21

New Experiences

I worked off what I owed last month, and since this is now August,

I’ve been with the Aspectos seven months.

Roman doesn’t think I’ll have difficulty getting the job with those

two men because they wouldn’t be home by the time I’d arrive to work.

Then I’d be gone before they come home from their offices.

The men tell Roman, “Yes, they’re still interested in having a

housekeeper.” They need someone until their wives join them here in

the Philippines. After that, they’ll each move to different quarters.

Even so, they’ll want someone to work for them until their return to the

United States.

So Roman got me the job at the Embassy. The arrangement is for

the men to put their money in an envelope on payday and set it on the

dining room table in their apartment. That’s the way it will be. I can’t

speak English well but can understand a lot.

My first week of work, I don’t even see my bosses. I’m walking

back and forth to the Embassy since I’ll stay on with the Aspectos until

perhaps I can find a place near work. Maybe some other girls work at
the same place that I can get a room with.

>

By week’s end, I meet three other girls who work on the other end of

the Embassy.

They’re housekeepers, too, for men who are waiting for their wives

to arrive.

One girl’s name is Hedy Lamarr--like the actress. I tell her my

bosses’ wives are also on their way and will want someone to work for

their families. I get to know her well and learn she’s from Pangasinan.

Then I tell her there’s a family I know who went there.

She happily announces she knows this family--the sister of Santos.

Santos. The woman is a neighbor of her family’s. She also goes home

from time to time to visit, so if I’d like to go one weekend, we could

travel together on a Friday evening and return on Sunday.

It seems that again it’s God’s provision for me to be able to see

Carmen again sometime.

Hedy and I talk it over with the other two girls who agree to rent a

one-room apartment together. Our apartment is in a house where we’ll

share a kitchen with the other tenants in the place.

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We’ve seen two more girls on the other end of the building, but the
four of us occupy one room large enough for each of us to sleep on a cot

at night. Then we fold them up in the daytime. Our rent will be five

pesos per month each, so that’s really nice. At least we won’t be

spending all our money paying for a room. Then the rest of our wages

will go for food and whatever we want to do.

After staying with the Aspectos, they only paid me fifteen dollars for

the extra month I worked for them. I lived there a total of seven

months. Now that I work at the Embassy, I’ll earn seventy pesos every

month. Now that’s big money!

>

About the beginning of the third week I finally meet one of my

bosses. When he stops in to ask how I’m doing, I say, “Okay.”

He’s a really nice man, Mr. Julian. When his wife and daughter get

their visas and passports processed, they’ll come here by ship.

That’s the extent of our conversation, so it’s all right with me.

>

A few more days have passed, and now I’ve met my other boss, Mr.

Sadler. He’s nice, too, and tells me his wife will also be coming over

from the United States. They’ll need someone to work for them at that

time.

>
I don’t see my bosses much at all. They only come to the house

when they need to get something, and then they immediately return to

the office. We cross paths, so that’s okay.

>

I’m glad the girls I live with are nice. Besides Hedy, there’s Mary,

Cincia, and Lourdes. We never have any kind of disagreement, so we

each think it’s nice that we get along fine. We’re also glad to be able to

walk to the Embassy together each day. It takes a good hour to get down

there. When payday comes, we go to buy a dress and see a movie

together, too. We put the rest of our money aside for food. We don’t

think to save any--just spend what we have.

>

The families of the men we work for will arrive soon. At that time,

they’ll move down to the housing area southwest of the Embassy. It’s

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still an hour’s walk from our apartment house, but we won’t be alone.

We can still come and go together as usual. Of course, we could take a

jeepney, but we’d rather walk. It’s better for us.

At this point, I’m still not sure which family I’ll be working for.

In the meantime, my girlfriend, Hedy, is the only one working for

single men. She does housecleaning and laundry for three guys who
don’t have families.

I guess she could keep working for them if she wants. Because she’s

like an older sister to me, and since we get along, I mention that Mr.

Julian will need a housekeeper when his wife and daughter arrive. I say,

“Maybe you could apply for that job, and I could take the other family.

When Mrs. Sadler gets here, I could work for her.”

>

Hedy came to tell Mr. Julian she’d be happy to work for him after

his wife gets here.

He says he’ll keep it in mind--he’ll see what Mrs. Julian says when

she arrives.

I won’t mind working for either Mr. Julian or Mr. Sadler because

they seem to be nice guys so far.

>

It’s the weekend, and Hedy wants to see a movie.

