I can't escape my laborer roots

OK, this is a really random post, but I thought it was interesting so I hope no one is offended because I'm going to be pretty general. Generally speaking, when we think of laborers in the US we usually associate that with our friends from the south - Mexicans. I must say, being half Mexican and all, we definitely are the hardest working people in the US! :) Anyhow, imagine my surprise when I find out who the typical laborers are in Hong Kong - Filipinos! My other half! Haha. Filipinos here don't do the same type of typical laborer work that Mexicans do in the US because of the different economy. Everyone in Hong Kong has what people call "helpers." They are referring to maids, nannies, even chauffers. Everyone has them, even if they don't have kids because they are really really inexpensive. Not all helpers are Filipino, there are Chinese helpers, but they are usually part time and not live in. Also, Indonesian helpers are very common and may actually be more popular than Filipino ones.

Many of the helpers from the Philippines are full time and live in the homes of the people who employ them. Most of them are here without their families, even for decades, and just send money back to the Philippines to their families. On Sundays, all the helpers have the day off so the markets and beaches are packed! How crazy and random is that? So, basically what this means is that I am obviously really good at my job and very hardworking. It also means that I should be good at cleaning and what not, but everyone knows I hate it!!

I am trying to make light of this, but actually it's really kind of sad. They are paid really low wages and somehow are able to survive (probably because they live in with the family and have no expenses) and they even manage to send money back to their families! It's very sad that they have to be away from them for so many years, however the families that employ helpers do have to pay for them to return home once a year. Aww, just another example of the socioeconomic dynamics of another country!