The Mirror Image of the Old and the New

The old would always linger on while it gives a different meaning to the new. The two faces of Binondo--a fusion of the old Chinese ways and the modern taste of the new generation of Filipino Chinese descendants of several decades of traders and farmers from the Far East. Amidst the familiar Fookien dialect that is the common tongue of communication, there is a different air of ambiguity to the surroundings of old Binondo as it is now fast becoming a haven for Chinese mainlanders. The mixture of the old and the new makes it now an even more interesting place as it attempts to harmonize a new breed of enterpreneurs.

Personally, it was not quite easy for me to easily welcome this new breed with hugs and warmth. But through the years, I've learnt to be awestruck with their resilience, industry, perseverance, and brilliance as they learn to speak the local Tagalog dialect to be able to be more effective salesmen of their wares of fabrics, plastic novelty items, electronics, and jewelry. Gradually, they made me have greater awareness of what globalization and free trade really means. Their entry may not have been a huge welcoming idea for native-born Filipino Chinese due to price competitiveness; but the consumers benefit well from those awfully cheap goods.

They made me look back at the past of my grandparents and other ancestors. They made me think how my grandparents had struggled to blend in the Filipino culture during those pre-war times that they migrated to the Philippines. It could have been much more difficult to penetrate the people, the culture, and the market.

With my future plans of immigrating to a foreign land, this scenario of the old and the new has taught me to be more courageous to face the challenges that await me. Although USA is the melting pot of a variety of cultures and people, the process of blending in remains to be a part of that new life of greener pasteurs, just as the Chinese mainlanders perceive the Philippines to be.

After all, it is really just a rite of passage for ALL migrants. The view of the old and the new opened my mind to the greater truth of what globalization and universality means.

Globalization is the Exodus of migrant workers.