Abroad me

That is the title of the smart and savvy book by Anne Quintos, an IT professional based in Taiwan. Subtitled “22 success strategies for young overseas Filipinos,” it could also apply to people like me who, in the autumn of our lives, have worked abroad for lack of golden opportunities at home.

The book will help OFWs navigate their way as they prepare to leave the country, adapt to another one and its culture, and chart their careers. The book targets the young generation reared on social media, thus the like and share information at the back of the book on the website, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube and email address of the author.

Abroad Me is packed with tips and life lessons for the overseas Filipino professionals, but it is information conveyed lightly and well, as all learning should be. Each chapter is designed like a workbook for a more interactive exchange between reader and writer. The essays are short and written like blog entries; the exercises and activities are easy-to-do and workable. As the author shrewdly puts: “[This book] will help you chart a purpose-driven and successful life overseas.”

Driven by a sense of purpose is what we should be as OFWs. Last week, when I was sending money home at the remittance center in Kotayara in the heart of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, I heard a Filipina saying in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear: “I am sending money to my daughter so she could buy a new laptop. Last month, I sent her money to buy a new smart phone. She only wants the latest brands in the market.”

These lines could very well be said by several other OFWs who – perhaps driven by guilt for not being with their children – just give in to every whim and caprice of the people back home. And the people back home seem to revel in this, the emotional blackmail they wreak on us who have left the country and toil in another land. So when the OFW finally comes home, the kids have new cellphones and laptops but there is hardly any money left for their future education, or for a small business to show for the many years spent abroad.

That is why this book starts with a vision. It begins with the telos, the noble goal we aspire for that is why we are leaving the country. Quintos said: “Having a clear vision will help you stay focused and move in the right direction. When times get rough, your vision statement is there to remind you that bigger plans are ahead.” But this vision should be anchored on the concrete. Questions abound: How much should you earn, spend, and save to be financially secure? How long do you plan to stay abroad?

Moreover do research on money matters. What is the exchange rate of your host country’s currency vis-à-vis the peso? I have heard OFWs whoop with delight when the peso sinks in comparison to the local currency. But a deeper analysis will show that although it helps us send more money abroad, it also means our country will pay a higher interest rate for its imports and foreign loans. Also look at the inflation rate of the host country and its tax rate. When I left Manila last year, I was being taxed 32 percent and all I saw was the horrible traffic, the trains packed like cans of sardines, and the appointment of some idiots in government. If you’re bound for Europe, the tax  could soar to 50 percent, while Middle Eastern countries could go as low as zero percent tax rates. 

This book also tells us to manage our expectations and avoid romantic ideas of life abroad. There will be clash in cultures, your boss might be a Neanderthal from hell, your doubled or tripled income would make you think that money grows on trees. That is why your vision should have a plan: goals and objectives that are like footsteps bringing you closer to your destination. Make your plan S.M.A.R.T: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

These plans would include sending money home – but do not send everything! Send around 30 percent of your pay, then put the rest in an emergency fund as well as investments (index funds would be the best – ask your nearby bank about this). Part of that goal could also be paying off outstanding loans and credit-card bills which, in the Philippines, could drive you to the poorhouse with their 3.5 percent interest rates per month!

This book also tells us to focus on the most important person in this journey: you. “Self-reflection is very important before you go abroad, while you’re living overseas, and even after your return. Sadly, some overseas Filipinos reflect on their characteristics, core values, and actions only after they’ve made mistakes. They realize that they quit too soon. That they complained too often. That they hungered for the wrong things. That they let go of the people they love.”

And when you finally land abroad, give it your best shot. Disprove the stereotypes about Filipinos. I‘ve been asked by clueless cops several times where do I sing (“in the bath room,” I would answer) or where is my construction site (“In the class room,” I would answer). And as head of School in English of a British university I have been asked by some well-meaning parents, “So I assume you did not just study English in the Philippines?”

“I did,” I would answer, “in a Jesuit institution with a Western-style education. And in the UK, too, if you would want to know, and in the US as well.”

But the best exchange came from this question. “Where did you learn English?”

I would answer, “From my parents.”

“Who taught English to your parents?”

 I would answer, “the missionaries. But now they are all gone.”

“What happened to the missionaries?”

I would answer, “My parents ate them.”

Comments can be sent to [email protected]