MILAN — Most people think of this Italian city in terms of the Duomo di Milano, that impressive Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of St. Mary in the Duomo piazza; the Galleria, that big Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade beside the cathedral; and as a fashion capital in Europe, of course.
But when I think of Milan, I really think of—in addition to the Duomo—the Teatro alla Scala, Da Vinci’s Last Supper, l’aperitivos (traditionally, a pre-meal drink, but has now become for Filipinos, a buffet with drinks!), my lesbian friends, and the Filipino domestic helps.
Largely because of the last three, I decided to make this city my base and headquarters in this five-month grand tour of Europe. In addition to travel, I also wanted to see how our OFWs live in Milan.
I shared an apartment with Pearl Joy, a cheerful domestic help with 20 years history in Milan, plus a few years of the same job in Hong Kong prior.
Pearl wakes up at 7:15am, and leaves her suburb apartment in Sesto San Giovani at 8am for her four-hour morning job, and does not come home again until 9pm or even 11pm from her (other) afternoon job. And while she can easily get stay-in accommodation at her employers, she insists on having an apartment of her own at €550 monthly.
“I value my self-care time,” she explains. “When I occasionally stay the night at my bosses’, for example, I couldn’t rest. I wake up early to help them out, and I sleep rather late because I can’t retire without tidying up.”
Occasionally, Pearl works on Saturdays. The extra pay eases the cost of rent. On Sundays, she attends church which can, with their missionary work, run up to late in the afternoon.
One Saturday, Pearl took a real day off and showed me Sesto’s neighborhood farmers’ market and street bazaar. (I ended up buying a fashionable shirt.) Then, we went to a €20 buffet at Officina dei Sapori. As we walked off our heavy lunch, she decided to get a €35 haircut.
The hairstyling went well, and although I didn’t press for her actual salaries, I suspected that the price of the haircut costs probably a half day’s work for Pearl.
The week I was in Milan to witness this, Pearl’s cousin in the Philippines passed away. But all I heard were her morning praise songs, her instructions for the funeral arrangements, and her words of comfort to other relatives on the other end of the phone.
Pearl is rather proud to be a hardworking OFW. Through the years, she has helped many among her family and relatives (often by sending them to school, and picking up medical bills).
Most days, Pearl won’t let me do the dishes. She judges I’m rather slow in housekeeping. “Stick to writing,” she said. “There are things you are good at, there are things I can do better.”
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(Peter Solis Nery is a multi-awarded Filipino poet, fictionist, filmmaker and playwright who divides his time living in the Philippines and traveling around the world. He is a Palanca Awards Hall of Famer, and the first Filipino author invited to the Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates.)
