Being in a Merchant navy I have got a chance to work with different nationalities such as Russians, Ukrainians, Sri-Lankans and so on. But my favorite has always been Filipinos because of their food and happening culture. So I would like to take this opportunity to share an outsider's perspective towards Filipino's way of life .
BRIDGE:
Bridge is the place where navigation takes place on the ship. So when I was a cadet I used to go to the bridge from 4-8 hours in the morning, so along with me ,one officer and one seamen used come to assist us primarily in navigation. He was very friendly and talkative. Basically he was the major source to dissipate boredom during the silent hours. Whereas he was very hardworking and punctual at the same time. Never used to come late and taught me many things regarding different purpose of navigational flags and other symbols. I was so afraid to steer my vessel in heavy weather but luckily with the help of Jun (name of seamen) who taught me how to steer and made it look so easy within few days of training.
Galley mischiefs :
My cook was also Filipino, everyday he was committed to give special masala tea for me during breaks. He also permitted me to take anything from the provisions and instructed me to handle the key safely. He was so maestro in making pork dishes and seafood that in no time I was fond of Filipino cuisines. Later on he started to save some Filipinos dishes which became my weakness onboard. Some of my favorite dishes which I recall were adobo , sinigang, crispy pata, bulalo, Tagalog, fried lumpia, Inihaw na liempo, and many more. Whenever captain used to throw a party, he always initiates the menu and make various types of cuisine for different nationalities present onboard. One time he made me cook fried lumpia and scolded me every time I filled incorrectly though I enjoyed a lot spending time with him because of his very sarcastic jokes and humorous behavior. I can never forget his mouth watering biryani on every social Sundays.
Mighty Pumpman :
This guy out of every person present on that ship, he was pretty remarkable to me. I spent my almost every working day with him. He was very fit & had craziest abs in his late 40's plus was so expert in his job too .Since I was working with him I took the advantage to learn all technical knowledge regarding pumps, valves, and some other necessary maintenance tricks required to deal incase of emergencies. We became such a good friends even though we had almost 25 years of age gap in between us. I still remember his catchphrase which was "Sh*t na malakit", fortunately I don't remember the meaning of it because I'm sure it doesn't sound nice at all. He was so caring that many time he had covered me up and saved me from my seniors during heavy schedules and long working routines.
Karaoke nights :
For those who are not aware of ,every Filipinos is an excellent singer (they really are). Every day in our recreational room all Filipinos seafarer used to come together and sing all night long. I was so mesmerized to look , that one day Pumpman insisted me to have a try but unlike others I was very timid ,though deep inside I knew my inside Rockstar wanted to get unleashed.
So one day I held the microphone and started lip syncing with the one direction songs, and guess what happened nobody laughed which awarded me the boost and made me sing more & more on the loose. I also performed along with others on my birthday too.
Chief cook, Pumpman and other crew members presented a two layered hand made creamy orange cake on my birthday. I will never forget that significant day because everyone gifted me something or the other but the most important thing they all provided me the sense of belongingness on the most exceptional day of my life even though our native language was different.
I love sailing with every nationalities but Filipino's have special place in my heart. Unlucky for me that I couldn't share the photos with you all as I have lost it somewhere.
Cheers & Thanks for reading!!
