Third world stereotypes - First Part

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey."
- Babs Hoffman -

During a vacation in Italy, my feet got really tired of walking on cobblestones. It was also way past my usual dinner time so my eyes hungrily searched for a ristorante where I could feast on a plateful of pasta and get my strength back. I needed enough energy for another episode of cultural discovery and reflection on the next day. As I gazed upon the endless lines of shops, my eyes were locked to a simple yet eye-catching restaurant claiming to be traditionally Tuscan. I suddenly felt terribly hungry when I thought about Tuscan bistecchi. Perfect for a carnivorous person like me. Curious to the bones, I stepped inside and I was led to a tiny table beside the clear glass window. The waitress handed the menu to me and ooopss, she looked exotic! I just shrugged my shoulders and thought that maybe she was a second generation asian-italian because she spoke good italian, at least to my ears. I browsed through the menu and there it was, bistecchi - tempting, luscious, humongous, charcoal-grilled T-bone steak served with equally mouth-watering insalati and other side dishes cooked in olive oil with herbs and spices. What could be better than that? I felt I was in alimentary utopia until the price brought me back to my senses. Almost fifty euros including the antipasto, dessert and coffee at the end of the meal! My Trenitalia ticket to Milano was a lot cheaper but what the heck, I thought. It could only happen once in a blue moon.

So I ordered a complete dinner set and while impatiently waiting for it to be served, the exotic waitress came to me and discreetly asked me "Pinoy ka ba?"(You're Filipino?). I was a bit speechless for a second then I said "Oo, matagal ka na rito sa Italy?" (Yes, you've been in Italy for years?). She nodded and hurriedly went to serve the other customers but gesturing that she would talk to me later. While she strided away, I was wondering if Filipinos had a peculiar guise or mannerism that distinguishes them from other ethnicities. Physically, Filipinos have mixed appearances so that people would always mistake me for a Japanese, Chinese, Thai or even Singaporean. This time, the guess was right because maybe she was Filipino who felt the connection that would be arcane to non-Filipinos.

Anyways, my dinner came and I adored every bite of it. After sipping the last drop of cafe americano which you have to specifically tell the waiter or else you'll be given a cappuccino, the Filipina waitress came back and introduced herself but unfortunately, I have short-term memory loss so I forgot her name - Myra, Maura or Marianne. She told me that she was a student in Rome and she was just on a working vacation in Florence, taking advantage of the chance to work and stay in another Italian city during her sojourn. I asked her about her life in Italy and she responded "Mabuti naman, awa ng Diyos" (I'm fine, thanks God) in the usual very Filipino way. I further asked about the Italians' impressions on Filipinos and she said that since most Filipinos work there as house helpers, most people, not necessarily Italians would readily think that she made ends meet by scrubbing the floor or pruning grape vines. But what shocked her during her first days there was when some of the Filipinos and other foreigners would ask who her domestic employer was. "It was frustrating!" she lamented while taking away the china and fixing the table for the waiting customers. "How can some people label you just like that? I am proud of the Filipino nannies and helpers here who are honest, hard-working and caring. What frustates me is the damn stereotyping. They label you without asking!". Maybe her pride was hurt but she was right. I glorify labor and pay my fullest respects to all Filipino workers too, but life is not fair sometimes. There are indeed millions of well-respected Filipino professionals, scholars, talents and workers worldwide and indiscriminately stamping them as a single group is really moronic.

We parted ways by her asking "So, what brought you to Italy?". I told her that I was a student in Japan and I wanted to have a look of the country. "Japan?!" she exclaimed. "You must be in a tougher situation then!" she added as I gently pushed the stained glass door to exit the restaurant. On my way to the nearby bus station, I reflected on her last words and I whispered "Yes, she was right again".

Culture