• last year
Babae ka, of course, malakas ka!

'Yan ang pinatunayan ng Pinay OFW na si Jonalyn Johns na talaga namang astig at pangmalakasan ang trabaho sa America. Ang kanya kasing trabaho, magmaneho ng mga dambuhalang 18-wheeler delivery truck na sa paniniwala ng ilan, mga lalaki lang daw ang makakagawa.

Bilang celebration ng Women's Month, tara at samahan natin si Jonalyn sa kanyang biyahe bilang Pinay Trucker sa ibang bansa sa kanyang pakikipagkwentuhan kay Doc Anna sa episode na ito ng #ShareKoLang.
Transcript
00:00 Okay, so I'm gonna go now. I'm gonna be the driver.
00:03 People think we're bulldozers.
00:07 You people think we're bulldozers.
00:10 Not only does the PINAY OFW, Jonalyn Johns, drive her vehicle,
00:16 but her job is to drive 18-wheeler delivery trucks in America.
00:23 Not only is she a driver,
00:25 she also helps secure their deliveries and install double trailers in the truck.
00:31 In the work that the bruscos do,
00:34 a woman is accompanying them on the road.
00:38 Cool, right?
00:40 Woohoo! That's it.
00:43 PINAY TRUCKER GIRLS! PINAY, PINAY TRUCKER GIRLS!
00:53 Hello, Kapuso! I'm Dr. Anna Tuazon,
00:56 your storyteller and psychologist at Shareko Lam.
00:59 We asked you what challenges you face at work as a woman.
01:05 We'll talk to your Shiner,
01:08 along with the Filipino OFW who drives 18-wheeler trucks in America,
01:14 Jonalyn Johns.
01:16 Hi, Jonalyn! Welcome to Shareko Lam!
01:18 Hello, Doc!
01:20 How did you get the opportunity to come to America?
01:24 It's a long story.
01:26 When I got pregnant, I had a single parent.
01:31 I knew that I wouldn't be able to live without a partner.
01:36 When I met my husband, we were just friends.
01:40 I just stuck with him, like a friend.
01:44 Then, at that time, things started to develop.
01:49 When I came here, I didn't want to bring my child with me
01:53 because I was a single mom when I met him.
01:56 But his mom said, "Just bring your child. I'll take care of him."
02:02 When we went to the US, his mom took care of my child.
02:08 While I was on the truck, my husband was with me.
02:12 So at some point, you got a work permit, right?
02:17 Yes, I got a work permit.
02:18 I was a bit engaged in truck driving because I was going to other places.
02:22 I was free.
02:24 I was like, "Oh, this is what trucking is like?"
02:27 Then, I saw that he was earning a lot of money.
02:30 So when I studied truck driving,
02:34 it was a bit intimidating.
02:37 I had a hard time studying because
02:41 people at the trucking school found out that my husband was a truck driver.
02:46 So they said, "Oh, you don't need to learn. You're okay. You're good."
02:51 So they didn't give me the opportunity to learn truck driving.
02:55 It's like you're not serious in class.
02:58 It's like you don't need to learn. Your husband is the only one who can drive.
03:02 I told them, "No, I'm here to learn."
03:05 Especially the stick.
03:07 So what they did to me, they said, "Just learn the automatic."
03:11 I said, "No, I want to learn this and that."
03:15 It's a bit hard, but I learned how to use the stick.
03:18 How did you realize, "Wait, I really want to use my truck driving skills?
03:24 I really want to do truck driving?"
03:26 So what I did was I worked at a nursing home.
03:30 I liked the nursing home because there were nurses there.
03:34 We talked to each other. I was happy with them.
03:37 So what happened was while my husband was doing truck driving,
03:42 it was Monday to Friday. Then on Saturday and Sunday, he was off.
03:47 While he was at home, I wasn't there.
03:50 My husband didn't want to see me because when he's over the road,
03:57 he doesn't sleep at home from Monday to Friday.
04:02 Plus on Saturday and Sunday, he didn't see me.
