Something special will be happening starting next week and for the next seven (7) weeks. My brother and his family (his wife & son) will have a grand vacation here in Las Vegas. They came directly from the Philippines. They just got approved on their tourist visa application, just in time for his kid's summer vacation from school. We are all excited, specially my parents because this is a dream come true for them. They've been dreaming for our family to be complete here in the United States of America. Although we've been going home almost regularly to the Philippines to be with my brother and other relatives, we wanted him to visit the USA to let him see for himself what America is all about. This would be a chance for him to actually see and visit the beautiful places in this country which he may have only seen in pictures and movies.
My parents came to the USA in the early 90s and they immediately worked on both mine and my brother's petition to immigrate and join them. Ever since I was small, I've been dreaming of coming to America to possibly live in this country. We've been waiting for the approval of our petition for exactly eight (8) years and during the last part of this waiting period, my brother's interest to immigrate faded away. He already finished and graduated from medical school, passed the board examinations and worked in our provincial hospital. As the approval of our petition papers drew near, he married his girlfriend so that he could not be forced to go to America and leave his girlfriend in the process. My parents were devastated about his decision because their main goal why they moved to America was to give us a brighter future which they believed can easily be achieved in this country. My brother is also diabetic and if only he decided to live here in the USA, his disease could be easily controlled and managed with proper medical care. Listening to my brother's reasons as to why he suddenly changed his mind to immigrate was both practical and enlightening. Practical because according to him, he can no longer handle going back to school after eight (8) to ten (10) years in medical studies. He was no longer getting any younger and it was time for him to start his own family. Enlightening because he preferred to serve his own people rather than practice his profession in a foreign land just for the money. I remembered that I was the one who convinced my brother to take up medical course and become a doctor when he was about to graduate from high school. It was actually my dream of becoming a doctor but considering our family's financial situation, there would be a time where both of us would be attending college at the same time, and this could have brought a big financial strain for our family. While my brother's original dream was to enter the priesthood in order to serve God and the people, I was able to convince him that by becoming a doctor, he fulfilled my own dream as well as his since he still can serve God and the people besides being a priest. I was able to convince my parents not to feel bad about my brother's decision to marry and remain in the Philippines. I told them that he already fulfilled our dream of having a doctor in the family and it was his turn to fulfill his own.
Today, my brother is quite successful in his profession. He finished his graduate studies in Master of Science in Public Health (MPH) aside from being a Doctor of Medicine (MD). There are only two (2) of them in our province, as of this writing, holding the degree of Master in Public Health. He is currently the Assistant Chief of Hospital in our provincial hospital and he is also the provincial chapter President of the Philippine Medical Association. Overall, he has been doing well in his career.
My brother actually hasn't forgotten America after all. He told us in our last visit to the Philippines last year that he is interested to travel and tour the USA. Fortunately they were granted a 10-year multiple entry by the United States Immigration. Now, we are all excited to meet them at the airport this coming Sunday, April 19th. My father was so excited that he even mapped out a weekly plan as to where to bring my brother and his family around.
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