So the four of us girls go to a love affair movie they want to see. It’s

a story about some couple in love, and the girl ends up killing herself

because of jealousy. She can’t stand the thought of losing the man, so

she kills herself. It’s another one of these movies people seem to watch

over and over. I don’t care for it, but the girls want to see it again after

the first showing.

“I’m bored and want to get out,” I say. “I’d rather go find

something to eat at a restaurant.” I tell them about the place Lina still

works at. Maybe we can stop there for supper before heading home this

evening.

So we leave, but the people rushing in to catch the second showing

bump into those trying to get out.

Then while I pass through the door, I bump into some guy who’s on

his way in.

He apologizes, and I say, “That’s okay, it didn’t hurt me.” He did

step on my foot though. Then he asks my name and where we live.

We just mumble where our apartment is at and go on.

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>

There’s a knock at the door, and when one of the girls opens it,

there’s a guy standing there. It’s the one I bumped into last week at the

theater.

He asks for me, and when I go to the door, he shakes my hand.

“Hello. How are you? This is Felix Tomao. Do you remember me?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you remember at the theater? You were going out while I was

going in. I remember stepping on your foot.”

“That’s okay,” I say. At the top of the stairs here on the second floor

is a small porch with table and chairs. So I offer him a seat here where

we speak with people we don’t know well. We don’t want to bring

anyone into the apartment--they go as far as the porch.

Once we sit down, he starts telling me all kinds of things. He’s

Ilocano and comes from Ilocos Norte on the west part of the island.

Northwest from here.

We speak about the places we’re from since I was from the

northeast.

He’s a pilot and only has certain days off since he flies most of the

time. He does a lot of traveling, flying the President’s plane.

I learn that Felix is quite a bit older than I am. So I don’t know

what he’s after. He seems to be a really nice guy though and asks where

I work.

“I just got a job at the American Embassy as a housekeeper, and I

room with the other three girls here in this apartment.” I say we walk

together to work and home--how nice it is that I don’t have to walk by

myself.

“It’s good you can go together. I don’t think girls ought to walk

down the street by themselves anyway.”

I think it’s strange for him to say that.

Then he tells me he rents an apartment with his cousin about three

blocks from here. He doesn’t need his own place with all the traveling

he does. Once in a while, he goes back home on a weekend to see his

parents since he doesn’t have much time to meet other people apart from

work.

For some reason the day he felt like going to the movies was the day

I bumped into him. After we speak at least an hour, he asks if it’s all

right to come back to see me next time he has a day off.

I don’t know why he wants to see me, so I tell him that when

weekends come, my girlfriend and I usually go to town to the movies or

something.

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“It’s okay. If you’re not here, I’ll come back some other time.

Since the girls and I usually take turns cooking our food, about this

time they inform me they have supper ready. They’re asking if my

“I don’t know,” I say.

So instead of waiting for me to say if I want to invite him,

opens her mouth and says, “Would you like to eat supper with us? We

have enough. Everything’s ready, so you don’t have to go anywhere to

“Well, I don’t know,” Felix says, “I just came to see Florence.”

Here he’s calling me Florence.

The girls persuade him to stay, but I’m very embarrassed about the

whole thing.

girls end up having a good time with him.

They like him and keep him talking--asking him questions about all

He’s a good conversationalist, so he’s able to speak with them a lot,

too.

I’m just sitting here quietly because to me he’s just someone who

popped up at our door. We’re here

laughing and teethey’re

saying.

They talk about some of their dogs and what some of their pets were,

all get laughing about my pig.

With supper over, we each carry our chairs from the kitchen to sit

And since it’s such a beautiful night, one of the girls says, “Maybe

we could go out to the

It’s a concrete wall off the sea--wide enough to walk along the top.

It’s about a block from our place.

house.

All the sudden the girls agree we’ll go and ask Felix if he’d like to

So we get out there and stop here and there to look at things. The

water is reflecting the light while the others talk about people who come
I guess some are Americans. I don’t know for sure since I’ve only

been in this part of Manila a short time.

The girls arrived here about a month before me, so they’ve seen more

of the community. At least they knew where this seawall is. They even

know of some hamburger stand on Harrison Boulevard--the boulevard

near the seawall. Apparently, they go there for burgers and soft drinks.

It’s one of their pastimes.

It’s not long before we notice some people having a picnic out there

by the sea. It’s nice just to sit and watch the water slop back and forth

against the wall while the tide comes in.

The evening has turned out nice, so it’s somewhere around ten

o’clock before we head back to the house.

Once we’re home, the girls mention that we usually try to get up and

go to church since the following day is Sunday.