04:05 So almost like seven days, he didn't want to see me.
04:08 He said, "Why don't you just come with me and drive, and you can double your money."
04:14 He said, "And less hours."
04:17 So he said, "I'll double my income at the nursing home, and it'll be less hours."
04:22 And trucking is a very physical job, right?
04:27 It's really physical.
04:28 Yes.
04:29 So I imagine, if they're not used to seeing a female trucker,
04:35 Yes, yes.
04:36 you're going to different places.
04:38 When they see you get off the truck, "It's a lady. It's a woman."
04:43 What's their reaction?
04:45 Their reaction is, "I know a Filipino."
04:49 "Are you Filipino? Are you from the Philippines?"
04:52 "I'm from the Philippines."
04:53 That's their reaction.
04:55 "Did you drive that truck?"
04:57 "That's bigger than you."
04:59 "How can you reach the pedal?"
05:03 Because I'm short, 5'1".
05:06 They're really like, "How did you drive?"
05:10 So they asked me.
05:12 I said, "I can do it. I can reach the pedal."
05:16 I said, "I'll put a big hair."
05:18 So I reached it.
05:20 They're really like that.
05:22 They make me look at them.
05:24 Sometimes I put on a hat.
05:26 I can't see.
05:31 Because there's too much attention sometimes?
05:35 Yes, I'm shy.
05:38 I'm trying to hide so that men can see.
05:41 I see.
05:43 Sometimes you don't want to deal with the hassle.
05:47 That's their reaction.
05:49 It's like, "Okay, let's just say."
05:51 Jacket, boots, bag.
05:55 So, you know, a hat.
05:57 It's something that not a lot of women do.
06:00 At the same time, Jonalyn,
06:02 are there challenges?
06:04 Yes, because some are really hard.
06:08 Especially the physical ones.
06:10 You have to strap the load.
06:12 You have to tarp.
06:14 It's really hard.
06:16 And the back-up of the trailer.
06:18 It takes time.
06:19 You have to practice.
06:20 So the more you do it,
06:22 you'll get it.
06:24 So it's a bit hard.
06:26 Most of the time,
06:28 you'll be down even if you haven't tried it.
06:32 It's like, "You can't do it.
06:34 You can't do it.
06:35 Why are you driving?"
06:37 So it's okay.
06:40 As long as we give it time.
06:43 We'll learn.
06:44 If you enjoy it,
06:46 it's easier.
06:48 It's like your work is getting easier.
06:50 So, that's it.
06:53 Speaking of what you enjoy,
06:56 what's the most enjoyable part of trucking?
07:01 I like to stop at my favorite truck stops.
07:06 Like window shopping.
07:08 Looking around.
07:09 I'll stop at my husband's favorite restaurant.
07:13 We went there.
07:14 The beautiful scenery.
07:17 The big mountains.
07:19 You'll pass by flat.
07:21 You'll see the scenery.
07:23 The trees.
07:24 The house.
07:26 It's so relaxing.
07:28 We asked our listeners
07:31 what their challenges were
07:34 as a woman.
07:37 Some of them said,
07:40 "As an OFW,
07:42 being with other people,
07:44 some people look down on you
07:47 because you're a woman.
07:49 Have you experienced cultural differences
07:53 especially when it comes to women?
07:56 Did you face such challenges?
07:59 Yes.
08:01 Actually, in our work,
08:03 sometimes, people look down on me.
08:05 Especially men.
08:06 They say, "Oh, you need to go home.
08:09 Go home, back to China."
08:11 I say, "I'm not from China."
08:13 They really look down on me.
08:15 Sometimes, on social media,
08:18 they comment,
08:19 "Oh, you need to go back home and cook."
08:23 "Go home and take care of the kids."
08:26 "And cook rice."
08:30 Sometimes, they say,
08:33 "I don't think you drive.
08:35 Your husband drives."
08:37 It's like they're showing me
08:40 that I drive.
08:42 Some people think I drive.
08:45 I say, "No, I drive."
08:47 Although my husband helped me
08:50 get a job in this field,
08:52 I'm still the one doing the action.
