Brain, Brain Go Away

A friend recently landed a job in Dubai, so this got me counting my friends and relatives who are currently working and/or living abroad. Right now there are four of them working as OFWs in Dubai, all former officemates and close friends. The bulk of my relatives abroad live in the United States, from New York to New Jersey to California. Come to think of it, majority of my friends as well – childhood, high school, and even some of my college activist friends—also reside in the US right now.

The rest are scattered all over the world. One just left for Ireland a few months ago after spending (or wasting) his life here bumming around and playing Mahjongg and getting high on shabu or crystal meth. Another friend decided to continue his studies in Australia after his family decided (on relatively short notice I would say) to immigrate there. I have a friend studying in Alaska and another working in Canada. Anyway, you get the drift.

After slaving for four years, my girlfriend and her twin will finally get that hard-earned Nursing diploma next year. They hope to pass the necessary exams and then get some work experience in some hospitals here. Then it’s off to Ireland where their mother works in a nursing home. Their older sister also plans to study there.
My sister Michelle has a Mass Communications degree under her belt but chose to resign from her job and enroll in nursing at the University of the Visayas. But unlike my girlfriend, she still has a long way to go before becoming a full-fledged nurse. Nikki, my youngest sister, is also about to graduate next year. She’s taking up MassComm at St. Theresa’s College. But after graduation she won’t scour the job market right away. She says she wants to take up Education so she could apply for a teaching job in the US. My aunt who once worked for the Marketing Department of San Miguel Corporation – now she’s a caregiver in Long Beach — says there is a great demand for teachers in the US right now.

My parents left for the US last year to visit my relatives there, most especially my grandmother. They were accompanied by an aunt and a cousin. They stayed in my uncle’s house in Los Angeles. My relatives in LA have been living there for many years. They all have their green cards; they’re American citizens now. The last time I’ve seen them was more than 12 years ago when they came home for the funeral of my grandfather. I don’t keep in touch with them much, so I wouldn’t know how they are doing. I’m glad my parents brought back with them pictures and videos of my relatives along with the customary chocolates, clothes, books and other goodies bought from Kmart, Wal-mart, and Costco.

As I munched on a Snickers bar, I listened to my mother who was animatedly talking about the good life in the US. How indeed it is the land of milk and honey, and how hard work will be properly rewarded even if you only held menial jobs there. In the US, she says, an ordinary busboy or grocery stocker would fetch a decent salary, the pay doubling or even tripling what a so-called professional would get here.

Anyway, after our stash of imported chocolates ran out, and being the sweet tooth that I am, I had to content myself with eating Choc-nut. Unfortunately, unlike a busboy or grocery stocker in the US, I couldn’t afford Snickers, Milky Way, or Baby Ruth on a daily basis.

During a drinking session, a friend once asked me if I didn’t have plans of immigrating to Canada. He said he’ll be leaving for Toronto soon. He just got a job there as a computer programmer. I just wished him the best of luck.

And then we drank to good times, bad times, and the brain drain phenomenon.

(Originally posted on November 28, 2006)