“Maybe I can go with you sometime if I’m not on a trip with the

President,” says Felix.

That sounds great to the girls, and they’re thrilled he’d like to go with

us. I know they’d probably rather have him be interested in them. It’s

more or less what they’re thinking.

He shakes our hands goodbye and plans to come by again as soon as

he can.
So the girls and I head upstairs where I take my bath while they put

their cots together. Once we turn in, they’re all lying there thinking up

all sorts of things they’d like to do the next time Felix comes.

I’m really not really enthusiastic one way or another. I guess

they’ve come to the point where they’re interested in boys. Although

none of them has a boyfriend yet.

Felix is all right, I guess. He's a handsome man--very light

complexion. I can tell he's had a good upbringing and is thoughtful of

others, too.

>

It’s nearly the end of September and several weeks since I moved in

with the girls.

Hedy says she wants to go out to the province to visit her parents in

Pangasinan after work this coming Friday night. She asks if I want to

go, and that way she won’t have to travel by herself.

I decided I’d like to go after our first discussion when I mentioned

that my girlfriend went to Pangasinan.

Hedy knows Carmen’s aunt well since they were neighbors.

I’m delighted to hear it because I’ve been wanting to know where

Carmen is at, and now I have the opportunity to visit her.

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>

It’s the weekend, and we’re almost to

Hedy’s telling me her aunt has two daughters. One is about the

same age as she is. Also, they went to school together.

family Carmen went to. Now I can visit her from time to time.

It’s late when we arrive, so we agree to locate Carmen tomorrow.

This is a really nice province. I like Pangasinan.

few mango trees around here where Hedy’s folks are. Lots of other

If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was seeing Mom’s

plantation. Much of what’s growing here is what we had back home.

Hedy and her mother spoke about Carmen last night--the fact that

my girlfriend moved here from Santiago, and that Mrs.

passed away.

So when we visit them, we confirm that Mrs.

Apparently, she was buried two weeks ago, but Carmen’s uncle didn’t

the same day they die since there’s a problem with them decomposing.

There’s no way to preserve them for any length of time.

because she’s so full of grief. She’s still heartbroken, and it’s hard for

her to talk about her mother’s death. I can understand that quite well,

Hedy says she doesn’t mind since she can visit her family at the

same time.
I tell her about the place I spent the first seven months working at in

won’t you come with us? Maybe you can get a job where we’re working,

too.”

Ilagan so

I can have a family.” She says he’s supposed to return for her shortly,

leave word with her aunt since Hedy visits her family sometimes.

home. Because her uncle still has young ones, she thinks she’ll go back

to the province to live with them. That’s what she wants to do--or what

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I’m glad she has a place to go. She has relatives she can count on to

live with. So I tell her I hope everything turns out for the best for her.

“If you’re still here the next time we come, maybe we can go out and do

something together.”

“Yes,” she returns, but I can sense she doesn’t find the idea very

appealing. She’s still quite affected by the death of her mother.

Then I tell her I’ll make sure to keep her posted as to what’s

happening.

>

Hedy and I arrive in Manila around six o’clock this Sunday evening.

It’s nice to see the other girls.

They even have supper ready for us since they knew we’d be back
tonight.

We eat and are a little tired, so we all start getting ready for bed

around seven o’clock. We want to be rested for work in the morning.

About this time there’s a knock at the front door, but we think it

must be for someone else in the building.

Then another tenant raps at our door; she says we have company.

“Who is it?” we all ask.

“I don’t know. It’s a man.”

Lourdes is still in her clothes, so she goes to investigate. Then she

comes running back. “It’s Felix out there! You better put your clothes

on because he wants to see you.’’

I think this is terrible since I’m ready for bed. Instead, I manage to

pull my clothes back on and go out there to the front.

“I’m sorry to come so late,” says Felix, “yesterday, some woman said

you and your friend may have gone away since you didn’t answer your

door.” He’d gone back to his cousin’s apartment and decided to try me

again this evening.

When we sit down, I explain about our trip to Pangasinan--that I was

able to see my friend, Carmen. Her mother has died, and she’ll be going

back to Ilagan.

He’s very sympathetic about it and doesn’t know how he’d feel if one
of his relatives died. Nothing like that has happened to him.

I go on about my visit with Carmen all day Saturday and so on. It

was also nice to touch base since seeing her last in February. We rode

the bus together on the way to Manila. Now she’ll return home, so it

might be some time before I see her again unless I make a special trip to

her uncle’s province. Unless she decides to come see me.