08:55 I'm the one doing the action
08:59 so I can continue.
09:00 But I say,
09:02 to myself,
09:03 sometimes, to other people,
09:06 I say,
09:07 "I think they're doing it
09:09 because they can't do our job."
09:16 They say things like that
09:19 so we know that
09:21 they're putting us down.
09:23 But I just ignore them.
09:25 I say, "It's okay."
09:26 Or maybe they're just having a bad day.
09:28 I just say that to myself.
09:30 Let's not pay attention to them.
09:32 I mean, that's a very positive attitude.
09:36 Are you really like that from the start?
09:38 Of course, you start before you move.
09:40 Isn't that painful?
09:44 To be treated like that?
09:46 Yes, I cry.
09:48 Sometimes, I cry when I can't handle the comments.
09:51 But I say, "It's okay.
09:53 Let's not pay attention."
09:55 It hurts my heart.
09:57 I say, "Let's just ignore them."
09:58 They didn't know me, really, personally.
10:01 They didn't know how it takes
10:04 for me to get here.
10:05 Are you always driving with your husband?
10:08 Or sometimes, you're on your own?
10:10 Most of the time,
10:11 we're the ones who drive.
10:13 But there were only a few times
10:15 that I drove alone.
10:17 I couldn't do it.
10:18 Not physically.
10:20 I couldn't do it physically.
10:21 I couldn't do it emotionally
10:23 because my husband wasn't next to me.
10:27 So, I'm used to him being there.
10:32 When I wake up, I see him.
10:34 When he wakes up, I'm there.
10:37 So, that's what I noticed.
10:41 This truck driver,
10:43 not only is he physically difficult,
10:45 he's also emotionally painful.
10:47 It's hard.
10:48 Especially, the men.
10:50 When they leave,
10:52 their husband is at home.
10:54 So, I felt like it's difficult
10:57 to be away from my family.
11:00 Someone said,
11:01 "I can't complain that I can't do it anymore.
11:05 I was told before that I'm a woman.
11:08 So, I want to prove that I can do what they do."
11:12 Can you relate to this comment?
11:15 Yes.
11:16 Yes, I can relate to that.
11:19 Because, they thought that
11:22 because I'm a woman,
11:24 I'm small,
11:25 I can't do this job.
11:28 So, I said, "I'll video this."
11:31 So, now, in digital times,
11:37 it's easier to prove that we can do this.
11:41 Not just judging ourselves
11:44 that we can't do it.
11:46 So, I said, "No, I can do it.
11:48 If she can do it, I can do it."
11:50 Something like that.
11:51 That's what's sad, right?
11:53 Especially, for women.
11:55 Because, there's nothing female about asking for help.
11:59 Everybody asks for help.
12:01 And, everybody should ask for help.
12:04 If we need help,
12:05 we shouldn't be reluctant.
12:08 There are more problems if we don't ask for help.
12:14 But, because of the experience of women,
12:17 sometimes, we say,
12:19 "Because you're a woman, you can't do it."
12:21 "Because you're a woman, you should ask for help."
12:24 "You should ask for help."
12:25 "We're judging you."
12:27 So, we're reluctant.
12:29 When, in fact,
12:30 men ask for help, too.
12:33 Not just women.
12:35 So, I hope, my dear,
12:37 we can't be reluctant.
12:39 Ask for help.
12:40 Ask for assistance.
12:42 Instead of, let's let it go.
12:45 Many of our viewers
12:47 commented about work-life balance
12:50 as a challenge for women in working.
12:54 So, a viewer said,
12:56 "How can two people work together
13:00 to take care of their children
13:02 and to work properly?"
13:05 Another viewer said,
13:07 "My challenge is to work at night
13:10 and go home in the morning
13:11 to take care of my children who are studying
13:14 and my baby."
13:15 "A big challenge in life
13:17 to be able to support my family
13:20 as a working single mom
13:21 in the hard and expensive life of buying."
13:24 Now, you've been through that, right?
