Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Americans take many things for granted. The environment we live in, the clean water we have, the sparkling beautiful bathrooms that leave us “oo-ing” and “ah-ing”. Most people do not know that most of the world does not live in conditions similar to the U.S., in fact, it is the complete opposite.My parents came from the bustling metropolis of Manila, Philippines. There, they grew up and learned how to act in the culture, learning languages like Chinese, English, and Filipino. Their experience with poor air quality is quite vivid. This is because they lived in it.
It is not exactly what we would call an ideal living condition. I quote from my mother, “ cough, cough, the smog in downtown Manila was so bad, I could not see where I was going.”But after a visit, I discovered our entire family did pretty well for their living standards. They live with a roof over their heads and they always have food to put on the table. I thought “Gee, I would like to live to here.”I would always have family around for every holiday of the year.
The Philippines is actually one of the most polluted countries in the world, just slightly below some other highly polluted Asian countries. The WHO organization reports that most of the pollutants come from the emissions from vehicles. My father once told me in Chinese, “Sure they live well, but you must count the chance that you put your health at risk.” The darker side of the picture is always the hardest to hear. But it is so easy to hear about what goes on in impoverished, less fortunate countries because you are not experiencing it.
Now I understand what kind of sacrifice my parents went through just to start a family in the United States as I sit here and breathe the fresh clean air that blows into many of the facilities at my campus and even at home.
Furthermore, what we should take from this is that everyone should take initiative to maintain this air quality that we already have in the United States. As a tip, you can reduce the amount of toxicity that enters the air by riding bicycles to visit a friend three blocks over instead of driving. Parents can car pull with a neighbor who is also going to see their son or daughter play in soccer championships, saving money on your gas bill. You can volunteer to help repair air ducts in low-income school around the area. Remember, we are truly fortunate.
This article is part of a series entitled "Living in my Chinese-American home"
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