my OFW friend and i found ourselves having a couple of beers and talking about his experiences as a worker in kuwait. we inevitably ended up discussing filipinos in general.
imagine this... you see a reporter on tv standing in front of a house that has crumbled to the ground because of an earthquake or other calamity. people are scrambling about in panic, most of them in tears. suddenly you see a head peeking from behind the oblivious reporter, its face sporting a big smile, with a hand (presumably attached to the head's body) waving at the camera.
we filipinos love having our pictures taken. or videos taken of us. during parties, people run to be part of a group of people having their picture taken, even if they're not really part of that group. standing and waving in front of a tv crew becomes imperative, even if there is practically bedlam all around. yes, we can smile in the face of chaos.
i ended up saying that if the world ends, we would be one of the last races to go. we've had our share of calamities, and everytime, we cry our hearts out then pick up whatever is left and move on. when there's a flood, rafts appear from nowhere, charging people to cross the flooded streets and stay dry. during earthquakes, makeshift food stalls spring up around shelters. when pinatubo erupted, people started making items from the ashfall to sell.
even the political situation in the country sparks the filipino's creativity. the hello garci ring tones attest to that.
the point being, we always make the best out of every situation. or at least we try to turn them into opportunities. and then we get on with our lives.
siguro matatawag na oportunista ang pinoy. that's not such a bad thing, now, is it?
and i guess sometimes it's what makes me proud to be pinoy.
la lang. writing out loud.
back to work.
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