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november 2014

PHILIPPINES
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Column

AllibethPoyugao Kreutzer
Enjoying the Sound of Music in Carinthia, Austria

I always compare my life here in Austria with

the famous Sound of Music, only that Maria is
portrayed by a Filipino woman in me, Allibeth
said. When she was younger, Allibeth or Lelet to
friends said that she dreamt about having a house
in the middle of rice fields, away from neighbors but
much closer to nature. Lelet describes her place in
Austria as surrounded by mountains, hills and warm
lakes that are spreading everywhere. It is a great
tourist destination in the country according to her.
And the Austrians - she describes them to be kind,
friendly and hardworking people. Austrians value the
privacy, punctuality and taking care of their family and
property. They are very health conscious people. They
eat most of what they grow in their gardens. They also
love sports and travel. Austrians, according to Lelet
has a government that prioritizes the welfare of its
citizens. They have free education, even for those who
are in asylum, free medical coverage, double salary
every six months, and children gets a living allowance
of 150 euro monthly until age 18. Lelet said that she
is so blessed to live in Austria.

value the work that others do for them. Lelet said that
my bosses would say thank you to me at every end of
my shift working with them, and if there are guests in
their house, they would introduced my family, while their
guests would offer to shake our hands.

filipino

Spotted on the

map

On her free time, Lelet finds herself in the company

of other Filipinos, mostly on the weekends. She is
currently the Vice President of the Philippine Austrian
Association in Carinthia. The Filipino community in
Austria is very active, two big events in the summer and
the other during Christmas. Lelet is the communitys pick
as master of ceremonies in most Filipino gatherings in their area.
The Filipino community just recently held a pageant competition,
Mrs. PAAK, in October. The successful event was open to public
and gave the community an opportunity to showcase Filipinos
hospitality, food and entertainment at its best. An event like this
also allowsother Filipinos to convene in one setting and invite their
Austrian friends. Lelet said that Austrians are very impressed about
how we celebrate with dancing and singing during parties.There are
also plenty of religious groups in Austria that Filipinos are actively
involved with. I think that we Filipinos always look up to God, we are
very religious people. We have Couples for Christ and other Christian
groups here in Austria.

Ryan Tejero*

Lelet first came to Austria when she got invited by her sister
invited, with a tourist visa in 1990. While in Austria, she was offered
a job as an Au Pair. She took it even though it meant for her to
staylonger in Austria and knew that she will be away from her family
back home.Working in Austria a little of challenge because of a
language barrier. Austria is strictly German-speaking country. To
enhance her language skills, Lelet went to Klagenfurt University
in Carinthia to study German language. In a twist of fate, while in
attendance at the traditional Filipino Austrian Christmas Party
in 2002, Lelet met her love at first sight and now husband
Peter Kreutzer. They got married in 2008, and was blessed with
a beautiful daughter, Zoe Danielle. Lelet continued working as a
kindergarten teacher after a few months, while her husband worked
as a Chef. But when she got pregnant of their daughter, she decided
to drop her work and took a parental leave for 3 years after giving
birth to their daughter. With her daughter growing up to grade school
age, Lelet took a perfect job to work with an Austrian Royal Family.
With this job, she continues to care for her daughter and her family.
Lelet works 5 hours a day from 8 am to 1 pm, with free weekends,
earning 600 euro per month plus 160 square meters of apartment,
free water and electricity, 2 hectares of garden to enjoy, and use of
a swimming pool and tennis court all within the place where her
employers and their four children live. Lelet said, This was truly a
blessing for me.
Lelet said that she is so lucky to have worked with her currently
employers because they are very nice to her; she feels appreciated
and is being treated like a family member. They live in the same big
ancestral house, with separate entrance. The next neighbor house is
about 1 kilometer away. Lelet remembers her employers borrowing
milk from her when they got short, and in turn she would borrow eggs
from them. She said that her female employer would even borrow
her car when their own car is gone and being used by their children,
and her employer had picked-up her daughter from her school to go
out and play with children of other royal families. Austrians, she said
are very down to earth people. They are very respectful and they

Lelet and husband, Peter with

the majestic view of Carinthia,
Austria on the background.

Lelet resides in Klagenfurt, which is the city

capital of Carinthia Province. The place boasts of many
attractions from its natural features, the warm lakes,
the beautiful Alps and its two big annual events: the Iron
Man Austria and the Beach Volleyball. Winter in Austria
also offers a wide variety of winter sports, such as
mountain skiing. Carinthia is strategically located in the
borders of Slovenia and Italy. Lelet said that any tourist
can see three countries in one day: breakfast in Austria,
lunch in Slovenia and dinner in Italy.

Just like everyone else who lives abroad, Lelet misses the
Philippines. What I missed in the Philippines is the weather, taking
a bath in the rain, the homegrown fruits and vegetables, I missed
the native delicacies, halo-halo, and the fun of jeepney and tricycle
rides. It is so much fun in the Philippines! In the Philippines, Lelet
hails from Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. She said that she missed
hanging out with friends, and the times when she spends idle time
with the company of her neighbors and relatives. She also recalls,
My heart breaks every time I see the underprivileged people on the
streets. When I come home, whenever there is an opportunity, I buy
more bread and give it to them. This reminds me of all the blessings
that I received and that I just need to be forever thankful.
Her parting words, To my fellow Filipinos living or working
abroad, lets us always be thankful to God for blessing us with a
different journey in life to take. We must remember that wherever we
go, there is always hardship along the way. May we gain our strength
and patience from all these, and learn to appreciate every little
things that we achieve in our lives. May we strengthen our ties with
families and our country back home help them in anyway we can,
and may we not forget about ourselves to stay healthy and strong,
happy and content, and most of all have peace in our hearts.

Kreutzers family: Lelet, daughter - Zoe and husband Peter

About the Columnist: Ryan Tejero is a newspaper

columnist-writer based in Chicago, Illinois-USA. He has been
writing for a Filipino-American newsmagazine, Via Times
(www.viatimes.com), for over ten years now. His monthly
column, Club President, features leaders of the Filipino
American communities in Chicago and the Midwest, USA.
Via Times is Chicagos oldest, widely-read and circulated
Filipino-American newsmagazine. Ryan is also the current
editor of NaFFAANational(http://naffaa-national.org), which
is the official monthly newsletter of the National Federation
of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). NaFFAA National
is circulated in 51 states of the United States. For comments,
please send email to ryantejero@yahoo.com.