Jerome B. Cahuya


Name: Jerome B. Cahuya
Nickname: Nonoy
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Civil Status: Married
Location: Tianjin, China
Occupation: International Sales Manager
Years Spent Abroad: 9
E-mail: jcahuya@yahoo.com

NI Hao, greetings from China. I am Jerome from Iloilo.

I graduated from Western Institute of Technology with a degree in BSME. Two months after graduation I was given a break and accepted by a European sports trading company to work for them. Even though I was still reviewing for the board exams, I did not hesitate to take the job as for me this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Armed with spirit and determination, I flew to Hong Kong to face my new battle. I was given the position of head of quality control. At the time I really didn't know what my job meant and what would be my responsibilities. The first two months of work seemed so difficult. I needed to adjust to a new environment, and due to my lack of experience (as this was my first job after graduation) I needed to push myself to the limits and conduct research in my spare time.

I was just thankful that my boss, a British national, was very supportive. He taught me everything. He told me that in order to be successful in your job, the first thing you should do is love it. He was right; it is easy to learn if you love what you're doing. After eight years as a quality control person I decided to have a career change, I applied for a sales position, and luckily was accepted after a month of searching. I told my boss that I would quit. He understood my decision and wished me good luck.

Presently I am working as an international sales manager at a billiard cue stick factory here in Tianjin, China. I love my job even though it is not in my line of education, but so far I am doing well.

Philippines, my beloved country, what do I miss? I miss everything about it, most especially my hometown, Dingle and Iloilo City. You know why? That's where I grew up; all my good memories, my wife and my kids, my parents, my relatives, and my friends are all there. I miss La Paz batchoy, lechon manok, ginamos (bagoong in Tagalog), uga (daing) and talaba.

I miss hanging out with my friends, having a barbecue while drinking ice cold San Miguel beer in a payag-payag (nipa hut). I miss going to church with my family, especially during simbang gabi in December (by the way I have not spent Christmas for almost six years in the Philippines); taking my kids to school; and most especially having quality time with my wife. How I wish I could be there, but that's not easy. I need to be here abroad in order to give my family a good life.

My wish for our country, the Philippines, is stable economic growth in the years to come. It is easy to say but actually it is hard to attain. So I think we should try to enumerate the reasons our country is far behind our neighbors in Asia. First, the government, I think, is one of the major reasons, due to the fact that most of our public servants are selfish. They don't think of what's good for the country, but only think of how to put themselves in power. Our government is like a circus, a market, a carnival, etc. It is a shame to the whole world. It is sometimes too painful to hear from other nationalities those bad remarks they say regarding the Philippines, but most of it is true. I want to say something but I have run out of words. I hope our politicians would be enlightened that in order for our country to succeed, they need to work together. Leave their differences behind, go on and plan what's good for the nation.

Secondly, we all need to work, make sacrifices, and most of all join together as a nation. We need to lure investors back to our country. How can we do this? Show them that the Philippines is a safe place, a place with a large and smart labor force. This seems hard to do, but we can do this together. You can start with yourself and radiate it to your friend -- in the end we will succeed.

To our country, the Philippines, I wish it a better future. This is our goal. Let this goal be possible. Let's do this together. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

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