Jeepney Press Neriza Sarmiento-Saito

Neriza Sarmiento - Saito's

On the Road to: When one has EVERYTHING but still wants SOMETHING but not just ANYTHING in the year of the OX.

The ox is the second animal in the 12 year Chinese Zodiac. It could have been the first to arrive when all the animals were summoned to come before Buddha, but the rat that rode on its back along the way, outsmarted him by jumping ahead. In spite of that, the cow did not complain showing how good-natured this animal is and how flexible he is.

Although the pandemic remains to be a nagging concern for all, nevertheless it has taught us how to be flexible and how not to expect things to happen the way we want.

For the first issue in this column, I chose pictures of two babies, born three months apart last year to give us a refreshing start of 2021. And for this year, I will try my best to feature stories of Japanese- Filipino children and how they deal with their multicultural existence in Japan.

The idea came after our family New Year get-together. My eldest son, L. A. did all preparations from ordering Osechi Ryori to cooking o-zoni and some other dishes. I noticed his interest in cooking when he was in elementary grade school. A cameraman came to our house one day and filmed us cooking pancit in the kitchen. He assisted me by peeling the carrots and cutting the onions. At times when I was busy teaching and coming home exhausted, L. A. was quick to concoct his own recipes. So when I looked at him as an adult serving all of us, I remembered those days when he was barely 10 years old. Now, he works in a trading company and spends his days off cooking his favorite recipes.

Then, my second son L.B. used to be very naughty but clever. I cannot recall how many times I had to apologize to our neighbors for the broken glass windows when they played balls outside, for deliberately pressing the neighbors doorbells and for fighting with some classmates in school. As a young boy, he never conformed to the norms, he always wanted to be unique. I enrolled him in some children’s musical productions, and he was always given stellar roles. Now, aside from establishing his own company business, he pursues his passion for music.

My youngest L.C. seems to be distant but he is always attentive to my needs. He has some birth defects and had to undergo two surgeries before attending school. But in the elementary grades, he was bullied not only for his defects but more so for being half Filipino. He started to skip school and had it not been for an NHK documentary, “Hello Nippon“ where he was featured, perhaps he wouldn’t be what he is now. It boosted his self-esteem and identity. Now, he works as a web designer and pursues his love for road bikes. Once in a while he communicates with some road bike enthusiasts from the Philippines.

Like my own children, there are hundreds or even thousands of stories of Japanese-Filipino children all over Japan. Some of them are probably contented with their lives here because they have everything they need. Still some may be needing something but not just anything to make their existence here more meaningful in spite of the lingering pandemic.

Some say that young people cannot make concrete plans because the future isn’t clear. But as my second son says to me... we just can’t wait until the pandemic is over... we have to do something, get things going, be flexible otherwise, we’ll end up having nothing!!

As for me, the faces of these two innocent babies are enough inspirations on how to make 2021 a better year.

Neriza Sarmiento-Saito / Jeepney Press