We've been here five months and I haven't found a decent job. By decent, I mean a job that pays above average, provides insurance, and boosts my self esteem. There, I said it.
Back in the PI, I had a good job. Heck, I had a great job. It paid twice the rates my Suma Cum Laude classmate earns. I was respected by a team and my line of work was something that only a few can stay good at. I was someone back home yet here I am in the Land of the Free feeling so small and invisible.
I've had a number of phone calls and interviews but no position fell through. It's just so frustrating. If I were back in the PI, I would've landed any job I wanted because I know I have what it takes.
But then again this is the exact situation The Mister has been warning me about. Months before we left, he was conditioning me; he wanted me to erase that someone mentality. Because here, it will not matter where you come from or what your previous jobs were. It will not matter whether you work in an office or in a factory line - money is money. If you work hard, you get paid. If you do not work, you can't buy the stuff that you want. Simple. Pride is irrelevant.
Perhaps I should shrug this third world disposition off. Back in the PI, job title and paycheck defines who you are. Well at least that's how I saw it. But here, it doesn't really matter. A bank manager and a cleaning lady can drive the same car and can eat the same food. Heck, they can ever wear the same brand of cologne and no one will give a shit.
Maybe it's an Asian thing that I have. As cliche as it may be, it is actually true what they say that Asians are overachieving smartasses. We are, but I have to get out of my little Asian bubble and start embracing the frame of mind that these Joes have.
The American culture amazes me at times. And hopefully that culture rubs off on me soon. Real soon, otherwise I'm gonna lose my mind.
