Accents
The Filipinos in MS Noordam
Kith and kin were in MS Noordam for a cruise to Alaska, May 13-19. The couples, our daughters Randy and Raileen with their husbands David and Nixon, workhorses all who really put themselves out in their jobs, had planned for a well-earned week of rejuvenation. Thus in high spirits the gang--composed of seven that included granddaughter Danika and retirees Rudy and yours truly--went to sea.
The name of the ship has a scent of Netherlands because Noordam belongs to the fleet of luxury liners of the Holland America Line that measures up to its bannered catch phrase, "A Signature of Excellence." We were among the 1,200 plus tourists on board, served by a crew of about 800, fifty percent of whom are Indonesians, thirty percent are Filipinos with the rest coming from other countries.
Travel was elegant as it was in the Carnival fun ships with the fancy names, Fascination and Inspiration, when we did Caribbean in 2002 and 2004. Amenities were superb--fresh linens daily, communication and audio-video facilities, 24-hour room service, etc. (Gush, Holland America should give me a free ticket with this plug.) Top the etceteras with gourmet dining whether in formal seating in its Vista Lounge or in the long Lido buffet with its array of continental and Asian cuisine, and other exotic specialties. And surprise, my dear kababayans, kudos go to a Filipino, Executive Chef Bernie Rius, who has been with Holland America for thirty years and counting. During the presentation of the staff, there was thunderous applause when his name was called. Bernie, how you do us proud! May your tribe of distinguished, successful Pinoys increase!
Entertainment galore varied everyday, the most memorable to us being the Magician's Hour when our granddaughter Danika came up stage and was a scene stealer. From among the kids present, she enthusiastically volunteered to participate getting cheers from the audience with her smartness and showmanship. David and Randy were brimming with pride at the performance of their six-year old. On another day, us oldsters got hooked with the rendition of the musical Maria from West Side Story and Memories from Cats sang ala Broadway. They now make up the pages of sweet reminiscence that we will lovingly leaf through during the serene hours of creeping old age.
Also in that book of memories was lapping in Noordam's swimming pool, too short, however, for this swimming buff of a seventy-year old. Absent from that book would be a session at the casino because gambling has never attracted Rudy and me. Kinda waste of time. Oh, well, to each his/her own different strokes. Moreover, the cigarette smoke emanating from some corners was a no-no to this cancer survivor.
Noordam has a library and I credit it for some excellent selections. But who is the bookworm who goes on a seven-day cruise and peruse on a book? Even then, I couldn't help spending some ten minutes skimming through Nelson Mandela: In His Own Words, a volume I would love to own about a Nobel Peace Prize awardee who worked for peace and stood against racism. Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
One of the joys of travel or a tour is meeting fellow Filipinos who enjoy the sights and sounds as much as you do and with whom you can converse in rapid-fire Pilipino. In Noordam, we were in the company of three other couples, two Filipina professionals married to Americans, one a retired military. Preoccupied with the ship's round-the-clock activities, we had brief greeting time, but we did spend tete-a-tete with Virgilio and Salud Lim of Sacramento, California, especially because we were seated together in the excursion to the Alaskan town of Juneau. Virgilio is into insurance, filming and scanning enterprise while Salud keeps house, an enviable job that requires no commute, the hearth and home kept conveniently for their grown-up children. They've been in the States for twenty years now and typify the migrants who came, saw, and through hard work and perseverance, realized the American dream.
This sojourn to Alaska typifies, too, for Rudy and me the Filipino middle class who sent sons and daughters through college after long years at the grindstone. Respite is wonderful as we take a breather in simple contentment unburdened by synthetic appearances and crass materialism. Next week: Ang Mga Bagong Bayani in Noordam.
(Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)