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BERLIN: The luxury ship Star Princess is so enormous
that there has not been a single day that we didn’t get lost. We
were lost on our way to Amalfi Restaurant, or were bewildered as to
how the Vista Lounge on the seventh deck had “disappeared.” As
to the location of the laundry room—oh, where did it go? We still
can’t get the geography of this humongous, beautiful floating
hotel. Even the Internet confused us and thanks to Star Princess
computer specialist Penn Pinpin (maybe a descendant of Thomas Pinpin?)
we finally found our way to the second part of this series!
“We” are 16 Filipinas—old
friends and new— who had gathered from different parts of our
little world eight days ago—to start this exciting and exhausting
discovery journey to the Baltic countries—sans husbands, sans
boyfriends, sans children, sans grandchildren. “We” are composed
of Vangie Eckstrom from LA, Chuchi Maxino from Manila, Marilou
Tinitigan from New Jersey, Dra. Chit Reyes, Amelia Kasper, Aida Roa,
Glo Sales, Noli Pontanilla, sisters Auring Cruz, Doyet Cruz and Cely
Luz from Makati, Blanquita Marin and Jean Fabian from Orange County,
and Fe Astrero from San Mateo County.
The sun almost never sets during
the “white nights” of summer in this part of the world. It’s 4
a.m. today, as I sit facing the horizon, facing this endless day and
watching as the good ship Star Princess cuts a swathe through the
calm Baltic waters toward Berlin. Yesterday, we were in Poland, in
Gydinia-Sopot-Gdansk. We had not joined any tour of this historic
tri-city (where the second world war began). Our niece Rhea Reyes
Wiatr had driven from her home near Warsaw to spend a few hours with
us touring, shopping and lunching at a Polish restaurant called
Salonik. Rhea’s husband, by the way, is Polish-American Dar Wiatr,
who is the newly appointed Honorary Consul representing the
Philippines in Poland. Dar’s immediate boss is Ambassador Andy del
Rosario.
To go back to my solitary watch
of the endless horizon—there is not a single passenger or crew
around. We are some 3,000 travelers onboard this ship, catered to
and spoiled by a staff numbering to 1,200. More than half of the
staff/crew are Filipinos, who got their jobs through Doris
Magsaysay’s overseas employment agency. Needless to say, the
service is beyond excellent!
It is always a pleasure meeting
and talking to our working kababayans; they make us all proud! Only
this week, 4 Pinoy employees out of 7 were cited as Star Princess
employees of the week: Vincent Semilla, computer specialist; Allen
Sanchez, accommodations attendant; Juanito Bacani, carpenter; and
Carmelo Flores, plumber. Filipinos indeed are respected for their
industry, multitalents, great humor, patience and tireless work
ethic.
Filipinos are well-loved and
looked up to by their fellow staff, although they have earned the
moniker “Pinoy Mafia” because of their number, closeness and
camaraderie. In their quarters, Pinoys are always playing the
karaoke. Romanians, Thais, and other nationalities have even
acquired a love for sinigang, pancit and kare-kare, thanks to their
close associations with Filipino friends.
Filipinos staff members are
everywhere: Kim Palomare (a UP graduate with a masters degree)
serves as assistant purser, handling the big job of scheduling and
shepherding thousands of tourists disembarking for land tours. Romeo
Burlat livens entertainment onboard with athletic events and dance
sessions. And who could not laud our Capampangan waiter Allan, our
cabin steward Joseph Sustiguer, our graveyard shift janitor Ding,
who kept us company on another “white night” vigil in the
ship’s atrium?
When we meet our Pinoy OFW’s,
they cheerfully talk about their jobs, and they sadly talk about
their loved ones they support back home. For some, they vow eternal
faithfulness to their spouses. Is this an ideal arrangement?
Families apart, children growing up with single parents, spouses
living separate lives? I wonder.
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