May 9, 2010

Filipinos On Board

Leaving the boat leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. On one hand I won't miss the constantly nauseating back and forth of the boat, but on the other hand, we'll have to go back to dealing with rude Chinese bastards in Shanghai for another couple of days. I mean, we could always talk to Filipinos instead! At least they're doing the Philippines a huge service.

At one point we got to talk to a Filipino waiter who was born in Rizal province but was forced to suspend his college education (which he had finished two years of) to work for cash. Fortunately, this present job is very stable and even presents him a few privileges like the ability to explore a point of interest during his free time, or hold a reunion with his family if the ship stops in the Philippines. He really enjoys it when Filipinos on board the ship make a special order of Filipino food, because all the extras left behind are for them to eat; a little temporary cure for homesickness.

It'll be quite hard not to notice them while they're about their business because they're everywhere in the boat. They're in the bar, the hallways, the restaurants, the theatre, and the massage parlor! Hell, some of them are even technical staff who manage the breakers. Obviously, they make up the majority of the nationalities present within the crew and it's both a bit wonderful and disheartening, if only because this brain drain is really a kick to the arse for local companies like... Superferry. Then again, who'd risk their life working in a Superferry when they could be working in a more reliable ship with more travel time, privileges and salary? I mean, who could blame them when the only direction Superferry's go is down?

Oh how I'll miss that dimsum dude who'll wrestle the tongs off a Chinese lady who's panicking due to fear of getting less food than her peers. Or maybe that guy who always points the right direction to our rooms and offers us his key when we forget it. Or maybe those waiters who'll be patient enough to mainland Chinese when they demand for something that just isn't available.

Oh wait, that wasn't a mainlander who wanted fried chicken in a fine dining restaurant, it was .


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