Soul Highway

Toast to a fearless Filipina

I met Noraida Abdullah Karim, an unassuming social worker from Maguindano who has been named as this year’s “Voice of Courage” awardee by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. She received the award in New York City on May 10 and came to DC on May 15 for a speaking engagement at the Library of Congress. Noraida’s coy smile and soft voice will leave you the impression of a self-effacing Maguindanaoan woman – and mother – who has dedicated her life to community work. But there is more to Noraida than that. I will be writing an article soon about this woman who grew up in war-torn Mindanao, who as a young girl knew life as constant running from armed skirmishes between the military and separatist groups, but who struggled to get an education and give back to Mindanao’s poor and displaced.

…and the week went by

Well, this week had been unusually activity-filled. I was out and about for three consecutive days beginning Monday, taking advantage of rising temperatures. This kind of weather does not last very long on this side of the world so if I could squeeze in the Philippine equivalent of 365 days of sun-dry afternoons in three months, then by Jove I will. On Monday, I just needed to get some sun, and ended up shopping (and I mean the penny-pinching kind of shopping) with Rose. I think I did pretty good – I didn’t go overboard. I don’t normally go to the extreme. I’m the kind of shopper who, after seeing a nice item with a steep price tag in one store, would stroll around the mall and check out 10 different shops before retracing my steps to either make the purchase or disappoint myself. I recover fast so it’s no big deal.

Back in the Philippines, the operative word when it comes to shopping is “ukay-ukay.” Bargain shopping is serious business where one’s haggling skills are put to the test. There were times when my friends and I would hang out all night, numb our brains with coffee till the wee hours of the morning and hop on the first jeepney going to Carbon market. By 5 a.m., we bring our happy selves home with a bagful of items. (In Debbie’s case, two bags – she makes a side trip to the vegetable stalls.) Our ukay-ukay excursions in those ungodly hours were brought to an end one morning when we found ourselves being followed by a suspicious-looking man along an almost deserted alley. The Carbon area is a notorious haven of what they call small-time criminals – those who will stick up a knife to your side for a cell phone or a couple hundred pesos.

On Tuesday I met up with a group of Filipino teachers who just arrived in Maryland, one of them the mom of one of my friends. At the mall, I sat there listening to the familiar refrain of how low wages in the home country are forcing our teachers and nurses to seek greener pastures. The brain drain phenomenon is both saddening and understandable. Here in the US, teachers stand to earn as much as $60,000 a year, an equivalent of P2.8 million in the Philippines. Who wouldn’t grab at the opportunity?

The following day, Wednesday, I hooked up again with Rose to meet another Filipina friend in Springfield. With no map and not knowing the specific address of our intended destination, we ended up walking two blocks at high noon. (I did ask for more sun time, right?) We found the Filipino restaurant we were looking for and vented our exhaustion on the food. That was one satisfactory lunch! I’m just glad that I was already chomping down my dessert when April Boy Regino came on TV, which was expectedly tuned in to a Filipino channel via satellite, and started belting out one of his atrocious songs. That was the cue to leave, nay, run out of there.

TINOLA, BAY! Having lunch at the Manila Cafe in Springfield, Virginia with Filipina friends.