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My Turnby Maileen Hamto |
 |
From The Asian Reporter, V18, #11 (March 11, 2008), page 6.
Staying grounded
One of my very good friends has been in and out of hibernation over the last few months. "It’s a good way to remain grounded," she says, especially when the demands of family and work continue to accelerate.
What does it mean to hibernate? It’s akin to going on a personal retreat, by paring down social commitments and scheduling quality alone time. Time needed to take stock of one’s accomplishments and reflect on things that are not going so well — and hit the reset button if necessary.
For me, an important part of hibernation (or "vacationing") activities has to do with keeping in touch with old friends through social media. Social networking tools have allowed me to reforge connections with cousins and high school friends from Manila. Having spent all my adult life in the United States, being back in touch with people I grew up with provides an important anchor to my past and present.
We’re a curious group — our batch of graduates from a public high school in Manila. At least six of us now live on the west coast; others call Florida and New Jersey home. Most have graduated from Philippine colleges and universities. Those who aren’t here in the U.S. live and work in many parts of the world. They are among a growing and global generation of educated Filipino "migrant professionals" who work in healthcare and other white-collar fields.
Instant messaging technology is great. We share stories about how life is for immigrants and migrant professionals in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. My experience immigrating to the United States with my family as a teenager is much different from the experiences of many of my peers who left home as adults to work in another country. I have spent all of my working life in the United States, and business school only reinforced my understanding of American business culture.
International business is a different story altogether. A good friend who works for a multinational logistics company in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates) shared her insight on the privileges enjoyed by Americans and Europeans working there. Cosmopolitan Dubai is a magnet for global talent, and attracts a wide variety of people of different nationalities and ethnicities. When compared to their Asian counterparts, Americans and Europeans have more bargaining power when it comes to salary and benefit negotiations, she says. American and European education and work experience are weighted more heavily when decisions on promotions and compensation are considered.
A cousin who works as an engineer for a telecommunications company in Bogota, Colombia enjoys the opportunity to work alongside Chileans, Pakistanis, Dutch, and Canadians. He says many of his Colombian co-workers are curious about the rich diversity of Asian cultures — languages, religions, and traditions. Of course, he points out that Latin America is diverse, yet colonization has resulted in two main common denominators: the Spanish language and the dominant influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
It’s interesting to hear stories about everyday life and struggles among Filipino professionals working in other countries. I get to share stories about the reality of my life as a Filipino immigrant in the United States. I try to explain the nuances of race relations in American society, and the need for communities of color — particularly immigrant communities — to maintain a strong sense of identity in order to survive.
In many ways, vacationing in other cultures through social media serves as do-it-yourself therapy. No matter how long I’ve been away, my experiences in Manila have shaped a great deal of my personality and identity as an immigrant woman of color living in the United States. It’s comforting to see how people I grew up with experience struggle. When we compare and contrast similarities of being perceived as "other," we share lessons learned in navigating a plethora of dominant cultures as ethnic minorities.