Dennis Sun

DAISUKI! by Dennis Sun

January-February 2014

I’ll Be Home For Christmas…

Going home in December? Me? Definitely not! Ayokong maging Santa Claus. Hindi pa ako kasing taba at yaman na tulad ni Santa. Wait lang after some years at baka manalo ng lottery. But not now. Pauwiin niyo na lang ako ng ibang panahon, huwag lang during Christmas season.

Masarap man umuwi sa Disyembre pero napakasakit sa bulsa.  In English, meron silang term para dito: BITTERSWEET. Meron din silang term in Japanese: HORONIGAI (ほろ苦い). Masarap na masaklap! Masarap makita ang buong pamilya at mga dating classmates at barkada na nag iba na ang hitsura. Mga tumaba, tumanda, nakalbo, nabungi, at mga dating close friends na ngayon ay hindi mo maintindihan ang pag iisip nila. Hello, strangers! Friends ba tayo 20 years ago? Kay sarap balikan ang nakaraan. Pero pagkatapos ninyong mag reminiscing in the restaurant and the bars, walang dumudukot sa mga wallet nila. Parang hindi rin yata sila makabili ng wallet? This is so bitter! Ang pait! Sila na nga ang lamon ng lamon at laklak ng laklak. Ikaw pa ang pababayarin nila.

Christmas is, indeed, the happiest season in the Philippines. That’s why people from abroad are always looking forward to go back home during the Christmas break. Kay sarap umuwi pagkatapos ng ilang buwan na mawalay sa mga mahal sa buhay. Masarap ngunit masaklap. Kasi mayroon mataas na price tag. Una, mahal ang umuwi tuwing Christmas. Buti na lang sa iba na alam na agad ang date ng bakasyon, pwedeng bumili ng advanced ticket 6 months before the departure. Kaya, medyo mura pa. Eh paano naman yung hindi? Mahal ang airplane ticket if bought a few weeks before departure. What more with a few days? Swerte ka rin kung makakakuha ka kasi fully booked na halos ang mga flights.

I always avoid going home to the Philippines during December. Hindi lang mahal ang airfare. The airports are crowded. At dumarami rin ang mga magnanakaw sa international airport in Manila. Kung hindi man sila magnanakaw, maraming namamasko, este, nagpapalimos kasi pasko raw. I remember noong umuwi ako after Christmas, kulang sa kalahating kilo lang ang sumombra sa luggage ko, biglang hiniritan ako ni Pedro, “Sir, over weight po ang luggage ninyo. Huwag na po kayong magbayad. Bigyan ninyo na lang ng konting pamasko.” Sabay dagdag pa niya, “Sir, huwag po ninyong ibigay dito. Doon sa CR na lang ninyo iabot sa akin.”

Kung alam lang ni Pedro, ubos na ang mga pesos ko. Wala na rin akong cash at konting yen na lang ang natitira pang limousine bus at taxi pa uwi sa bahay. Kasi, kapag umuuwi ka, dapat nakahanda ang kadatungan. Inday, kung wala kang pera at may balak umuwi, huwag ka nang mangarap pa! At kung ayaw mong maubos ang savings mo for the year, mag isip ka ng sampong beses kung gusto mong umuwi.

Alam kaya ng mga kapamilya at kaibigan natin na napakagastos kapag umuuwi tayo? Sa airplane ticket pa lang, isang buwan na salary iyon lalo na kung part timer ka lang. Yung binili natin mga omiyage at pasalubong sa kanila, isang dagdag na buwan na salary na naman. Yung mga gastusin natin sa pang shopping, party at lakwatsa sa Pinas, dagdag isang buwan na salary pa rin! Tatlong buwan na salary ni Juan ang gastos kapag umuuwi. O ano, Juan, gusto mo pang umuwi this Christmas? Matagal pa naman ang susunod na Pasko kaya pag isipan mo talaga at pagipunin!

Napaka TSUMETAI ko raw. Eh ano pa ba? Malamig na ako kung malamig. Eh kasi, it’s winter. Everything gets cold, even my KOKORO! Nagyeyelo na nga!

Wish ko lang, isipin natin kung paano natin gamitin ang ating savings. Pinaghirapan mo ito, kuya at ate, at alam ko kung paano ka nagtrabaho na parang kalabaw. Huwag mong gastusin ng pa sige sige. Ikaw din. Pag ikaw ang nagkasakit, sino ang tutulong sa yo? Sa sariling pera mo rin kukunin yon...kung meron pang natitira. Sa bandang huli, ikaw pa ang mangungutang sa iba.

MOKA Not Mocha

Tanong ng mga friendships, “Uuwi ka this December, Dennis?” Hindi ako umuuwi tuwing December at alam na ninyo kung bakit. Pero last year, kinain ko po ang sinabi ko. Umuwi po ako. So kung nakita po ninyo ako sa Pinas o nakita ninyo yung mga pics ko sa FB, hindi po clone o photoshoped ang mga iyon. Totoong ako po iyon.

