from. Also, the customers enjoyed the product and services that exceeded the expectation through the means of greeting them in a Filipino way. In general, the experiences of working abroad is truly a fulfilling journey because despite the fact that I’m away with my family, I still dedicated myself to treat our customers the way on how I am treated during Fiesta’s and Cerebration in the Philippines and showed our respect and heartwarming welcome to all
customers regardless with their race.

I also managed to suppress my emotions because I did my best not to think about that when I’m away from them. Instead, I served everyone with kindness and resilience. There will come a moment that every country has its Filipino workers because of their work ethic and professionalism as well as the potential salary that will give a huge boost to the lives of their respective families.

By: Cyreen Almario