My worked experience in the Middle East was not at all a bed of roses. I went there solely for my drEEm in order to give the best life for my family however I was not at all prepared for the twist and turn of God's redirection on my plan.
It was all work and nothing but work. I was determined to accomplish my goal so I don't want any detours. I was all fixated with my goal for my dream house and my dream minicab.
Likewise, I set aside personal issues although meeting my ex-boyfriend now my hubby was a real test of what it meant to decide for my future.
I was so determined....
I was so focused...
not until one day...
Out of the blue our principal at the school requested my presence at her office.
I was aghast, what could I have done this time around?
As far as my work record, attendance and anything work related were concerned, I have done all of it with dedication. I was always the hard working and committed Filipina teacher ever aboard.
So I was wondering, what on earth?
My conscience was clean as I came to work in the Middle East and nothing else, (okay well meeting my ex-boyfriend now my hubby was a different story or so I thought, huh!)
As I have been sharing before regarding a colleague who was terminated due to her extra curricular activities, https://read.cash/@PatsKy8135/trust-is-earned-and-not-just-given-8f693f19 likewise to the point of using my name!
As soon as I arrived at the school, her secretary phoned me that my presence was highly needed.
I had a different gut feeling about it so I went ahead.
I knocked thrice and prior to me was another colleague who had a visit at her office too. I politely sat down and waited for her to say something. To my surprise, she wanted to know what's my real score with my boyfriend?
Hang on, what? Did I hear her right?
As a principal of the school, was it part of her scope to be involved with her teachers? I was not prepared to answer her. I was just listening yet at the back of my mind, I was really wondering, hmmm.
Then it occurred to me that there were already teachers who met their foreigner boyfriends and got pregnant thus they did not manage to finish their contract and they have to be sent back home.
She told me clearly, she doesn't want the same thing to happen to me. Does she really care? Or I was taking it on the wrong side of the story. Should I really share with her my personal life? As far as work is concerned, I knew it's a must but personal life? I don't think so.
Later that day, as I was figuring out her real intention, she just wanted to protect me and the rest of those teachers who were having extra marital affairs as well.
After all she's not just our principal but she also was our mother at school, needless to say, we're overseas and it's really risky. I understood what she meant by then.
Well I was single when I worked in Doha and it was never my intention either to meet a guy but God's divine twist was kinda mysterious. His plan is always better than mine.
That moment alone at our principal's office took me into another paradigm that when you work overseas, especially in an Arab country, where strict laws regarding relationship much to say being pregnant outside matrimony was absolute.
Either you face the ordeal to be sent home or you could be in jail. So I put it in my heart, she just really wanted to protect me.
Well, on the hind side I was willing to give up my ex-boyfriend so I told him I have to stop seeing him even in public.
Well then, if a guy really is so into you, he would find ways to stick around and what my hubby did instead, since he's also protecting his work at QatarAirways, he called my principal asked her blessing to marry me instead, lmao!
How about you RCians, what's your Overseas Work Story?
What were the struggles you encountered along the way?
How did you deal with it?
#KuwentongOFW
Images used on this post are mine taken back in Doha
Lead Image of mine taken at The Pearl during our educational fieldtrip
Images of me and my ex-boyfriend on a date edited via photogrid
Badges earned by the author and property of Uptrennd University edited via Adobe Sparks.
Do not use without permission.
I didn't expect it to end with you marrying him. I loved this story!