On November 28th of last year, I received a letter from the governor of our home province of Pampanga.  I was chosen as 2013’s recipient for the Most Outstanding Kapampangan Award (MOKA) in the Mass Media category. MOKA is the pinnacle of all awards conferred by the Province of Pampanga to its outstanding sons and daughters who excelled in their respective endeavors.

Wow! I was so elated not because I was getting an award but because some people or group from so far away are giving me recognition and are proud and happy for what I have been doing here for the past 10 years. Naku, salamat na lamang at hanggang sa probinsiya namin, nakita nila ang mga pinang-gagawa ko dito sa Japan. Buti na lang at sa isang dekadang lumipas sa pagpupuyat ng Jeepney Press at naitagon ang award na ito. Hayan at bigla akong napauwi sa Pinas. Buti na lang, early December! Kasi nakaplano na ang Christmas and New Year vacation ko sa Bangkok.

I had to go back home to receive the award. It was going to be the best gift a son could ever give his mother this Christmas. My dad passed away the year before so I didn’t want to lose this chance for my mom to be happy while she is still alive. I wanted her to be proud of his son.

Well, the award is, actually, also for Jeepney Press and to everyone who is part in making its every issue a possibility for a decade. I would like to express my appreciation to you all in Kapampangan:
Dakal pung salamat kekayu ngan!

Iki-Thai!

If Japan is my second home, I consider Thailand, my third. When I feel like going home to Pinas but not go back, as in “feel lang ba,” I go to Thailand. I feel more freedom when I go to Thailand. It is a time and place where I can pamper myself without the guilt. I don’t have to think about work, family and friends. Just me. Thailand is a little more expensive than the Philippines but it is still cheap in comparison to Japan. And I feel safer being in Bangkok than being in Manila. Natatakot nga akong sumakay ng taxi sa Maynila. I try to contact who among my friends are available so they can pick me up at Manila airport and bring me to my hotel. Kasi, sila na rin mismo ang nagsasabing magingat sa mga taxi. Napakarami na raw mga modus operandi ang mga taxi drivers sa atin.

So, every winter holiday, I am most probably in Bangkok. Dahil isinilang talaga akong gala (dahil may nunal sa talampakan), hindi na ako maliligaw sa Bangkok. Alam ko na ang mga pasikutsikot. Ang mahirap lang doon ay ang language. Tulad ng mga Hapon, karamihan ay hindi marunong mag Ingles. Paminsanminsan, makakaencounter ka ng communication problem sa pagsakay sa taxi o pag-shopping. Yung English accent din nila ay medyo tagilid. Minsan, kinakausap ka na at hindi mo namalayan na English na pala ang salita nila. Well, ganyan talaga when traveling abroad. Shoganai!

Thailand and the Philippines are so similar. We both boast the best beaches in the world. Our countries have the same climate and same people. However, there are millions of tourists flocking Thailand every year while the Philippines just get a fraction. Punungpuno ng mga gaijins from every part of the world. Their tourism industry is really booming. How I wish this would happen to our country also. I think Thailand has gone far ahead of us in terms of economy. Well, if you have been there once, you know what I am talking about. I hope more Filipinos will visit Thailand so they will see what our country is missing and what we can do to our country so it would improve the way Thailand has done to its economy.

O, Thailand pa lang yan. If we talk about Singapore, mas lalo na silang advanced! Singapore was formed only as a country in 1965 when Malaysia granted them a separate sovereign state. Wala pa silang 50 years pero look at what they have done to their young country! You will really see the cleanliness and discipline just by looking at the place. The trees outside are well trimmed! Parang mga giant bonsai trees (how ironic)! Yung mga punong kahoy natin sa lansangan, pinababayaan na lang lumaki. Kaya kung may bagyo, grabe ang kalat. I think trees in the urban areas should be trimmed regularly. Japan does it also. Trees along the streets in Tokyo are well maintained in size and shape. Yung mga trees sa jungle, they should be left in their natural habitat. Pero, what’s worse is that we kill our forests with illegal logging! But do Filipinos even care? Basta pagpeperahan, sige lang ng sige.

Si Tita Yoly

After that dreadful mega typhoon, I saw how the global community got united to help the Philippines. Lahat din ng Filipino communities in Japan made charity events to help raise funds to send back home. I really hope that the funds went straight to the people “in need” and not to the people “in greed.” Marami na naman ang yumaman dahil sa bagyo at mga nasalanta. Maawa naman sila!

During this difficult time, I worked for a major Japanese media company in trying to locate the 130 missing Japanese in Tacloban. Just through google, other internet sites and a few international calls, I was able to locate 27 Japanese residents there. Aside from them, I know there are still hundreds of missing people due to the typhoon.

I pray and hope that wherever they are, they find peace. And I pray more this new year that we instead find what is missing in us. Filipinos have so much love already. But we lack discipline and honesty. I pray we find these in ourselves this year and the years to come.