My red violet umbrella sat briefly on the table, waiting for me to finish scribbling on a receipt to get petty cash. "What are you bringing a brellie for?", asked one of my colleagues. I was stumped for five seconds. Brellie? Oh, umbrella! It was another lightning bulb moment (but at the same time I was telling myself how fancy that term was). My turn to respond: "Why? It's hot!" She and another colleague giggled as if I said something absurd. "Oh, other people would just bring out the olive oil and put it on their skin!"
Suddenly it occurred to me that I was talking to people who rarely have the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine - either because it's too cold or it's just too darn rainy and gray (or grey as they spell it). Of course they would only use the umbrella for rainy days!!! I felt I had to explain myself. I told her that we Filipinos use brellies not only to shield us from the rain but from the sun's rays too. I shared that we don't want to get our skin too dark or our hair too fried. Unlike us though, they seem to revel in the sun's mighty glow and consider it as a perfect opportunity to get a little color, if not a tan. No wonder they love Dubai so much!
Here in Dubai, it is the umbrella that distinguishes us Filipinos from the rest of the expats (although the Indians seem to be catching on the practicality of toting one - or maybe they have Filipino friends/girlfriends). Owing to its dual purpose for us, it is no surprise that when there is a sudden downpour, Filipinos are most likely the ones to remain the driest (I have observed this when I took the bus one rainy afternoon). While everyone is rushing to the nearest shed for cover, Filipinos calmly dig into their bags (and there are some men who do this as well) and dish out their folding brellies (Come to think of it, they all seem to be the folding kind as I haven't seen big umbrellas in the streets of Dubai). In the summer, when the rays are too piercing for comfort, we do the same. Or maybe it's just plain Pinoy vanity. Some of us have to protect our newly-treated hair or our newly-bleached skin, you know.
Suddenly it occurred to me that I was talking to people who rarely have the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine - either because it's too cold or it's just too darn rainy and gray (or grey as they spell it). Of course they would only use the umbrella for rainy days!!! I felt I had to explain myself. I told her that we Filipinos use brellies not only to shield us from the rain but from the sun's rays too. I shared that we don't want to get our skin too dark or our hair too fried. Unlike us though, they seem to revel in the sun's mighty glow and consider it as a perfect opportunity to get a little color, if not a tan. No wonder they love Dubai so much!
Here in Dubai, it is the umbrella that distinguishes us Filipinos from the rest of the expats (although the Indians seem to be catching on the practicality of toting one - or maybe they have Filipino friends/girlfriends). Owing to its dual purpose for us, it is no surprise that when there is a sudden downpour, Filipinos are most likely the ones to remain the driest (I have observed this when I took the bus one rainy afternoon). While everyone is rushing to the nearest shed for cover, Filipinos calmly dig into their bags (and there are some men who do this as well) and dish out their folding brellies (Come to think of it, they all seem to be the folding kind as I haven't seen big umbrellas in the streets of Dubai). In the summer, when the rays are too piercing for comfort, we do the same. Or maybe it's just plain Pinoy vanity. Some of us have to protect our newly-treated hair or our newly-bleached skin, you know.