“It’s been kind of a hard trip--very sad for me,” I say, “Carmen and I

used to do things together until she went to Pangasinan and I to Manila.

162

Throughout the war we were very close and especially after 1

evacuated from Santa Maria.”

He’s quite sympathetic about everything I say we went through

together and sorry about what happened to my mom.

To me, he’s still a stranger but is very sincere in expressing his

sympathy. Right now I’m kind of tired and not too much for having

company.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you up too long. I just stopped by to say

‘Hi.’ If it’s okay, I’ll be back to see you again the next time I have a day

off.” Right now it’s touch and go with the hours he works. When the

President has to leave--Felix must fly the plane. But he’ll be able to

come see me some evenings when he’s not flying. Anyway, he’s a really
nice gentleman.

“Thank you for your concern and for coming by to see us,” I say.

He hopes he’s not annoying us. However, since he doesn’t know

anyone else, he’s glad he bumped into us at the movie house. He needs

somebody to visit once in a while since he doesn’t know anyone other

than his cousin.

“Thank you again for your concern. I hope God protects you with

your flying.”

“Thanks for saying so. Maybe next time we can all go out to eat.”

“That would be nice. I know the girls will enjoy that.”

“I hope you will, too, Florence. Thanks for talking to me and letting

me stay this long. I’d like to be a friend.” He hopes to see me soon, so I

say, “Okay.” Then he shakes my hand and goes his way.

“You mean you sent him away already?” the girls say once I’m back

in our room.

“Yeah, he’s gone home.” I tell them perhaps the next time he

comes we’ll all go out to eat.

It’s obvious the girls look forward to it.

“Great!” says Mary.

“But he’s not coming to see you,” Lourdes tells her. “He comes to

see Florence.”
Ever since Felix began calling me Florence, they’re calling me

Florence, too.

Whatever. I don’t mind much because I know what my real name is.

The following morning, Hedy’s up early. “Let’s all stop at that little

place there on Dewey Boulevard for breakfast.” She says we can have

sweet rolls before work.

I know it’s that hamburger stand except they serve sweet rolls there,

too. Then once we’re dressed and heading along the seawall, I realize

it’s the first time we’re eating breakfast out.

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>

Our bosses informed us they’ll be moving their housing sometime in

the near future to the other area west of our present location. It’s

halfway past our apartment, so we tell them that’s great. We’ll still be

able to walk along the sea to work. Our plan is to keep walking unless it

rains. Then we might take the jeepney.

This means we’ll learn to do other things besides the cleaning and

laundry after their families arrive. Most likely we’ll cook for them, too.

I think I’ll enjoy that since I like to cook anyway. To me it would be

a great challenge to learn to cook different kinds of food--American

food
>

It’s the middle of October 1946, and I’ve been working since August

in the Embassy, and I’m grateful this work has provided me the way to

earn my living. I feel my friends and acquaintances have been nice to

pitch in to help me get started.

Roman especially was very kind and thoughtful to get me this job. I

know he's concerned that I’ll be okay. He’s not a married man but a

caring individual. Now and again when I worked in his sister’s home,

he gave me a tip. Just some money to go to a movie or something. Not

because of the money I feel he was quite nice, but because he's a kind

individual.

After having his annual physical with the doctor, I’m saddened to

hear he’s stricken with tuberculosis. They’re required to have regular

examinations to make sure they don’t transmit anything to people they

work with in the compound. Since discovering his illness, he no longer

works at the Embassy. He’s confined at home now with Aunt Mary.

Yet whenever I visit him at their house, he acts cheerful as usual as

though nothing’s wrong with him. The only time I recognize he’s not

feeling well is when he starts coughing. He's quite caring, so I hope

people will return the goodness he shares with others. He’ll be needing

much help soon. This guy that so graciously got the job for me is now
dying with this disease.

I’m sad within, but God knows every one of us and when it’s time to

get out of this world I know Roman will be around until God takes him

home. I told him if he ever needs help, I’d be glad to come back to

help. I don’t know exactly what I can do, but perhaps he’d just like

someone visiting with him.

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Roman thanked me for my thoughtfulness and said. “You come see

The Aspectos are the same way. They say I can visit often--that we

So I go whenever I’m not downtown on weekends roaming with my

friends.

clothes in the windows.

We stand around looking at the way the things are put together. Or

seawall or something like that. Anything for the four of us

>

being celebrated. Supposedly this is when all the dead come back from

the grave to beg for food.

around the neighborhood for whatever is being handed out.

