a LIFE away from HOME - Part 1

Our dream in life is what keep us going every day especially when we are single and young. As young as elementary days, we are asked what we want to become in the future. In my younger years, I just want to finish my studies and be able to support my family also. I never imagine a LIFE away from HOME.

COMFORT ZONE

After graduating college, I’ve worked as an audit secretary in a pawnshop company for one year. Working and interacting with other people is not new to me since I was a working student during my college days. I am excited to apply what I have learned then. After a year, I felt something is missing and of course, my salary is in the minimum amount, so I resigned and was hired as a customer service representative in one of the call centers in Cebu City. I was amazed by the new environment and the adjustment of the new working schedule. Working on the graveyard shift and sleeping in the morning and I felt exhausted for three months though the salary is promising that time year 2007.

While I was working that time as a call center agent, my older sister is already working in Dubai, so she asked me if I want to work abroad. That time, my husband was already my boyfriend but of course, it was an opportunity then, so I grab it. The process was not easy from getting the passport, sending documents to the embassy for the red ribbon if I am not mistaken plus the pocket money. I was able to complete the documents and borrow some money for the pocket money.

STARTING MY JOURNEY

February 2008 and I am 22 years old. I traveled to Dubai all by myself and my first time on a plane. It was a long journey from Cebu to Hongkong then to Dubai. When I arrive at the Dubai airport, it was like a dream. I can remember that I borrowed a cellphone from an Indian national to call my sister. I felt ashamed but I don’t have a choice because my phone was not yet registered in Dubai. I stayed with my sister in Karama, Dubai together with other Filipinos. The flat has two rooms, one room for the landlady and we stayed in the second room with eight (8) tenants in it. The accommodation in Dubai is expensive so the housing situation then was manageable. But for those who have been an OFW in Dubai, supposedly house tenants other than the authorized lessee are not allowed. Police checked rooms randomly. When going outside, we had to carry our passports and resident cards for those with working visas. What amazes me most, all buildings are air-conditioned. All expensive and delicious food that I cannot afford to eat in the Philippines, I can eat in Dubai.

During my time, applying for a job in a foreign country is somehow unique, especially in Dubai. Applicants place advertisements in the newspaper that you are looking for a job. Another way is to use the newspaper and send emails to the prospective employer. What I fear at that time is the direction of going to an interview for an employer. I cannot always ride a cab because it is expensive, so I need to take the bus. Not like here in the Philippines that buses can load and unload anywhere on the road. In Dubai, each bus number has a designated loading and unloading area. So that time was a total adjustment mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. In short, it was a culture shock.

The journey continues to my next article.