Happy Birthday

We were trying to keep a low profile about birthdays and things of that nature to avoid any awkward situations. However are plan failed on February 3rd when we were enjoying a lazy afternoon and our host brother asked when our birthdays were. Now I had the option to lie but just couldn't do it so I answered with "today is my birthday". Then there was a discussion among our neighbors and host sister about why no one cooked pancit and how pitiful I was. Finally it was decided that Rebeka and I would go to our host grandparents house later that night. So seven pm rolled around and we walked over with our neighbor. The women were inside the house watching t.v. and the men were outside drinking gin. So we smiled at each other and Rebeka went inside the house and I sat down outside. The drinking circle had been in full swing for a while so they were a little buzzed and firing questions at me. Where did Rebeka go by herself this afternoon?, why do you sing the Pilipino national anthem?, what are you doing here?, how tall are you? and so on. Then the question of the night was asked. It was a simple question, which was: what did you guys do for work in the states? Rebeka gave a beautifully eloquent response in Tagalog about how she helps people with disabilities and so on. Then it was my turn so I thought for a second. In the states I would tell people I worked at a hazardous waste facility and handled noxious chemicals all day that were dropped of by various entities such as general consumers and small private businesses. However my lack of Tagalog prevented this worthy response so I settled on"nagtipon ako ng basura". The exact translation is: I collected garbage. Everyone in the barkada (drinking circle) stopped drinking and looked at me. For a second I thought I might have misspoke and said some awful Tagalog curse word or something. Then I heard a snicker from one of the guys and the rest of them burst out laughing. They repeated my response to make sure they heard me correctly and I said "oo, nagtipon ako ng basura saAmerika". Exact translation: yes, I collected trash in America. They all had a good laugh again and told me I should stay in the Pilipines because I could be a model here. I smiled and said maybe I would. Rebeka and I headed home later that night and I told her about how funny they found my previous occupation. It wasn't until a couple of days later when I realized the full impact of what I said. Up until that night they had known that we were from America and working as volunteers for the U.S. government, we have tons of material possessions, we buy a lot of expensive food, and we travel a lot. Then I dropped the bombshell that I was simply a garbage man in America. In their eyes a garbage man can have tons of material possessions, buy many things, travel a lot, and be selected by the U.S. government to serve as a volunteer at the expense of the government. I hear the phrase "land of opportunity" ringing in my ear.