The Friendly Movers in the Friendly City An interview with Roldan from MECO 友善城市的友善推手─MECO的羅丹
Joseph H. Roldan, who is from the Philippines, is the Director of Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Kaohsiung's Extension Office. MECO is Manila's representative office in Taiwan. Its duty is to facilitate relationships between the two countries. It ensures that 100,000 Filipinos in Taiwan are able to maintain their employment benefits. Furthermore, MECO is responsible for the trading relationship between both countries.
Mr. Roldan has been in Taiwan for ten years. He used to work in Taipei for four years. Unlike Taipei, Kaohsiung has a subtropical climate, which, along with its environment, is very similar to the Philippines. Therefore, Mr. Roldan has no problem accommodating to life in Kaohsiung and is very happy here. Mr. Roldan is full of energy and is always engrossed in conversation with his colleagues in the MECO Kaohsiung's Extension Office.
"What a friendly city!" said Mr. Roldan referring to his first impression of Kaohsiung. In the extension office, there are many local Kaohsiung employees who are in charge of making connections with Taiwanese human resource agencies. These employees are so confident and efficient that Mr. Roldan finds them easy to work with.
Apart from the hospitality, Mr. Roldan is also impressed by Kaohsiung's development, especially the Kaohsiung Port. Ever since he first saw that spectacular port, he has been impressed by its modern international container port, industrial area, ship wharf, and so forth. He has previously been to many other world-class harbors however, Mr. Roldan sees Kaohsiung port's high handling capacity as quite extraordinary.
Director Roldan takes himself a very simple person. Though busy, he likes to watch movies in his leisure time. The Warner Village Cinema in Kaohsiung allows him to enjoy world-class audiovisual entertainment. Mr. Roldan's wife and daughter live in Kaohsiung with him. They have all adapted well to life here. He is a gourmet. He said it is quite easy to find delicious cuisines in Kaohsiung, whether it's at a hotel or a restaurant. Consequently, Mr. Roldan considers Kaohsiung a great place to live. He is extremely happy with his life here.
Mr. Roldan's four-year-old daughter will be school age this year. He is pleased to have her go to school in Kaohsiung. He hopes she can learn to speak Chinese because he thinks Chinese will become more and more important in the world economy.
Mr. Roldan's main job is dealing with various problems that Filipinos face in Taiwan. He mentioned that these problems are very different for different people. Yet, language barrier is the most common problem. If Filipinos who work in Taiwan cannot speak Chinese, there is a lot of miscommunication and cultural shock can also occur.
Many Filipinos work as housekeepers and caregivers in Taiwan. They are usually the only foreigners in a family. If they cannot speak Chinese, they are likely to feel isolated and stressed. Therefore, MECO organizes many activities for them to help them relieve pressure from work. These activities include sport events or other contests where Filipinos can showcase their unique talents. They are often sponsored by the representative office and other non-governmental or non-profit organizations, especially Christian groups.
Which place would Mr. Roldan recommend Filipinos who first come to Kaohsiung to visit? He said the first place, of course, is the grand Kaohsiung Port and its neighborhood. The incredible Chichin Island is also a must and don't forget to climb to the top of the 85-floor skyscraper for a Kaohsiung overlook. Food and culture here is surely worthy of experiencing, too. "Kaohsiung is a very interesting city. One should definitely come explore this place." said Mr. Roldan.
走進馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處高雄分處，就看到活力充沛的羅丹先生，正馬不停蹄地和各個部門同仁交換意見。
MECO──馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處，是菲律賓的駐台辦事處，其任務是促進菲律賓人民與台灣的關係，也密切注意約10萬名在台菲律賓人在職場上應得的福利，同時貿易也是關注的焦點之一。羅丹先生就是馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處高雄分處的處長。
來台已有十年之久的羅丹先生，曾在台北工作四年，相較於台北，屬於溫暖熱帶的高雄，氣候、環境都與菲律賓更加相近，因此羅丹先生來到高雄可是一點都沒有適應問題，而且生活得更開心。
「這是一個相當友善的城市！」這是羅丹對於高雄的第一印象。在辦事處中有許多高雄當地的工作人員，負責擔任與台灣的人力仲介公司接洽的窗口，他發現這些當地的員工相當有自信，也很有效率，因此羅丹與他們都共事得很好。
除了在這裡遇到的友善人們，高雄給他最深刻的印象就是城市的發展，特別是高雄港，當他第一眼看見壯觀的高雄港時，便留下了很深刻的印象，羅丹先生說，高雄港非常國際化，也有現代感，貨櫃商港、工業區域、船舶碼頭......，他也曾看過許多相似的國際級港灣，然而高雄港的貨物吞吐量之大，讓他印象深刻。
平常相當忙碌的羅丹處長，自認是個相當簡單的人，如果有空閒的時間，喜歡去看看電影，尤其高雄有華納威秀等國際影城，提供國際級的視聽享受。 羅丹先生的妻子、女兒也和他一起住在高雄，家人也都相當適應這裡的生活。美食也是他的喜好之一，他說，享受美食在高雄是相當容易的事，不論是飯店、餐廳，都容易找得到好吃的料理，因此他認為高雄是個很好的居住地方，在這裡的生活可說相當愜意。
四歲的女兒今年要開始上學校了，他很樂意寶貝女兒在高雄上學，更希望她能學中文，尤其他認為在未來的世界經濟發展中，中文將是越來越重要的語言，因此他希望他的孩子可以在台灣受教育。
羅丹先生的工作主要就是處理在台菲律賓朋友的各種疑難雜症，他提到，菲律賓的朋友在高雄所遇到的問題林林總總，因人而異，不過最常見的就是語言的問題，如果無法多說一點中文的話，就會產生許多溝通上、甚至生活文化上的問題。
由於許多菲律賓人來台多是受雇在家庭中工作，身為一個屋子裡唯一的外籍人士，而通常又只有家長會說英文，要是受僱者不能說中文，加上文化的差異，就容易產生孤立感與壓力。因此馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處就藉著舉辦活動，來減少菲律賓人的工作壓力，像是體育、或是其它可以展現菲律賓人民獨特天份的競賽活動等等，這些活動經常是由辦事處與非政府、非營利團體，特別是天主教團體共同舉辦。
如果有菲律賓朋友第一次來到高雄，羅丹會推薦他們去什麼地方呢？他說，首先當然是宏偉的高雄港以及周邊區域，風情萬種的旗津島也是不可錯過的，還要到八五大樓的頂樓俯瞰高雄港和整個高雄市，當然這裡的食物、文化也相當值得體驗，「高雄是個很有意思的城市，一定要多走走看看喔！」羅丹先生如是說。