Some people give whatever they have whether it is tobacco or a

matchstick or other small item since

people are poor and haven’t much to offer. But they give something one
“I don’t want to go around like that,” I say.

Then they tell me I’m chicken and no fun.

Then they go out the door, but no more than five minutes later they

return.

same thing, and we don’t feel like going around with that crowd.”

Apparently, some others are smearing things on the neighbors’ doors

wish to be involved with that.

So we all sit around, playing cards in the kitchen. After a while, we

with wood. We’ll need quite a bit of detergent to scrub those clean.

>

Tomao went to the province to visit his folks, but he’s back on

his fourth visit to see me. He tells me he informed his parents that he’s

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I really don’t consider him my friend because he seems like someone

who just wants to visit somebody when he’s not working. At least that’s

the way I see it.

He’d like to go out to dinner sometime but doesn’t want to give the

impression we’re doing anything immoral. People often think the worst

of young people, so he’d like me to invite one of the girls along. He

wants to make sure our relationship is pure.

I know if I only invite one, the rest will be disappointed They think
that each time he sees me, they’re all included in the whole deal. So

inviting just one doesn’t seem right.

We sit here on the porch deciding what we’ll do, and he starts telling

me how he feels. He’s liked me from the beginning when he first

bumped into me at the theater.

I guess now he's pursuing the feelings he has. I’ve never thought

much about boys. I’m busy being a young girl and don’t have those

kinds of thoughts.

He even tells me he’s falling in love with me.

I don’t have anything to say because I don’t understand half of what

he’s describing. Nothing in my mind is about boys. “I don’t know. I’ll

have to think about it since I’ve never come across anyone like you.”

It’s never occurred to me to think that way about the opposite sex. To

me, boys and girls are just other human beings. They’re just there.

“Well, think about what I’ve said. I’d like to have an answer the

next time I come back.” Then he asks Hedy to go out to dinner with us,

so we go.

Throughout the meal, whenever Hedy is distracted, he tells me what

he’s thinking. He’s a guy to be admired. A gentleman. He’s one of

those who says “Look, but don’t touch.” It’s because he doesn’t want

anyone saying anything bad about our relationship--that I’m not playing
around with boys. Also that he wouldn’t harm a girl.

He wouldn’t want the next guy who might come along to think I’m

secondhand. And he doesn’t want anything to happen like some guys

and girls who have wrong relationships before marriage. Then when

something goes wrong, they break it off. So we’ll always take someone

with us when we go out. Not just anyone, but someone who can say

nothing went on between us.

I admire him for that. He’s quite a gentleman and thoughtful.

Actually, he’s like a big brother to me. He wants to make sure my walk

in the world as a young woman would be admirable. I’m very impressed

with his behavior.

He says his mom and dad will be coming to Manila sometime next

month in November. Maybe they can meet me. Perhaps he’ll bring his

cousin whom he lives with, too.

166

life, mingling with other people, I can’t behave as before. I have to

think of what this means. All the sudden a man is interested in my

it

never thought of having anything to do with anyone that way.

help because I don’t know what to do.

in an. So I need God’s direction. There’s much for me to think about

people. At the same time, I pray that my life will be pleasing to God.

were more interested in one of the other girls

still about how to survive.

over, she wants to be the one entertaining him instead. Well, each must

his own path, I guess. She’s from

here and a little bit

sometimes she mentions how she, too, wouldn’t mind having a

she’s thinking of visiting him each time she sees her family. From what

her. She has her mind set on someone who’s not interested.

also has her own way. From time to time I see her cozy up to someone

So I think she’s coming to realize that

of course, I really don’t know what girls

Here I sit with Felix, wishing my Mom were with me.

her guidance from time to time especially since I’d never seen people

know of some girls who

though. So I’m ignorant about this boy-girl thing.

I cry out to

I still want to honor my mom

can only continue to carry myself in the way that’s honoring to God and

The girls I live with don’t have much regard for my way of thinking
because this is just how I am. They want to go out dancing in places

they are not supposed to, too. Why go dancing with strangers you don’t

know?

We were brought up differently. They’re a little bit more wild than I

am, I guess, since they’ve always been closer to the big city. They like

to cuddle with boys and stuff like that. I’ve seen them when their

boyfriends come--just sitting in the boy’s lap. I don’t understand that at

all, so I ignore them and go in our room when they have company. I

just don’t like their behavior.

I’m praying hard that God will grant me my desire in this whole

matter. I’m young and not too familiar yet with the ways of life. So I’m

just going along as usual, trusting God to take care of me all the way. I

know I can’t go wrong with this way of thinking.

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