To The Philippines With Love

For the last few years I’ve learned about the Philippines through our family caretaker, Glenn Malapit, a remarkable, highly intelligent fellow from Luzon.  One thing that especially impressed me was the caring network that occurs in some high schools.  He is part of a class of 200, which has established a mutual fund to help friends in need, such as teachers who need medical care and impoverished individuals.  All the members contribute what they can and a classmate with business acumen is selected as treasurer.  I might also say that virtually all of his classmates went to college and many acquired advanced degrees.  This ability to care may come from the extended family, which is common in the Philippines.  Whether the extended family is due to Spanish influence or tribal is difficult to ascertain.  This trait makes people from the Philippines ideal care workers.  Since they learn English, they migrate to the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.   In hospitals and care facilities throughout the U.S., Philippinos make their presence known through their ability to be sensitive to the needs of others and we are the better for it.

About Robert M. Weiss
From an early age, I've taken great pleasure in reading. Also, I learned to play my 78 player when I was quite young, and enjoyed listening to musicals and classical music. I remember sitting on the floor, and following the text and pictures of record readers, which were popular in the 1940s and 50s. My favorites were the Bozo and Disney albums. I also enjoyed watching the slow spinning of 16s as they spun out tales of adventure. I have always been attracted by rivers, and I love to sit on a boulder with my feet in the water, gazing into the mysteries of swirling currents. I especially like inner tubing on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. Since my early youth, I've been interested in collecting minerals, which have taught me about the wonderful possibilities in colors and forms. Sometimes I try to imagine what the ancient Greeks must have felt when they began to discover physical laws in nature. I also remember that I had a special passion for numbers, and used to construct them out of stones. After teaching Russian for several years, I became a writer, interviewer, editor, and translator. I continue to delight in form, and am a problem solver at heart.

One Response to To The Philippines With Love

  1. rommel says:

    A lovely, stimulating post about the Philippines. I’m so glad a caretaker living aboard is in good care. People has to realize that it’s not only the house owners who has to trust the caretaker, a lot of caretakers around the globe has been a victim of abuse.
    Ow, I know about HappySlip. 😀

    Like

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