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For some, getting to work every day is just something taken for granted. Here in the Philippines, particularly in the outskirts of cities, getting to work is a daily challenge.
One of my co-workers lives about an hour away from the office and has taken the term “commute” to a different level. We work with US customers, so our working hours begin late at night or early in the morning. Her shift begins shortly after midnight, and she is never without make-up. Let’s just say that she needs a little over 2 hours every day to prepare for work.
I once had to pick her up to go to work, and I had to appreciate the zeal and patience with which she prepares for work. The nearest beach is a 45 minute drive and we always joked about how all she needs is to spit and she’d hit the water. She lived that far from work. Despite this she gets up at 9 in the evening, grabs some food, showers, puts on her make-up, and is standing on the highway a little before 11 pm. Just to get to work.
On a good night she can get a cab in 5, 10 minutes, tops, and will probably be in the office a good half hour or so before her shift. On a typical night, however, it takes almost an hour to get a ride so she sometimes hitches rides with whatever vehicle comes along.
She lives near the highway so a lot of vehicles (other than cabs) take that route to and from the city. One night she got so desperate she flagged down a vegetable truck, which smelled of freshly dug up soil and then some. The driver was quite nice, and the seat didn’t smell of dirt at all, which was a good thing. Another time it was a police mobile that was doing its patrol. That made her at least feel safe, compared to the time she rode with a bunch of drunks in a jeep. They were quite good natured and very helpful, but hey, they were still drunk. They took pity on her as she stood there on the road at 1 in the morning and she said she prayed all the way till they dropped her off at a place where she could get a cab.
When I was new here I actually asked her if it was all worth it. It’s dangerous, specially for a pretty girl like her. One of our co-workers had already gotten mugged when she worked for another company in the area. Can the pay make up for all the hassles she needs to go through just to get to work? I asked her what percentage of her salary she spent on transportation, and she said a good half of her entire pay goes to transportation expenses. I had to go “WHAT???” but she said she was doing it because she didn’t need to pay rent as she lived with her in-laws. Bummer. I told her what she was doing was dangerous, and wouldn’t it be easier to just get a closer apartment and pay for that? The cost would have been roughly the same, perhaps even less. And everyone can rest easy because we wouldn’t worry so much about her.
It’s just as well that we get paid a bit more than the usual pay in this industry. It’s also good that the work is fairly simple, and by the time she gets home, she still has enough energy to play with her son a bit. Her husband’s in the same line of work in a different company, so he understands the quirks of the job. We’re fairly luck here in the city we’re in. Most of the people still help each other out (well, except for the occasional mugger), even if they don’t seem like good Samaritans at first blush.
I just wish sometimes that our counterparts in the US could see what their employees here do to get to work. They tend to go ballistic if we come in even 10 minutes late. Maybe they’d appreciate people like this girl more. Me? I’m fortunate enough to be able to drive my dad’s car when he’s not using it. For most of the people here, getting to work is like doing a leg in the Amazing Race.
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