Gloria

Born in the Philippines in 1932, Gloria, 77, grew up there during the turbulent years before and during World War II. She learned to sew and became a skilled seamstress. In 1957, when she was 25 years old, Gloria landed a job as a dressmaker at the U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay. She worked at the base for the next 20 years.

 

In 1977 when she was in her mid-forties, an age when many people are settling more firmly into the life they've chosen, Gloria immigrated to the United States. After arriving in America, she traded her sewing needle and tape measure for a mop and a dusting cloth. "I was a cleaning lady, cleaning apartments," Gloria says. "I was also a companion for an old lady."

 

Gloria lives in Selfhelp housing, but since becoming involved in the Virtual Senior Center her world has expanded far beyond the walls of her apartment. "I read the Manila Times online." A programmable button on her keyboard is linked to the newspaper, making it easy for Gloria to get the latest news from her native country.

 

Unable to visit her brother in the Philippines, or even her sister who lives nearby, she now exchanges email with her siblings and uses Skype so that she and her brother can afford to talk more often. Microsoft is also sending a webcam to her brother so that he and Gloria can establish a video link and see each other while they're talking. She also uses Skype to regularly connect with her Selfhelp social worker.

 

"My brother used to visit me here sometimes, but he's getting older now so he won't be coming anymore," Gloria says. "I would like to see him on the computer."

 

Learning to use the computer was a challenge for Gloria at first, but with assistance from the Selfhelp staff she approached it with the same positive attitude that enabled her to move halfway around the world to begin a new life at age 45. "I had no experience with the computer or even with typing," she says. "That's why it is hard for me to understand some of these things. But I am learning. I like to learn."

 

Language posed another challenge for Gloria. English is her second language. Even after more than 30 years in the United States and 20 years spent working around U.S. military personnel, she sometimes struggles to find the right word and doesn't always understand instructions on how to use the computer, "but once they show me and I learn, then it's easy for me."

 

And she's learning fast. In addition to staying current on news from the Philippines and keeping in closer touch with her brother and sister, Gloria uses her computer to play solitaire and other games, and observe and take part in activities at the Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal Senior Center, such as tai chi, dancing and discussion groups.

 

Gloria also enjoys listening to music and watching the accompanying videos. A keyboard button links to a package of music content, provided by It's Never 2 Late and tailored specifically to Gloria's wide-ranging musical tastes. Gloria only has to press that button to be front and center at actual performances by the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys, or to call up a selection of classic hits from the Big Band era.

 

"The music is good," Gloria says. "I like the music very much."