Diaspora changes Filipino’s way of living abroad

By Willie Jose 
Ontario-Canada
June 19, 2015



With the influx of Filipinos to countries all over the world, either as immigrants or overseas workers, there’s one inescapable reality that’s noticeably obvious--  our Kababayans are changing their habits and behaviors for the better.

Other  people’s culture and the environment have  strongly  influenced  the way they are living  now.  

These are definitely positive changes that have influenced the Pinoy’s consciousness, thus they have  slowly putting on new personalities.

In Canada, they have become more law-abiding, courteous and work centered. Because of the country’s multiculturalism environment, they’ve adapted well to the  mores of people having different  cultural background who live in their midst.

As a people, Filipinos  are naturally reserved but with their exposure in the real world, they have become outspoken  leaders in their community; they are  always aware and concern about their rights and the rights of other people.

On a personal level, they don’t cut corners anymore, they’ve learned how to fall in line in buying stuffs at grocery stores or to wait for their turn to be serviced at gov’t agencies such as getting their passport, driving license, social security insurance et cetera.

In Manila, the traffic is chaotic, but Filipinos when they are abroad driving, they follow the traffic rules without question. They are  more safety conscious, not letting their bad temperament to get the better of them, in short, they have more patience now. Meeting  an accident that has caused  death due to impaired driving could only mean one thing: a jail term.

 And simple collisions and accidents could also mean automatic increases in their car insurance— and mind you, their new insurance fees’ hike could  be  more  expensive than the value of the car they’re driving.

 So, our kababayans have no option but to follow the traffic directions, traffic lights, putting on their seatbelts, maintaining the speed limit and giving the right of way to other motorists. With the proliferation of CCTV on the streets,, drivers could easily be caught for violating some  traffic rules;  the police could simply  send the traffic violation ticket  together with a photo that shows the specific violation  to the driver’s home by mail.

When dining  at restaurants, they don’t leave their table  after they’re done eating, they’ve been trained to clear their tables; they also  know that  they have  to add the required percentage tip  to their bills.

At work, Filipinos are well-known for being hard workers, honest—no playing at work—meaning no idling, killing their time during work hours. Their work ethics is known in Canada, so it’s easy for them to look for jobs; they are not choosy when it comes to the kind of work they’re doing.

Filipino’s work ethics is well spoken of abroad because by nature they would give of themselves by working hard specially  if they know that their efforts are fully being rewarded and recognized by their employers.

They are becoming more grateful, always thanking people for doing even the least of things to them-- thanking the TTC bus driver for dropping them off at bus stops, or saying thanks, before alighting the bus.

Now they’ve  learned  not to throw their garbage anywhere, anytime they want to;  they  understand why  segregating the  garbage--separating the real waste from the  recyclable ones is important.
For men, peeing  in public places or in some dark corners of the streets is now a thing of the past. They’ve disciplined themselves in controlling  their bladder and to answer the call of nature,  they have to look for  washroom by any means to relieve themselves.

Cleaning up   their house’s front and backyards is a must simply because  their neighbors love  to have their surroundings spick-and-span;  they feel the shame of  not doing their part in cleaning their neighborhood.

They have become more family centered and most of their time is spent with their families; they have to work hard not only  to bring food on the table but also to  pay their bills: mortgage payment, utilities bills, cable/phone expenses credit card bills, and  to send extra money to their relatives back home.

They are now more health conscious especially for men, they have less “ drinking sessions” with their friends, knowing that having too much alcoholic drinks can cause liver  cancer .And getting sick abroad could be a heavy burden to Filipino’s families, both emotionally and financially.

And secondly, they cannot afford to be dizzy in their work as a result of heavy drinking the night before because their employers expect them to be 100 percent alert in their work; they have to deliver the goods, so to speak.

And where can we find these Pinoys on weekends ?

Normally, on weekends, they take their families in restaurants to eat out; once in while, they go to Tim Hortons,  Starbucks or MacDonald’s, exchanging chats with their friends over cups of coffee and bagels—and that’s the reason  why coffee shops are popular in North America.

For our kababayans, going in these coffee shops is a good way to set up  networking and to co-mingle with other nationalities-- and they can easily strike a conversation with these foreigners because of their facility in using the English language.

Normally, as a people, Pinoys are fighters, they don’t allow other people to bully them and if they know that they are right, “ come what may” they will fight it out. But now, they know why they have to control their temper because  a simple assault could spell a big trouble  for them.

They now do their battle through” shouting matches”. Drowning their opponents with  strong voices but without any physical contact--they  would rather disengage themselves from any dangerous the situation or in a worst scenario; they have to call 911 for police help.

Changing our personalities is not easy, it’s always an uphill battle to do what’s right. So, we commend our kababayans  worldwide for  embracing these positive changes in your  lives—and  these changes  will surely  make this world  better place to live in.