Homecoming

I love the fact that when scrolling through Noise.cash, I get ideas in mind on what to write. Thanks to @LykeLyca's post about homesickness, I somehow found an inspiration to talk about my past life being an OFW or overseas Filipino worker.

Today, I'd like to share how I got to that country, what my job was, how I decided to go home, and what were my regrets. It's a memory lane I had to recall, I could still remember most of it though and it's just fun to reminisce all those days.

Leaving the Philippines

It was my brother, our eldest who encouraged me to join him in the United Arab Emirates. He has been working there for years, he paid for my tourist visa, paid for my tickets, and spent his own money for all my expenses while I was still starting.

I am thankful even until today that my brother with the help of my parents as well made it possible for me to travel. It was never my dream to go abroad. I was fine here in the country but because of curiosity, the possible good pay and the fact that I won't be alone there made me decide to just travel, anyway, I am not going to leave anyone behind, I was single although I was in a relationship at that time, it was not my intention to settle down anytime soon.

I didn't think about the issues of traveling to the UAE as a tourist. My brother told me that I must say this travel was a gift from my brother. I was on hold at the immigration for almost thirty minutes because they believe I am going to look for a job there, the immigration officer was very strict but I was able to pass through.

Flying with Emirates Airlines was one of the best travel experiences I ever had, the service, the food, the flight itself was all smooth. I love their hospitality and their servings!

Job Hunting

My first impression was this city has no stars! It was hot too! I reached Dubai International Airport after midnight and it was surely hot. That was in May, summer! And during summer, the temperature is unbelievable!

I went on passing my resume here and there, attended interviews even if it means getting lost, talking to different nationalities during interviews, missing some, and getting lost all over again. I was desperate of getting hired soon, I was only given a month of tourist visa to be able to get a job.

Aramex

Thankfully, my old colleague found out I was in Dubai. She referred me over to their company and I was hired too! My working visa was processed immediately, I traveled from the airport to the airport from Dubai to Oman and back to Dubai to change visas. It felt like a flash! I got my working visa in less than two weeks of staying in Dubai. We were in Satwa at that time.

My employer was Aramex, a courier company in the middle east. Its office was in the middle of the desert. I have to travel for almost 30 minutes to reach Jebel Ali station then from there, a company vehicle takes us to the main contact central office. That was my daily life in Dubai for two years.

The pay is good actually, there are even bonuses depending on the attendance and performances. We have company perks too and I have a lot of Filipino colleagues.

Having Cebuano friends helped me a lot in surviving life as an Overseas Filipino Worker. I didn't even see myself as an OFW, I felt like I was just working in the Philippines because wherever I go, I can meet Filipinos. There's a huge percentage of kababayans in the country.

My circle of friends was like sisters to me and they were the shoulders I leaned on during those times of problems and homesickness.

I was also thankful for technology. During my two years of staying in Dubai, Skype was still very accessible. My husband who was still my boyfriend at that time would call me over skype and we would be on a video call for hours especially during Fridays which was my day off.

I also got into a church so I was still able to do corporate worship. We have services in hotels and on Fridays.

Allergies? and Stress

Six months after landing a job, I somehow developed some red spots on my feet and it went up to my legs and inner thighs and then it spread to my arms. I don't know what was the problem.

I went from one check-up to another and the doctors would just tell me that they don't see anything wrong with my laboratory results. I was advised to just use some ointments, take vitamins, and so on but nothing had cured that skin problem.

My confidence was super low because I have to wear long pants, socks, and cardigans so I could cover up my red spots. I spent hundreds if not thousands of minutes searching online on this case, I could only refer it to petechiae and there was no specific cure for it at that time.

This condition made my life uncomfortable in the UAE, when it's hot and I am outside, I could feel them, it felt like they were tiny veins popping and it was similar to the feeling of ants crawling in my legs.

Homecoming

A year after working, I was given a month of vacation. My company paid for my ticket to the Philippines and I was super excited to be home at last. My allergies were already there, I was scared my boyfriend might not like me anymore. But surprisingly, when I reached Cebu City, just within a week, my allergies and red spots went away.

There were no scars at all, not even one that would show that there were red spots in those parts of my body. It was a mystery! I even told my parents it might be a miracle!

Since it was just a month of vacation, I was back in Dubai and surprise again! The red spots reoccurred just after two days of staying in the country. I was perplexed and very worried about my health. It was stressing me out.

After another year of working, I had decided not to renew my contract and just go back home. I couldn't believe that when I reached home, the allergies had disappeared again.

I had my checkup here in one of the hospitals in Tagbilaran City and the dermatologist said the same, he couldn't see anything wrong. So it seems like that condition might have been caused by stress after all.

Regrets

I am happy about my decision, of coming back home. My life in Dubai was not easy of course, I've been to a lot of problems as well. Homesickness was not a huge issue although there were several times that I missed home since I had an annual vacation and daily chats and calls with my family and boyfriend, I could manage it.

My favorite thing to do was shop, window shopping and collecting items on sale, and placing them in a balikbayan box. It was fun to see the box getting filled every day, I would walk from the metro station to my apartment after work and would pass by grocery stores and malls just to see if there are any items that I can put in my box.

The only thing that I regret though was not documenting my life in Dubai. I regret not taking a lot of pictures. The city, the beach, the parks, my friends, my office, my colleagues, my foreign friends, our flat, the beautiful view while inside the train and a lot more.

I regret not making many videos of my stay, I wish I had documented my daily travel especially during winter, the city was cold and I love that season. There's fog every day, I go out every day at five in the morning and reach home at seven in the evening. So there's a lot of time to document them but I didn't do it. I regret all of these.

Conclusion

I am sure I won't be back in the Middle East for work. I might go back for a vacation but I won't be working there anymore. Sometimes, I miss the life that Dubai had offered me, seeing luxurious cars, watching the dancing fountain, the tallest building, and all. The many various food options, the friends I gained, and the balikbayan box experience, but being home here in the Philippines is what I needed for my health and my family. Going home was the best decision.

xoxo,

mommy jean of momentswithmatti

Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.