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The Filipino connection

I may as well call it the Pinoy network. With over 12 million Filipinos living outside the country, chances are high that you will meet a “kabayan “ (fellow Filipino) when you are traveling to other places.

More than just those we chance upon at airports and cruises, we also have relatives who live in the US, Australia and Canada – three of the most popular countries to immigrate to. I think it is more difficult to find someone in our midst who does not have a relative abroad.

During my recent trip, I passed Los Angeles on my way to and on my way back from Guatemala. And in Los Angeles we found a few friends and blood relations. Pinoys, as we call ourselves (and Pinas is how some call home), congregate wherever there is a church, a Filipino restaurant and, more recently, when a Jollibee opens in the neighborhood.

We attended the soft opening of a Filipino-owned coffee shop called Teofilo Coffee in Carson, California founded by Filipino-American engineer entrepreneur Ron Dizon. I met Ron around four years ago as he emailed us looking for Philippine coffee. On every trip I bring him the latest coffee samples of Liberica or Barako and the latest nano lot of an Arabica variety. Ron invited friends and family to this momentous event as he has boldly expanded to a bigger location in Carson.

There I met members of the Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce, a Filipina doctor who’s been in the states for 20 years and a barista/manager who’s been there for almost 25 years! Though they come from different careers, they gathered this Sunday to just network and support a kabayan who’s blazing trails in the coffee scene of California.

And networking is the secret sauce for Filipinos who want to succeed while living abroad. Networking opens your doors to financial advice when you buy your first home, when you are looking to change jobs or even knowing how and when to retire. My own relatives Agnes and James are active members of these communities that provide an ecosystem  for success and sometimes even just for survival in the tough work environments abroad.

So when you decide to live abroad, make sure you get to know the Filipino network. In Japan where we last spent  our vacation, a

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