Neriza Sarmiento - Saito's ON THE ROAD

Neriza Sarmiento - Saito's

On the Road to: HIMAWARI

DR. REINARUTH DESIDERIO CARLOS Professor, Ryukoku University

Sunflowers, the harbinger of summer started to bloom at the end of July and now these radiant flowers called “HIMAWARI“ in Japanese, adorn train stations, department stores, offices and recreation areas. I am fond of sunflowers... not only because it is my mother’s favorite flower but also because it exudes warmth and energy.

That was exactly how I felt when I met Dr. Reinaruth Desiderio Carlos at a seminar for Filipinos at the Kyoto Pag-asa Filipino Community. She was very

Dr. Reinaruth Desiderio Carlos

approachable, considerate and with a good sense of humor. She reminds me of another townmate, Consul General Senen Mangalile who is now based at the Philippine Embassy in the UK. Like Congen Senen, our families are not strangers to one another in our town, Baliuag, where one of our national heroes, Mariano Ponce and his Japanese wife, Kiyo Udangawa (or Odagawa) lived. My late grandfather, who was Ponce’s biographer used to tell us stories of how “O-Kiyo-san“ helped save our town from military attacks because the Japanese soldiers respected her. That was how I began to be interested in Japan.

In the 1960’s, some Japanese diplomats began to study Filipino at our local college. Some researchers did fieldwork and began to teach Japanese once a year. Ruth’s grandfather hosted them at their home. It was a big influence on young Reinaruth a few years later.

After taking up AB Management at the Ateneo de Manila University, she received a Monbusho undergraduate scholarship in 1987. She studied Japanese at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. After taking up a course in Economics from 1988 - 1992, she went on to finish her M. A. in Economics at Kobe University. In 1994, she went back to the Philippines and was given a position at the Consular Section of the Japanese Embassy as an interpreter at the Assistance to Nationals desk. Her boss was a former prosecutor in Japan. On some occasions, she visited prisons to talk with Japanese detainees. While working at this ATN section, it made her see the other side of the Japanese when it comes to relationships once the family image is tarnished. So, in 1995 she resigned and was hired at De La Salle University’s Yuchengco Center as a researcher.

But it seemed that Ruth had developed a strong affinity with Japan or perhaps she missed Japan’s sushi and unagi. Two years later, she returned as a Monbusho scholar at Kobe University for her doctoral degree. In March 2001, she wrote her dissertation on the “Impact of International Remittances in the Economic Development and Income Equality.“

That same year she started her job as Associate Professor at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies Development and at the Economics Department until 2003.

In 2003, she joined the faculty and Graduate School of Intercultural Studies of Ryukoku University in Kyoto as a full-time professor. Her other tasks also include visiting High Schools to give demonstration lessons and introduce their faculty. They also join big career guidance events to give orientation lectures about their university. Coincidentally, we bumped into each other in YUME NAVI held at Intex Osaka. She explained her University’s course in flawless Japanese to a group of students. I was awed! After that, she was the moderator of Kapihan 2 organized by the PCCC. Her researches also keep her on the go and last year before her scheduled interpreting job for a group of mothers and some representatives of the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, she went directly to the venue from the airport after her research trip to Okinawa. She is not even worried about walking on the streets late at night or taking public transportation because it is safe and convenient.

However, there were some things that bothered her before... the Honne and Tatemae. Once, when she was invited by a Japanese family to have New Year with them and said that she could bring friends along. But, when she arrived with more than 5 friends, they were served some New year delicacies, and apparently, it was not enough for all. She thought that it was alright to bring her friends as what is accepted as normal in the Philippines as it was in her own family who love to entertain as many guests as possible.

So, whenever she feels homesick, she always think about her mother and grandmother’s merienda treats like puto, camote cue, binatog na mais and carioca! Her parents also taught them to be sensitive to the needs of others and to prioritize those in need.

Aside from her teaching loads in the university, she conducts researches about migrants in Japan, and the recent one was a survey on COVID 19.

Dr. Ruth is the kind of educator who encourages her students to enjoy the outside world and urges them not to confine themselves in the 4 walls of the classroom. But she can be very strict to some students who cannot fulfill their tasks. “Try to be observant. Exposure to the outside world and experiencing inconveniences in life can make students realize that there are many things to be thankful for... and can make them better persons!“ Ruth says.

Just before the pandemic, Ruth and some of her students were in Milan and Venice. So, they went into quarantine. This year, Dr. Ruth is on sabbatical leave and had it not been for COVID 19 she would have been spending her time abroad. But now, she spends her time cleaning using the “walis tambo“ and “walis tingting” that she brought here from the Philippines.

Like the “himawari“ she hopes that someday through her researches, the plight of many of our migrant workers will be brought to light. “KAHIMANAWARI“