Working on Christmas in California
Ally Pinto-Turbanada, a pharmacy technician from Morong, Rizal, loves how early Christmas starts in the Philippines. “As early as September, you can tell that it’s Christmas already.”
Her favorite part about the holidays? “Gift giving. I love the thought of giving.”
Here at home, Pinto-Turbanada enjoys going to parties, seeing different groups of friends, and exchanging gifts with them.
She doesn’t really get to do that in Elk Grove, California, where she’s lived for about three years now. While she does try to arrange parties with loved ones, those need to be planned months ahead because of people’s schedules. She said, “Some of us work during the holiday season.”
That includes Pinto-Turbanada. “Honestly speaking, we don’t celebrate Christmas here. All we do right now is schedule ourselves at work. Here, it’s just an ordinary holiday, and we live far from our families.”
Still, she has created new traditions with her husband Paulo. “We put up Christmas decorations outside our house and make it as bright as possible. This is the only way to feel Christmas away from home. It hits different when you come home from work and see those bright lights.”
Another new tradition? Going to Lake Tahoe to enjoy the snow. “As a kid, we all dreamt of a white Christmas since it doesn’t snow in the Philippines. But we do this the day after Christmas because we go to work on Christmas day.”
They usually go to church on Christmas Eve and prepare Noche Buena — “but not as grand as what we prepare in the Philippines. For us, it’s just a simple dinner.”
Gift-giving is a big part of Christmas for her, no matter where she is in the world. “I still continue giving aguinaldo to our inaanak, or even our friends’ children. It feels different because we are not home to hear ‘namamasko po’ or ’mano po, ninang/ninong.’”
This year, they’ll be spending the day at work and then visiting friends to hand out gifts. ”This is my new normal now. Acquiring tickets to go home during holidays may be difficult, but spending the rest of the day talking to our families through video calls back home will ease the loneliness we feel here,” said Pinto-Turbanada.
