July 4, 2018 marks the 242nd Independence Day in the United States, a place called home for around 30 years. Since moving back to the Philippines, this column has been in a constant struggle to determine if my current living situation is that of an expat or balikbayan. Having dual citizenship, the determination cannot be made on mere legality. It boils down to identity.

An expat, short for expatriate, is somebody who lives in a place different from their native country. Having been born in the Philippines, it is my “native country;” however, after moving at a very young age and growing up elsewhere, it’s technically not my “home country.” Meanwhile, a balikbayan refers to a Filipino who has been living abroad for a long period of time and is returning to the Philippines.

Personally, the question is whether I am an American living in the Philippines or a Filipino returning home from the US.

On a day celebrating the independence of the United States and after five years of living in the Philippines, despite physically appearing to be a balikbayan, in terms of identity, I still feel like an expat.

It is not a matter of hospitality, that has not been a problem at all, but getting adjusted to living in Bacolod City, there are still many things I still have yet to comprehend, which is attributed to growing up elsewhere.

If there is one thing that stands out from the perspective of an “outsider,” it would be a subject often discussed – in fact, the topic of the first column in this series – the traffic. Obviously traffic exists everywhere, but there is something about driver behavior in the Philippines that makes it all the more unique.

When visiting as a tourist and noticing things like cars driving opposite the flow of traffic, it’s just one of those quirks about the local culture. In America, if somebody is driving in the opposite direction of traffic, it’s typically because they are drunk. However, having to deal with such behavior on a daily basis, it’s a nuisance. In five years of mulling it over, I still draw a blank on how anybody would get the idea that driving against the flow of traffic is normal.

There’s also the blatant neglect for lanes. The first column published was entitled “The insignificant lines,” referring to the lines painted on the road that often go ignored as motorists are often driving along the lines without any regard for any of the vehicles in their vicinity. It’s another concept that makes no sense and can only surmise there are some people being told they must drive along the lines as opposed to in between them.

Outside of that subject (which has been discussed ad nauseam with no apparent solution along the horizon), there is also the culture shock of encountering individuals who appear indifferent to the concept of lines. This is not something exclusively Filipino, previously have been caught in a mob of people trying to board an Alitalia flight in Rome, have also witnessed pushing and shoving to purchase ferry tickets in Macau. Perhaps it’s from living here for the past few years that the instances appear innumerable.

One of the first encounters was at one of the leading pharmacies in town. Despite the place having set up stanchions, a clear indication for customers to form a line, still had others walking around them and heading right for the counter, where another customer was still being served. After seeing it happen a couple times, made a comment to one customer about her ignorance on the concept of a line, which apparently offended her but did not deter her from trying to cut in front of those waiting in an orderly fashion.

One of the main department stores in town does a good job of tamping down on the practice. They, too, have stanchions set up and cashiers will often pause their ongoing transaction to inform impatient customers to wait in line. What I am unable to comprehend is, when these individuals see other people lining up in front of where they intend to transact, like the cashier, where in their mind does it suggest they do not have to wait in line like everybody else? Is it arrogance or ignorance?

Touching upon the issue of traffic again, the same attitude is exhibited in the way people drive. After growing up in the US, am accustomed to turning lanes limited to one lane, which is done to allow the main road to proceed without obstruction. Maybe that was the intention of local engineers, but all too often, vehicles (mostly jeepneys) create their own turning lanes, which then grow to two or three lanes across, because they refuse to wait in line; but since it continues to go ignored by local authorities, it only encourages the practice to continue.

Unfortunately, their actions become an obstacle for the main road because the now-three lanes of traffic waiting to turn are blocking most of the traffic trying to proceed forward.

There is also the overbearing government processes. One of the primary debates in the United States is the argument between big government and small government. As much as people like to argue the Philippines is a free market state, the government is much too intrusive when it comes to taxation and regulation.

Even when signing up for benefits related to employment was an incredible hassle.

In America, after providing a driver’s license and a social security number, all government benefits were set up in time for the next pay check – done. The experience in the Philippines required visits to every individual government office, the retrieval of numerous forms from one office in order to submit to another, making appointments every other day, having to return for more documents; in contrast to the system overseas, it was shocking – what literally used to take a couple minutes took about a month to complete.

Clearly, it was not something I was accustomed to; not to mention, having to open an entirely new bank account, at a bank I don’t even transact with, just to set up direct deposit. In the US, the employer just needs a routing and account number.

Despite all that, it has been an overall positive experience; although, if there was one thing considered a disappointment and not an experience one could chalk up as “culture clash,” it would be the surprising lack of fresh produce.

While weighing the options of moving to the Philippines, something that was not a concern was food. There was an impression the country was strong agriculturally and believed there would be plenty of options when it came to grocery shopping. As a result, it was jarring to see most vegetables, either at the local market or supermarket, were almost always wilted and old. Not one to frequent supermarkets for groceries because of the severe markup in price compared to the local market, have also found vendors are usually stocked with only a couple varieties of vegetables.

In the US, particularly the Asian markets, vegetables are plentiful, fresh, and reasonably priced. On any given day, the produce section of any supermarket in America is stocked. A walkthrough at a major supermarket in Bacolod City, customers are greeted with shrink-wrapped vegetables that have clearly been manipulated (likely from employees cutting off rotten ends). At the local market, while the prices are better, depending on whatever has been harvested, that is the primary product EVERY vendor is carrying; essentially, all families shopping at that same market will be having identical dinners that night.

Why is it supermarkets refuse to sell better quality goods for more competitive prices? By hiking up prices on goods that are below par, there is no better indicator of a business trying to bilk their customers. Yet, when visiting the local market, why do vendors refuse to diversify their goods? Are they afraid of overstocking on perishable goods? While a viable reason, it still puts the country at a disadvantage if the availability of goods, such as vegetables, is so limited.

There are a lot of things missed about living in the US but the overseas experience is definitely a valuable one. It teaches understanding and exposure to another culture (even if it’s supposed to be your own). At least, even outside the US, Independence Day can still be observed with a traditional barbeque./WDJ