So it was almost 2000 hours, and I was climbing up some stairs to the deck seven, where I was trying to get a better view of the upcoming Strait. We could already see bits of Sicily to our left. Up there, one of the bar workers was cleaning up the deck for the evening, putting away the sunbathing chairs for the night. He and I have seen each other before, and through talks with other crew members he knew I was Filipino. So pointing out at Sicily, he starts speaking really fast Tagalog, something about how we were close to Croatia. Obviously, you know me, I was lost.
He shared with me some details of a previous voyage. Apparently, there were past students who understood Tagalog, but never spoke it, so the crew purposely didn't speak Tagalog out in public at the beginning of the voyage. But by now, they knew everyone, so they could trust that whatever they were saying was going to not be understood or was going to be insignificant enough if overheard. I had to wonder what they could possibly be talking about that was worth eavesdropping over. Anyway, I guess they knew now who they could talk in front of.
On a related note, I spoke to H/K Utility Man 2 earlier, and caught up on how many Filipino students were on the ship. There's supposed to be a (relatively) big dude who's half Filipino. I had not met or seen anyone of such a distinction, so I just looked at him confused. And then he said "kumusta" to a girl who passed by us. She responded with a hello. Apparently she was Filipino, one parent from Laguna, and the other from Cavite. Up until that moment, I only knew she was Canadian- this did solve a mystery for me though, in terms of "What kind of Asian has that kind of last name?" Clearly I'm dense. I also knew of another girl who was a quarter Filipino. Moving on.
The bar man asked my age, twenty, then related to me that he had daughters that were about my age as well. They are now attending schools in Manila. He wishes that he could somehow get his daughters to enjoy the world as I get to. Then he went back to work, and left me to my thoughts, and the changing horizon.
I have to be very thankful for all the opportunities I am given on this voyage, and for being on this voyage in the first place. For as many Filipino Americans that may ever make it on the MV Explorer, there are millions who will never have the luxury of stepping away from the peninsula, let alone having a stable American life, going to college, and seeing the world.
(Rommel)
He shared with me some details of a previous voyage. Apparently, there were past students who understood Tagalog, but never spoke it, so the crew purposely didn't speak Tagalog out in public at the beginning of the voyage. But by now, they knew everyone, so they could trust that whatever they were saying was going to not be understood or was going to be insignificant enough if overheard. I had to wonder what they could possibly be talking about that was worth eavesdropping over. Anyway, I guess they knew now who they could talk in front of.
On a related note, I spoke to H/K Utility Man 2 earlier, and caught up on how many Filipino students were on the ship. There's supposed to be a (relatively) big dude who's half Filipino. I had not met or seen anyone of such a distinction, so I just looked at him confused. And then he said "kumusta" to a girl who passed by us. She responded with a hello. Apparently she was Filipino, one parent from Laguna, and the other from Cavite. Up until that moment, I only knew she was Canadian- this did solve a mystery for me though, in terms of "What kind of Asian has that kind of last name?" Clearly I'm dense. I also knew of another girl who was a quarter Filipino. Moving on.
The bar man asked my age, twenty, then related to me that he had daughters that were about my age as well. They are now attending schools in Manila. He wishes that he could somehow get his daughters to enjoy the world as I get to. Then he went back to work, and left me to my thoughts, and the changing horizon.
I have to be very thankful for all the opportunities I am given on this voyage, and for being on this voyage in the first place. For as many Filipino Americans that may ever make it on the MV Explorer, there are millions who will never have the luxury of stepping away from the peninsula, let alone having a stable American life, going to college, and seeing the world.
(Rommel)
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