At 8:00 PM last night, I started my daily commute home. I was waiting in the corner for the bus to stop and I noticed that it was already full to the brim with commuters standing on the aisle and near the staircase and I said to myself, “here comes another body bumping, elbow pushing experience for me”. But this is actually the scene that I go through with everyday and this is not something new. I have gotten used to this scenario. When I got in the bus, I immediately saw this Caucasian guy with spectacles who seemed to be having a hard time with himself and I said to myself probably another tourist willing to brave the crowded bus for a Philippine experience and he was being bumped to and fro by all the passengers and he seemed to be in pain that I finally asked him if he was ok. I pitied the guy, he seemed kinda old and lonely and he was mumbling to himself so I finally asked him if he was alright and he told me that people in the bus are rude, they don’t say sorry when they bump into you and he said that sometimes he was forced to retaliate in bumping because otherwise he was going to get bruised and bruised. I told him that it was normal in our country and that sometimes because of the rush and traffic that people forget the basics of politeness and that some of them don’t even notice what they do. That sparked the conversation and when I finally got to sit with him we started on our own conversation. I saw the looks people in the bus were giving me and I said, “what the heck”, I was just talking to this guy like I would do to any other individual notwithstanding the color of his skin but then again understanding Filipino mentality I understand why they were looking at me. In the course of our talks, I found out that it was his 3rd time here and that he was planning to live here all his life since he had no family back in the states. With that statement I got to thinking, I was luckier than this guy, he had no family and he was in a foreign place while I was with my family here and in my own territory. He told me how he got run over by a taxicab here in Makati and it was a hit and run case. I asked him if he got himself checked out by a doctor and he says that he hasn’t been to the hospital yet. Poor guy. I also learned that he was an online English teacher here in Makati and that he was juggling 2 full time jobs so that he could feed,clothe and rent a place for himself. He introduced himself as Bob and I did the same thing and introduced myself to him. We shook hands and again, people were looking. I was just enjoying all the stares. We talked about how both of our countries were actually the same in a lot of aspects and I got to thinking that indeed, somehow both our countries were facing the same problems and he told me that at least here in the Philippines there were no rampage killings by young people like those in the states and we were talking about the Obama fever and how he hoped that Obama would really be a change for the American people and he was saying how stupid Bush was. That was something else. As we were nearing our destination I felt sad for him and told him to see a doctor for his bruises and bad knee and what I got in return aside from that conversation was his sincere wish of “God bless you and take care”…Isn’t that something else?!!
Filed under: Daily Travel Diary , bus conversations, Daily Travel Diary