13:27 Yes, I've been through that.
13:30 Yes.
13:31 And how old is your kid now?
13:34 She's 16.
13:36 So, how was it for you to balance?
13:40 Because you brought your child
13:42 to take care of.
13:43 And then, I'm sure,
13:44 you've also been able to integrate in the family.
13:47 Your husband.
13:48 I told myself,
13:50 and I also told my child,
13:51 that I need to work.
13:53 I need to do this for you
13:54 so I can give you a better life.
13:56 I told her,
13:57 that, you know,
13:58 I understood.
14:01 I told her, let's not waste it.
14:03 I'm doing this for you.
14:05 So that our generation,
14:07 or the next generation,
14:08 will have a better life.
14:10 Because I grew up poor.
14:12 I want your life to be
14:15 more spacious.
14:17 I want her to be proud of me.
14:19 I want my daughter to be proud.
14:21 That was my inspiration
14:23 to change my life.
14:26 That's where it started.
14:27 It's like, for her,
14:29 it's her ambition.
14:31 Yes.
14:32 No, it can't just be here.
14:34 It needs to go up.
14:36 It needs to go up.
14:38 So, how do you make it work?
14:40 Do you make time for family time?
14:42 Weekends?
14:43 Yes.
14:44 I talk to her every day.
14:47 Before school,
14:49 I message her,
14:50 "How are you? Good morning.
14:51 How's your day?"
14:52 Like that.
14:53 It's like,
14:54 it's the same process
14:55 when me and my husband
14:57 was in a long distance relationship.
14:59 I always talk to her.
15:01 So I message her,
15:03 "How was your day?
15:04 Was it okay?
15:05 Was your assignment hard?
15:07 Do you need to be open?"
15:10 I tell her.
15:11 It's effective.
15:13 My husband said,
15:15 and he's very supportive,
15:17 "If you don't talk to your daughter,
15:19 she'll find someone else to talk to."
15:22 Like that.
15:23 So, you should be the one
15:25 to talk to her.
15:27 Yeah.
15:28 So, even if your job
15:29 takes you away for days,
15:31 your commitment
15:32 to talk to her
15:34 every day,
15:35 and then when you're home,
15:36 I assume,
15:37 right?
15:38 We do things together.
15:40 It's like that.
15:42 Yeah.
15:43 So, we have a Kapusyo
15:45 who's a man
15:46 who commented
15:47 on our post.
15:49 Our male Kapusyo said,
15:52 "I noticed that other women
15:54 are bad when there are things
15:57 that we don't let them do.
16:00 They think we're underestimating
16:02 their ability,
16:03 but it's not true.
16:04 Sometimes, we're just being
16:06 too gentle.
16:08 Because we know that there are
16:10 things that we men can do better."
16:13 I agree with that.
16:16 Because sometimes,
16:17 my husband is like that too.
16:18 "Oh, it's just me."
16:20 But sometimes,
16:22 we should try too.
16:24 Even if our partner
16:25 or our friend
16:27 or I can do it,
16:29 we should expose ourselves too.
16:32 Because if we don't
16:34 expose ourselves,
16:36 if we do that,
16:38 because if we do that,
16:41 if it's hard,
16:43 we'll have a hard time
16:45 if we're alone.
16:46 So, we need to do it
16:48 so that we'll know.
16:50 Maybe if the intention is really,
16:53 especially if your partner,
16:54 of course, you love each other,
16:56 so you want to help each other.
16:59 Or maybe,
17:00 especially if we respect each other,
17:02 we're a Kapwa, right?
17:03 Kapwa Trucker, right?
17:04 We help each other out.
17:05 I'm sure there's a community for that.
17:07 That would be okay.
17:09 And because we have
17:11 what we call benevolent sexism.
17:14 "Oh, because you can't do it,
17:16 so I'll do it."
17:17 So, maybe it depends on
17:19 their premise.
17:20 "Oh, she can't do it,
17:21 she's a woman.
17:22 I'll do it."
17:24 Rather than,
17:25 "Oh, fellow trucker,
17:27 let's help each other."
