Personal Appearance

October  8th, 2012

One thing that we PCT’s have looked forward to upon joining the PC family is the ability to have an unkempt appearance and blame it on the lack of amenities or access to water, clean water or the work that we do.  We come with a perception that the people we live among are not as clean or well groomed as us because we have more access to these things.  On the contrary, the Filipino people take personal grooming and hygiene serious and will shun you if you are not the same, clean, smelling good and wearing clean clothes.  Back in the United States I always made sure that my clothes were clean and properly fit.  I even washed clothes after wearing the item only once. It is easy for us to say we will get the most wear out of our clothes here and goes weeks without washing garments.  By doing so we tell ourselves that this will help us to better integrate into the community.  Definitely not the case.  My family has a woman who comes to our house weekly to wash clothes.  I look at all of the laundry that is affixed on the lines outside and compare it to my laundry basket that is mostly underclothes and wonder, "Am I not washing oft en enough as I should?"  It definitely depends.  I would think that with not having running water, the family would wash less, but it seems just the opposite.   

This is especially true working in the DSWD.  It’s like working with agencies at home; therefore I must make sure that my appearance is pleasant.  Filipinos may take baths 2-3 times a day and constantly change clothes.  So the romanticized dream of looking like a savage and unkempt while in the PC is not true across the board.  For me I have to keep my hair done every week and I make sure to wash it.  When I straightened my hair the women were amazed although it was harder to maintain with this humid weather.  Now I prefer to wear my braids.   On the weekends I do however take advantage of the modest PC look especially when riding on the Jeepneys or Tricycles.