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The Challenges And Happiness Of Working Abroad

***August 30, 2021*** Nowadays, people are dreaming of working abroad for numerous reasons. Others want to fulfill their dreams like traveling to different places because for them, to travel a thousand miles is better than to read a thousand books, just like the famous Chinese quote implies. ***Others have practical minds and they are after the opportunities they can get from working abroad and the fun part of it is just a bonus for them.*** And these two factors are the main reasons why I conquered the foreign land. But these also apply to everyone working abroad and who wants to work abroad. Firstly, I worked abroad to fulfill my dream to visit a foreign land and its different beautiful spots. Secondly, I opted to work abroad to enhance my skills and get further experience in my field of expertise because having more working certificates is an advantage for future purposes. Thirdly, fulfilling my sense of responsibility for my family is a great achievement amidst the feeling of burdensome. And the perks and joy I got from working abroad are fruitful bonuses for me. For other people, they are working abroad or want to work abroad because they also want to enhance their skills and develop a new set of skills, as many companies nowadays seem to have an international presence. ***The world becomes so competitive day by day and so do the people***. And working in their own country won't help them develop the skills they need. Besides, having experience abroad is a big plus to anyone's Curriculum Vitae. Others simply want to get a higher salary that their country can't provide, just like my own country. Even if we work 24/7, it seems like sweating blood isn't enough to attain what we are aiming for. Wages are too low, tax is too high, and the inflation rate of all important necessities easily drained anyone's pocket. Debts are getting bigger and unpaid mortgages can knock anyone down. ***Related Article: Why Many Filipinos Are Working Abroad?*** https://read.cash/@Jane/why-many-filipinos-are-working-abroad-3f50e449

***Due to these misfortunes, we tend to step out of our comfort zones, face potential risks, and conquer the foreign land just to fulfill our goals and dreams***. As for first-timers like me, it's too challenging to face a new place with new faces and words, cultures, and traditions. Language has been the barrier when I first try to adapt the life here in Hong Kong. It was challenging to express myself properly especially that not all family members of my boss know how to speak the universal language well. Only two are skilled and the other two are always struggling. It's funny though when communicating with my male boss because he's speaking Cantonese with sign languages for me to comprehend what he wants to convey. Due to his own style of communicating with non-Cantonese speakers, I have learned how to decipher his sign languages while learning the Cantonese language. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. Although there are times that my understanding is different from what he wants to express, that's when I ask for an interpretation from his daughter.

For the *culture shock*, I was able to handle it easily as I am always keen on exploring and learning new things. ***It was difficult at first, but to be able to cope with it, I just went with the flow***. And soon, I was able to adjust to the new environment. Besides, I grew up in a country adopting Chinese culture, so some things aren't really new to me. Furthermore, having Asian blood helped me easily jive with the new dance of life in a new setting. ***When I learned how to step out by myself and gained new wisdom, I started to live like I am in my own abode***. I started to explore my new world to fulfill my dream. Making it one step at a time and taking the right moment. I was able to travel to different places, tried new food and culture, and this new life helped me gain new experiences that I have engraved in my memory.

But not all days are colorful and sunny, there are always days that I feel so down and lonely, and sometimes even stormy. Darkness is always inevitable, it will cover the bright day at any moment, and rain will fall unexpectedly. Giving me heavy weary feelings, flooding negative thoughts, and gloomy days. Whenever I was sick there was no one to take care of me, and I felt like I would die in a faraway land, away from my loved ones. So even though I was sick, I still tried to get up and fulfill my tasks because my life left me with no choice and it did not spare me some time to choose the better one. ***I may be fulfilling some of my dreams, but a part of me was still sad and struggling.***

And this also reminded me of the days I was struggling with depression and I thought I won't be able to fight it and stand back. The exhausting job and stressful thoughts are always pairing to ruin my day. The antagonists of my life. And this sense of responsibility was making the workload and burden heavier and difficult to handle.

***I was sometimes feeling that there wasn't light because my world was getting darker day by day.*** And even if I fight the monster clawing in my mind that's giving me negative thoughts, I still fall at times with no one to hold on to. There were no hands to reach out to and no one to talk to. I felt like the isolated room of mine was getting smaller, darker, and it was suffocating me, crumbling my mind and body.

But one day I stumbled on this platform and things started to change. This wall of freedom allows me to express the heavy feelings from deep within, as well as my thoughts that were tangled from long ago. Days have passed and feelings were getting lighter, days were getting brighter. And I finally saw the sun coming out from hiding behind the thick clouds. ***My world that once dark started to turn brighter and vibrant.*** My perspective towards life started to change and I learned how to view the positive side of life. And every time the storm is coming and anxiety is waving, I learned how to channel myself away from them. I learned how to open the umbrella to protect myself from getting wet, and to divert my cloudy thoughts to the sunny part of it. And I have said to myself that, ***I won't allow depression to ruin my dreams and to hinder my way to pursuing my goals in life***.

Time flies so fast, and my contract is about to end. This made me contemplate so many things in life including what my life would be like a few weeks to months from now. This made me think about the missed opportunities I had in and out of this foreign land. This made me ask myself if my unemployment life would be as fruitful as today's life and if I would be able to survive in my future world back in my home country. I know things would be so different and I can feel right now that I will again adapt to a new environment despite being in my home country, in my own home, that is because of this pandemic situation. The world is struggling and fighting against this invisible monster, people are getting sick and dying, and life is harder than ever before.

And I am currently in a safe place where everything is normal except for a piece of a mask on our face to protect ourselves against this virus. Then I will go back to my place where everything seems to be wrecked, unsafe, and unprotected. That's why sometimes I ask myself, is it even the right time to end working abroad and step back into my home country? Whatever the right answer is, all I know is I will be going back home and that I need to brace myself for whatever circumstances that will come my way. That's the same feeling for other foreign workers in different parts of the world, especially my co-Filipinos. And what I am certain of is, I will be leaving this foreign land full of beautiful memories and a plethora of new experiences that will be kept inside my memory for the rest of my life. At least I have done something different and was able to fulfill some of my dreams which I can call achievements. I conquered arduous trails to reach the summits of high mountains.

I surpassed different strenuous paths.

I crossed the quivering sea.

I overcame my fear of heights to enjoy the journey in the air.

And in my journey, I've met beautiful people that impact my life and will be treasured in my memory.

Although I know that there is no way that my experiences would match the number of experiences of someone who just purely visited a foreign land. But being able to work in a foreign land while achieving some of my dreams is something incomparable to other attainments. A sense of great fulfillment! Now, I can attest that working in a new country is full of challenges, yet, the accomplishments, new experiences, and memories are great factors that made me think that my new journey is worth fulfilling. And it is amazing to experience how to responsibly live on my own in a foreign land, gain new experiences, develop new skills, and meet new people. A month from now, I'll be facing my home country again. See you soon Philippines!

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