Episode 1

Hindi ko talaga lubos maisip kung bakit at paano ako napunta sa trabaho na ito. Oo, alam ko na pinili ko ito by my own free will because it was ultimately a desperate decision to finally give in to the wish of my mom—she had been nagging me to work here ever since I graduated from college three years ago.

Three years have passed at wala pa rin akong pera para makabili ng tunay na Louis Vuitton! (Kahit fake nga hindi parin aabot dahil 24 pesos nalang ang nasa savings account ko!) Hindi ko na nga tinanong yung high school classmate ko na may dala-dalang ganun nung nag-reunion kami recently, kung magkano ang bili nya dahil alam ko, sa presyo na yun, baka makapagbigay pa kami ng birthday party para sa isang libong bata sa Africa. Yung isa ko nga na classmate din, ikakasal na pala sa December! She never had a boyfriend, and we were always teasing her na baka lumaki syang matandang dalaga. Ayan natakot siguro kaya nung nag-propose yung boyfriend nya of two years, eh “Yes” agad ang sagot nya!

Minsan, kung iisipin mo rin, nakaka-pressure talaga, thinking about how my friends from college now have relatively stable careers, making lots of money, and enjoying it. Tapos ako, ayan nagpapaka-bum after my recent resignation because of my so-called work-related depression! Kaya naman nung sinabi sakin ng mommy ko na hinihintay parin daw ako nung kaibigan nya sa Taiwan na mag-trabaho para sa kanilang company, eh “Yes” narin agad ang sagot ko! Biruin mo, three years at naghihintay parin sila sakin! Ang tindi rin ng dedication nila, no? So I decided, why not give this a try? Wala naman daw mawawala eh!

So now I find myself, sitting silent and awkward at the passenger’s seat of my boss’ car. I just arrived in Kaohsiung, and my boss personally picked me up from the airport. Nasa expressway na kami, and looking out the window, it’s just like Manila, but instead of the slums and shanties, puro buildings and factories ang makikita mo hanggang sa horizon, and instead of slow-moving traffic, we’re hitting 110 on the speedometer.

I thought to myself, this is it! My boss seemed nice naman, as we both tried to start and hold a more substantial conversation than talking about my trip. He can speak English, though it really is as simple as it can get, but I know we can both manage to bridge the communication gap. I will be training here for one-month, he told me as he explained the agenda for the next few days.