Pulls Out Some Punches

I treated my family to a luxury shopping at the mall one day after coming home for a much needed R&R.

"Sky's the limit" I told them sheepishly as I saw one of my cousins scampered to the jean's department looking like a headless chicken and too excited to fill up his shopping basket.
My shoe-fetish aunt was holding four pairs of shoes on one hand and another three pairs on the other.
My mom was on the kitchen department choosing utensils in different styles.
The sales ladies were doing what they do best: following them around.
While I just sat on one corner fiddling with my phone.

"What a sight" I thought.

After what seemed like forever of creating havoc in the mall, we headed straight to the counter where all the purchases have been piled and handed out my card.

"Ay naku! ilang pwet na naman kaya yan?" I blurted out as I went for a little walk just within the department while the cashier was still punching the keys and checking out the purchases.

I came back after a few minutes, and signed my card.

As we head home, my mom said: "You know what, the sales ladies asked me if you're a Japayuki?"

"A what?" I said. "why did they asked you that?"

"Because they heard you saying ilang pwet na naman yan, you're wearing shorts pa, so they thought you are."

At that time, I found it funny at how such an innocent remark and a silly joke can make such an impact to them and turned me into one I'm not. But thinking about it now, I can't help but feel sorry for the sales ladies and their derogatory remark to such term. They seemed to assume quickly that I am one because of my comment and the way I looked. It just shows how shallow their understanding of the word "japayuki" is. Discrimination to the highest level!
If only they knew that I'm a nurse and cleaning a patient's a** is part of nursing care in the UK (and Singapore's) standards of care, they would've shut up.
If only they knew the things that we do here are sometimes not pleasant, they would've understood.
If only they knew that earning those grand pounds is also equivalent to a sometimes hard life here, they would've been more sympathetic.
But then again, as evidenced by the the looks on their faces and their tiny giggles, they won't understand because like some others, they are prejudiced.
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You can't tell the wide difference of being a nurse here in the UK (and Singapore) as compared to the Philippines unless you can experience it yourself.
As a nurse in the Philippines, I wasn't directly involved in patient's care because there were midwives who did it for me. I wasn't wiping patient's behind because relatives do it mostly. All I did was charting, meds, charting, rounds, and charting again. For five years. Boring.
I was grateful to have worked in Singapore where my nursing care was honed to perfection. I was thinking of quitting the first time because the workload is too much. A far cry from the laid-back Philippine nursing. But I lingered and learned and I must say, that here in my current unit my nursing techniques are imitated but never equalled, he,he,he...
The silly joke "ilang puwet na naman yan" wasn't really coined in the UK. My friend in Singapore started it when he was thinking of buying his son a playstation as his birthday gift for him.

"Hmmmm, siguro mga tatlong puwet lang yan," that's what he said as we all burst out laughing.

And so, it has been a byword eversince.

Me? a japayuki? only to my husband.