Thursday, May 20, 2010

Seriously people?

I took this picture to PhotoLine, the photo printing store at Cash-n-Carry, this morning to get a copy printed. The technician transfers the file from my thumb drive to their computer system that is in the store's waiting area. I tell him my order, pay the 67 pesos, and then Addie and I go down to grocery to get a snack to wait out then 30 minutes processing time. We come back to pick-up the prints and as we are waiting I see a woman on the other side of the store with her cell phone up snapping a photo of Addie and I. I glare at her until she moves out of my sight. This is when I turn and notice that some of the other customers are at the computer and have pulled-up my picture file. They are waving their friends over to look at the girls' picture. I was so irritated that there was no thought for our privacy or private property and frankly Mama Bear just took over and stormed over to the computer. I scattered all the snoopers and closed the file. The culprits just smiled their non-confrontational smiles, laughed, diverted their eyes from mine, and left the store. I then demanded that the technicians not allow customers view other people's pictures and insist that they delete the photo in front of me when the printing was done. We grabbed our pictures, watched them delete the file and empty the recycle bin, then leave.

Seriously, this place drives me nuts sometimes. I just want to scream at these people "Do you understand that we get this all day, every day? It's not cute anymore, just get over it. We're white, get over it, there are lots of white people here. Leave us ALONE!!!" I'm so sick of getting stared at and having people secretly taking my picture and my kids picture. I'm about one more incident like this away from completely blowing my lid on someone. God help the next Filipino who crosses me like this because Mama Bear is not someone you cross.

I cannot wait to get back to the States this summer and blend into the crowd. I just need some peace from this place and all it's insanity.

7 comments:

Jill said...

Oh Mama Bear ... I TOTALLY understand where you're coming from. It IS annoying. It IS rude. It drives me absolutely nuts when this happens here ... and it does ALL THE TIME!

Blending in with the crowd... oh how much joy that will bring us all this summer!

The Gunning Family said...
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Kristin said...

Yay for this summer!

Sara said...

Thanks for the comment Donna but we never use our last name on the blog. I think the girls are pretty darn cute too!

Brienne™ said...

Imagine a whole lifetime of it. That's how us colored folk in the states get treated constantly!!

Sara said...

I was just telling my Mom that now I know what it feels like to be a minority.

Sunny said...

Watch out Manila, Mama Bear is out.

Sorry Sara, it sucks. I worry that somewhere on the internets are all these cell phone pics of our kids. I don't understand it and I don't like it.

And really Brienne? Really, actually I don't think its like that in the states, at. all. Because in the states there are multiple races and people that live together and have lived together their whole life. Diversity is a beautiful thing and they have it in America! The Philippines however, is racially homogenous which makes for all sorts of hilarious social faux pas.

It reminds me of my favorite Guffaman line, "I can certainly understand how the Kennedys feel."