Finally, the mail arrived. It confirmed what I already knew in my heart – I am finally an Australian citizen.

I shouldn’t really be broadcasting this lest kidnappers come up with weird ideas. But before complicated plots are planned, let me assure you gunmen out there that nothing has changed since I found out I’m a citizen of Australia.

I did not get any richer — not that I was rich to begin with. Friends I find on Facebook who hasn’t contacted me in a while always has this presumption that I am living the great life down under. They use words like “hayahay” and “easy” and “maayo pa ka” without knowing what life is really like here. They assume that my job is so much better because I’m here. It never even occurred to them that maybe that’s why I get good jobs because I’m clever, talented, skilled and very good at what I do.

But I digress.

So in short, no, my life hasn’t drastically improved since I got my citizenship. Like everyone else, we still need to find means (preferably legal) to eat everyday. We don’t go around riding limousines or drinking champagne. The citizenship just allows me to vote here – to have a say in their system and to pick the next leader of this country.

I used to vote by proxy in the last couple of elections. My husband’s choice of political candidate is decided through a 70-30 percent vote in our household (although he might argue that it is 80-20 but I know the real score). Now I can decide for myself and leave my husband’s choices alone.

The next question is: should I opt for dual citizenship or not? I’m slowly and subtly being pressured to get my dual citizenship happening and not fully renounce being a Pinoy. They ask me why I would “renounce” being a Filipino. Renounce is such a strong word. It implies I would deny being a Filipino when asked by people.

First of all, I do not need a green passport to tell me that I am Filipino. Whatever citizenship I decide to embrace will not erase the fact that I love adobo and lechon, that I crave for baduy songs on the radio, that I miss the melodramatic soap operas on TV and the even more melodramatic newscasts by the two major competing stations. I religiously watch Manny Pacquaio’s fight no matter what circumstance I’m in. Two years ago, I went to the pub with my husband on my due date just so I could watch him fight Dela Hoya. Last year, I organised fellow expats to gather in front of the TV and cheer for Manny as he pummelled the English man’s ass to the ground. I even exposed my little five month-old bub to the fight. Now, that’s true blue Pinoy spirit.

I haven’t decided what I will do yet. I still have to research on the pros and cons of being a citizen of two countries. When I decide what I want to do, however, it will be based on pragmatic reasons, not emotional. Will it be easier for me to travel on a Filipino passport, Australian passport or both? Will it cost me to maintain two citizenships? What advantages will I get for keeping my Filipino citizenship? Practical questions that need practical answers.

The true meaning of being a Pinoy doesn’t exist in a piece of paper. You can be a Filipino citizen till the day you die, but if all you do is bitch about the Philippines and its people, you are no better off than someone who doesn’t know the country exists.

I’m sounding a tad too patriotic aren’t I? Maybe I’m seeing the country through rose-coloured glasses because I don’t live there anymore. Maybe you think I’ve filtered the roughness of poverty. However, let me just say that remembering the country fondly includes recalling its rough interiors and messy reality. And I don’t have to be a Filipino citizen to continue doing that.

*** Kristyn Maslog-Levis is a freelance writer/photographer based in Sydney, Australia.

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