Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Lingayen Campus
College of Education
Teacher Education Specialization Courses
2nd Semester, AY. 2020-2021
Activity on Global Migration

Name: Pamela Dorothy L. Castro Date: April 29, 2021

Year/Course/Section: I-BSE ENGLISH Score:

1. Profile of Respondent:

1. Name

2. Age

3. Sex

4. Occupation

5. Foreign Country where he/she is in

6. No. of year/s of stay in foreign country

2. What made you decide to migrate in ______________ (country)?

3. What were the challenges that you encountered at the beginning of our journey in a foreign land?
Was your journey difficult? (meaning, yung mga pinag-daanan nila bago makarating sa ibang
bansa, tapos nung andoon na sila sa ibang bansa nahirapan ba sila?)

4. How did you cope with this/these challenges?

5. What benefits do you enjoy as a foreign worker? Are these benefits the same with the benefits in
the Philippines?

6. Being a foreign worker, how are you treated by the people around you? Is there discrimination?

7. What can you say about the ASIAN hate happening in the world today especially in the USA?

8. Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your livelihood/job? If yes, how? If no, why?

9. If given the chance, will you still decide to go back to the Philippines? Please explain your
answer.

Long Coupon paper size, Normal margin, 1.5 spacing, Times New Roman, Font Size 11. Due on May 03,
2021.
 Residing to a new place is one of the most challenging happenings that an individual can
experience. Other individuals may find it very interesting for they can meet new set of people and friends,
different challenges and it is a new environment to explore to. However, others may find it tough to cope
up. They have the feeling of being lonely and struggle to exchange goodbyes to their circle of friends and
to the place where they used to live on.

This paper intends to interview an immigrant from the Philippines and know how she
faces the new challenges she had faced in the US. The immigrant I have interviewed is my best friend
since high school and her name is Mary Jean V. Acero. The family of Jing came to US shortly after we
graduated in high school way back year 2015. There were many reasons why her family moved in the US.
According to her, her family moved to the US for some personal and financial reasons. Her mom, Tita
Carmen is an OFW before and then she met someone who made her heart happy again, which is Uncle
Fefe, a foreigner from US, and that is how it started. Her mom’s salary before is not enough for their
basic needs and would push them to lend money from others that have high interest rates. I can still
remember those times wherein I and our group of friends will share our snacks and even meals with her
way back in high school, but we consider it as a good and unforgettable memories. It was the year 2015
when her family moved to the US. She is forced to dropped out on her studies because tuition fee in US is
expensive, that is why she just spend her days there having fun and quality time with her new family. Jing
said that life has become better since she, her mom and elder sister moved in US. They can already eat the
foods that they haven’t tried before, experience lots of things that they didn’t expect that they will. She
added that many Filipinos believe that the United States of America is a place of a greener pasture. They
believe that living in the States is a dream come true and also maybe working there would be able to give
them a brighter future. But moving to the United States was not always easy for Jing. She was culture
shocked as she stated. Though he has a comfortable and better home to live in yet at first she was not that
happy. She realized that what his fellow Filipinos had perceived about the country is not always true. Yes,
their material needs are being met but the emotional needs as family are not. She remembered her life in
the Philippines where her family, with her grandma and cousins dine together and were able to have
family gathering from time to time. She added that Filipinos have a strong family ties. Children are
expected to respect elders and never talk back if ever they are reprimanded. In the United States, she
commented that parents cannot discipline their kids with rods or else you will be put into prison. But in
the Philippines, parents always associate rods in disciplining their kids. The people are very religious.
Though people experience difficulties and hardships in life yet he can see how happy people are every
time they can have blessings it maybe small or big. She observed that Americans have a very high
standard of living that is why people here seems so very busy and weary in striving hard to meet the said
standards. While in the Philippines, the lifestyles are very simple. Most Filipinos are already happy when
they have food on their tables and they are easily contented of what they have. Moreover, the women are
more reserved compared to the American women. American women, including her new friends, as she
commented are liberated and more game. They socialize and may get drunk till they dropped however,
Filipino women are quite laid back and somewhat innocent in some ways especially those who live in
rural areas. Jing said that when she came to US, she was very surprised because some of the American
young people tease her as “monkey”. She felt that she was discriminated as an Asian. It was a hurtful
experience as he stated but she said to herself that she has to bear with it. She explained that Filipinos are
very fond of white people and they truly treat them with hospitality and respect when they visit their
country but when it is their turn to visit or live in US, some of them are prejudiced. Jing cleared up that
not all experiences she had in US is bad. She has good times with new sets of friends. She commented
that seldom she can find good people in America who she have and be with right now. She also added
that she really enjoyed the food and explained that in the Philippines, only the middle and upper class
afford and eat the kind of food that everyone enjoys here in the US, though she also missed the Filipino
food. She also loves the weather there because since she was a child, it is her dream to experience the four
seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall) because the Philippines has a tropical climate. Last year, around
July 2020, she became part of the US Coast Guard which is I’m really proud of as her best friend. When it
comes to benefits by joining the coast guard, it’s really worth it. She even managed to buy her own car
last month using her own money. They also provide medical assistance, housing and meals, educational
assistance, life insurance, vacation and also free travel. Even though there is the COVID-19 pandemic,
she said their job is not that affected because most people in US don’t take the pandemic as a big deal.

If she’ll be a given a chance to go back in the Philippines, she said that maybe soon in the
future. When they were already that financially stable, she agreed that she would love to go back in the
Philippines together with her love ones. But for now, Jing said that she still has to work really hard to
build a strong foundation for her/their future because she already knows how hard what life is to be poor,
and she doesn’t want to be in that position again and of course, for her future family.