The surrounding district is not densely populated, hence, there are many green areas surrounding the vicinity. This provides a healthy and safer environment of fresh air, low noise, and less traffic compared with many population centres. Moreover, the natural surroundings provide greater opportunity for relaxation and recreation outside work and school hours.

1. My Pinoy Life in Essex
By: Illustrado

2. Marvelin Madridejos
Since when have you been staying there? Can you recount briefly why you
moved there?
I have moved here in June 2005. I was based in Singapore previously, but was also
involved in the Taiwan High Speed Project in Taiwan for four years. After the project
finished, I went back to the Philippines to take a breather and to consider my next move.
After a few months, I decided to go to England because I was always fascinated with the
country, especially every time I saw English movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral,
Notting Hill and the Full Monty – I have always wondered what it was like living here. I
packed my luggage and headed here and told myself that this would be my next
destination.

3.
Tell us something about your place?
I am currently living in the Southeast of England, the county of Essex. It is excellent for road
and train transport links, with commutable access to shops, the town centre and central
London. There are three main National Train Stations nearby where commuters take a
thirty minute train ride to London.
My location is very close to Basildon Town Centre with travel time by car of approximately
five minutes and on foot by about 10­15 minutes. This town center is filled with small shops
and restaurants, and two major retailers Marks and Spencer and Debenhams. There are
also two large supermarkets, and a few shops for computers and other electronics. It is
complete with amenities, parish churches and post offices. There are also various primary
and secondary schools nearby. From what I’ve heard, Basildon also hosts the biggest car
boot sale in the UK where you could find a lot of cheap second hand items in good quality,
even antiques that sometimes, people sell very cheap without even knowing the real value
to find out that they actually cost thousands of pounds.
The surrounding district is not densely populated, hence, there are many green areas
surrounding the vicinity. This provides a healthy and safer environment of fresh air, low
noise, and less traffic compared with many population centres. Moreover, the natural
surroundings provide greater opportunity for relaxation and recreation outside work and
school hours.

4. What do you do for a living?
I am working in London as Senior Cost Consultant (which is equivalent to a Cost Engineer
in America or the Philippines) in one of the biggest engineering and consulting firms here
in the UK.
Is there a Filipino community there?
Where I live, there is a Filipino community here but I am not a quite active member, to be
honest. I do attend Filipino gatherings when convenient and when my schedule permits.
Most of the Filipinos here are nurses.
Tell us about your life there?
My life here in the UK is actually not so different from my previous life, probably because I
have already met a lot of people from different walks of life. I have adjusted very well and
very fast – I guess that’s what Filipinos are known for. I have made some friends at work
and through other acquaintances. It’s a typical nine to five for me from Mondays to Fridays
in the office in front of the computer and drawings and other papers, meetings or
discussions. I think English people love to talk – it’s the one thing one would notice after
living here for some time.

5. What cultural practices/behaviors have you acquired from your host country?
I have developed the habit if drinking a lot of teas, especially English tea which I was not
very keen about when I was in the Philippines or any other part of the world. And every
Christmas I always make sure that I have a least a bite of the popular Christmas pudding
and English roasted chicken. One thing that I like here is the country’s richness in arts and
culture, and I have learned to appreciate the works of European artists like John Constable,
Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and many others. I have also started
collecting some antiques – a very popular hobby here in England, and I now appreciate
theatre more and have watched a few plays. Unfortunately when I came here, Miss Saigon
had long gone so I was not able to see our own Filipino artists performing in the capital.