Working in America, My Filipina Wife's Experience

Your Filipina will likely want to work in your country. Mine was a teacher for special needs children in the Philippines. Hard working-not a complainer.

My wife started as a temporary worker and later got hired full-time. She sends money home monthly, pays two bills, invests for her future and now has a car payment! Oh, and a 401-K too. One time her momma thanked me profusely for my wife’s latest help. She thanked me because as my wife put it, “you allowed me to”. If she can work that may eliminate issues with money to help her family. It is appropriate to help her family. While in the Philippines, my wife told me she wanted to work in America “with me”, meaning, she wanted to go to work with me at my company, which is a large manufacturing plant of close to 600 employees.

I didn’t know how that could be accomplished, but I told her I would pray for this to happen and God made a way! We got her SSN, then she was able to work and pay taxes. While on a long vacation with my wife after she arrived, we went to the agency and she got an interview, did a language and math assessment, signed up on a website, did a drug test, watched a video on the particular department she’d be working in, then we prayed for an opportunity. Since she couldn’t drive at the time, the ONLY option was a packaging area near mine that started at 6 am. Since I started at 7, my boss was kind enough to allow me to start at 6 so I could drive her to her job with me! Sure enough and praise God, the call came as my company specifically asked for her. We worked at the same time until they changed her hours.

Even starting out she made a lot more than an average worker would in the Philippines. She was supposed to be there for 2 to 3 weeks for a certain rework project was completed then no guarantees. She was giddy. I talked to her at length about the need to make a good first impression and she certainly did! I told my wife jobs are not automatic by any means here in America and talked to her about the little things they would be looking for such as punctuality to work and from breaks, not complaining, asking questions, being polite and friendly, and “sticking your nose to the grindstone”. She is beautiful and little and looks younger than her 29 years. People could talk since they know or will find out I am her husband and am much older than she is. I was a little nervous the first day we showed up together just because I wondered how people would react when we saw each other at breaks.

We always sit together and I haven’t sensed any “talk” about us. We sit very close together, but that is how we are anywhere else. I have to resist hugging and kissing her because she isn’t comfortable with PDA. The table we sit at is where her coworkers sit so I stand out when I sit with her but everyone treats us like any other couple. No doubt there will be curiosity and coworkers will talk about us (hubby also talks a lot about his Filipina). They have seen her photos on my screensaver. She is very attractive and many men will talk about her, but I can’t control that. I already have heard after I married her in the Philippines that not everyone at work thought highly of that move. Working might be a great way for her to integrate herself in my country and to help with homesickness. She calls the group leaders “sir”. I am very proud of her. My boss introduced himself to her and told her he had heard good things about her. Wow.

Now she has ten little work uniforms and that was a good sign they wanted to keep her indefinitely. They found her the smallest size of shirt and pants and they are still too big! She is thrilled she can get paid for not working (vacation, care giving leave). Tends to work 40-60 hours a week. And, despite how much she likes to work, she told my mom she would quit her job to take care of her if she needed that. “Filipinas make the best wives” they say. No argument here! Even with this work schedule she is still able to take care of our home and me too. She has embraced saving money.

She even saves coins. She doesn’t have to live one day at a time anymore. She has her own checking account, joint checking account, investment, 401-K and a credit card for cash back. She also insists we use a grocery card that gives us some cash back on gas purchases! There have been no problems with money being used behind my back. I have treated her like an adult, like my wife, from the start. Maybe this is why she is eager to be responsible with money.

Maybe it is because she is just good with money, but I have not had any horror stories with our finances.

I have a hard working woman in my Love Beyond The Sea!