From island nation to an island in Alaska: how Filipino teachers adjust to their new lives

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7 days ago

Manila's skyline seen from a hotel near the airport. It's one of the biggest cities in the Philippines, as well as the island nation's capital. (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT)
Moving to rural Alaska takes a lot of adjustment — especially when you're coming from a city with a population of 13 million. In Part 3 of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT's Brian Venua reports on how teachers who have made the move from the Philippines are navigating their new lives in Alaska.
Carmela Sison is one of Kodiak's new special education teachers from the Philippines. She grew up in Manila, with a metropolitan population of over 13 million people. Kodiak has less than 13,000 people.
'It's not the same as in Manila because I lived in the highly urbanized part, but I wanted to slow down – it's easier for transition,' she said.
Easier, but not seamless.
Before she came to Kodiak in August, Sison worked at an international school in the Philippines. She said the kids there were more competitive.
'In the Philippines, I love that drive, I love that motivation for my students, but it was always coming from a place of 'I have to.' Here, 'I want to,'' she said. 'It's not about competition, it's not about getting ahead.'
That was one of the biggest surprises for her – she had to figure out new ways to motivate students.
'I did not anticipate that at all,' Sison said. 'I stayed up many nights changing my lesson plan because it will not connect with students.'
Sison said being in Kodiak has meant a lot of adjustments.
She's one of Kodiak's third batch of teachers to come from the Philippines. Cyndy Mika, the Kodiak Island Borough School District's superintendent, said each batch of recruits has started supporting the next.
'Now that we've had, really, three groups of Filipino teachers coming in, they have become the support for each other,' Mika said.
Serjoe Gutierrez came to Kodiak in December 2022. He struggled with students at first, too. He said that back in the Philippines, his private school students were more focused.
'You wouldn't have a hard time with discipline for those kids because I think they're afraid of the teachers – they respect you more there,' Gutierrez said.
Not all of the adjustments are in the classroom.
The cost of living in small towns is much higher than it is in the Philippines. Sison used to hire cleaners and home chefs or get massages for a fraction of what it would cost here.
'Massage is $10 an hour, home service,' she said. 'So I used to get at least a two-hour or three-hour massage every week.'
Gutierrez said comparing grocery prices still blows him away sometimes. He took his family shopping on a recent trip to the Philippines.
'Our cart was full, like overflowing full, and it only cost me like $350,' he said. 'Like here, when you get out of Walmart or Safeway – it's not like the whole cart.'
Mika, the superintendent, said some of her employees have had to learn to use amenities that most Americans take for granted, like microwaves, thermostats and space heaters.
'We've had to learn through mistakes that we've made with onboarding,' she said. 'How far do we start on the integration? Just into our conveniences of life and teaching them how to use those.'
She even offers to teach new recruits how to drive.
'They don't own vehicles in the Philippines – they have such a robust system of public transportation,' Mika said.
Some things are familiar, though – about 25% of Kodiak Island Borough is Filipino, and the community is organized. The Kodiak Filipino American Association regularly holds events that celebrate heritage from the island nation.
'FilAm is for everybody, and it's an organization that is focused on helping the community – building a community,' said Mark Anthony Vizcocho, the nonprofit's president.
One of his goals this year is to reach out to more of the new teachers as he plans cultural events like Flores de Mayo, a traditional flower festival and parade in the Philippines.
'People don't know why we always have parties. It's because we want them to know that we like to have fun,' Vizcocho said.
It's a reminder of the island nation, here on this island in Alaska.
This story was originally published by KMXT, as part three of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.