17:29 Let's help each other out.
17:31 Maybe if that's how it comes from,
17:34 it's okay.
17:36 We have other Kapuso
17:38 who mentioned that
17:40 sometimes we can't avoid
17:42 sexual harassment
17:44 that happens at work.
17:46 One Kapuso said,
17:48 "Sexual harassment,
17:49 even if it's just for fun,
17:53 but you can't complain
17:55 because you're in a foreign country."
17:57 Now, in a way,
17:58 at least if you're trucking,
17:59 you're on your own
18:00 or you're with your husband
18:01 most of the time.
18:03 But for them,
18:04 you're stopping,
18:05 you're resting.
18:07 Sometimes,
18:08 maybe some are too excited
18:10 that there's a female trucker.
18:11 Maybe they're flirting,
18:13 hitting on.
18:14 Have you experienced that?
18:16 What happened to me recently,
18:19 I went to buy drinks
18:21 that night.
18:23 And there was a guy
18:25 who asked,
18:26 "What do you want to get?"
18:29 I said,
18:30 "Oh, just sweet tea."
18:32 He said,
18:35 "I'll pay for it."
18:36 He paid for it.
18:37 When he paid,
18:38 he asked,
18:39 "Can I ride the truck?"
18:41 I said,
18:42 "Oh my gosh, no."
18:43 I said,
18:44 "No, I gotta go."
18:46 I was a bit scared.
18:48 I said,
18:49 "I have to avoid
18:50 situations like this."
18:52 Is that one of the reasons
18:54 that you prefer
18:56 to ride with your husband
18:58 rather than do it all alone?
19:00 Yes.
19:02 Because your job is dangerous.
19:04 Yes, it's dangerous.
19:06 You're always stopped at night,
19:08 early morning.
19:10 Do you have a final message,
19:12 especially to our female customers,
19:14 who are dealing with the challenge?
19:16 Maybe they're not truckers,
19:18 but they're struggling
19:21 with their work-life balance.
19:23 My advice is,
19:25 first of all,
19:27 we should have dreams, goals,
19:29 and imagination.
19:31 We should have a lot of them
19:33 so that we know
19:35 what we're going to do.
19:37 Whatever your dream is,
19:39 whether it's truck driving
19:40 or any other difficult job,
19:42 try it before
19:44 you give up.
19:46 You should try it first.
19:49 That's right, Jonah Lynn.
19:52 Instead of listening
19:54 to what others say,
19:56 what we can't do,
19:58 what we shouldn't do,
20:00 listen to yourself first.
20:03 Especially to women,
20:05 many of them tell us
20:07 that they can't do it.
20:09 "Let's just take care of our kids."
20:11 Things like that.
20:13 But I hope,
20:15 there are many messages
20:17 like that out there,
20:19 I hope it doesn't come from us.
20:21 Let's not stop ourselves.
20:23 That's right.
20:25 Many people stop us,
20:27 many challenges.
20:29 I hope we can be
20:31 the source of inspiration.
20:33 We can inspire ourselves.
20:35 Look at Jonah Lynn.
20:37 I hope she inspires herself.
20:39 Whatever makes us happy.
20:41 Let's not be afraid to be ambitious.
20:43 Okay, thank you so much,
20:45 Jonah Lynn,
20:47 for sharing your story.
20:49 I know that you continue
20:51 to share your daily,
20:53 not daily, but your life
20:55 as a trucker
20:57 in the US.
20:59 I hope you become the source
21:01 of inspiration,
21:03 not just relegated
21:05 to the job of a woman.
21:07 Whatever we want,
21:09 just try it.
21:11 Go, just go.
21:13 Thank you so much, Jonah Lynn.
21:15 You're welcome.
21:17 Thank you, Doc.
21:19 If you have something to talk about,
21:21 just leave a comment below
21:23 or email us at
21:25 sharecolang@gmainews.tv
21:27 We're also streaming
21:29 on Spotify,
21:31 Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
21:33 Thanks for tuning in.
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