Home...Again!

It seems clearly insane to come home three times in a span of less than six months.  It may be costly, but I would like to think of it more as investing on my sanity...hahaha!  I love coming home because it offers me an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family.  I can do that online, sure, but nothing beats seeing them and actually hugging and kissing them.  To a certain extent, it is also indulgence on my part, because I can be the makulit Roma that everyone has come to love (I would like to think it is that!  hahaha!). 

However, coming home this time is slightly different - I am distracted and restless.  The upcoming wedding is stressful - I am going to be a bridesmaid and the wedding is out of town.  I will only be staying in the country for a little over a week - thus I need to cram dealing with banks, checkups, trips to the spa and the parlor, seeing friends, watching cable TV, etc in 10 days.  I have yet to recover from the stress of losing my wallet and my Overseas Employment Certificate.  There is also an amount of stress from the fact that I have lost two relatives in a span of 9 days and that I have not been able to see my relatives during this difficult time.


The process of returning to the Philippines can also be very exhausting - making sure you book the flights at the right time (especially when there are promos), planning the logistics (we don't have a car and we live 2 hours away from the airport) and deciding what to do, who to meet, etc.  Then there is the herculean task of packing - baggage limit can be anything from 20-35kg and so far I have managed to bring a variety of things - an LCD TV, bottles of perfume, chocolates, books, a flat iron and even old clothes!  Guess I truly have become your typical OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker), sans the glitter of gold jewelry and leather jackets, hahaha!


At the airport, you can easily distinguish the Pinoys from the rest of the world - they like to be in clusters and seem to be chatting noisily all the time!  At a glance, you will think that they are all friends, but if you listen close enough, they all just met at the airport!!!  Enough said about not talking to strangers!  Filipinos probably have the most interesting hand-carried luggage too - the biggest teddy bear, doll or toy car, the most number of toothpaste, coffeemate, nescafe, bath soap and chocolates ever!  A great number of them tote laptops and the fanciest phones too.  The others are garbed in their newest Nikes.  You get the old-timer OFW who is usually the calmest (been there, done that) and you get the this-is-my-first-time-to-go-home-after-X-years-and-I'm-so-excited-can't-you-tell lot who are obviously the noisiest.  There is a mix of anxiety and longing in the air - ate is coming home to introduce a foreigner boyfriend or a child fathered by a foreigner, kuya is nervous to see what has become of his family after ten years, ate finally coming home after escaping from an employer from hell, kuya proudly telling everyone that his son is finishing college and you have the likes of me who just want to come home, chill out and gain a piece of her sanity back.


Once the purser announces that the plane has landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the plane bursts into life.  People start bringing out their phones long before the plane reaches full stop.  Some even clap their hands, overjoyed that they have finally reached their homeland.  As the tube connects to the plane, people jump up and reach for their stuff in the overhead cabin.  What ensues after is a mad rush to get out of the plane and survive the queues at the Immigration.  Once at the baggage carousels, there is a market-like atmosphere.  One by one, the luggage emerge - a balikbayan box filled with more soap, chocolate, towels, clothes and toys, 32-inch LCD TVs from every manufacturer known - and the addresses listed come from everywhere, Cagayan in the North to Davao in the South!  The passengers all look haggard but still manage to smile.  The Pinoy, always the gentleman, never forgets to assist the Pinay in pulling out the luggage from the carousel.  Shouts of "Kabayan, salamat!" (Thank you, fellow Pinoy!) and "Ingat!" (Take care!) abound.


After leaving the Arrivals area, Pinoys then have to maneuver their way to the winding ramp to see the eagerly-awating relatives on the other side.  Again, you will hear the petite Pinays letting out squeals because they are too small to resist the gravity and end up getting dragged by the trolley filled with heavy luggage.  By the time everyone reaches the ramp, they are partly running, crying and laughing!  The passengers now join a sea of confused faces as everyone is trying to locate their loved ones.  It is only a matter of time before everyone finds each other and the confusion, longing and anxiety are replaced with laughter, smiles, hugs and kisses.  The foreigner boyfriend gets a warm hug from his girlfriend's mother.  The half-Pinoy, half-foreigner kid becomes the apple of everyone's eye.  The father gets teary-eyed to see his kids all grown up.  As for me, I always get the shock of my life because my mom just appears from out of nowhere and says Boo!  (I guess I have always been scared of big crowds so I rely on my mother to find me all the time!)  


Excuse me while I enjoy watching cable from my LCD TV and my aircon. :)

Bitten By The Food Bug

is the title of my new mini-blog in Tumblr.  As I love taking pictures of the food I eat, this is the easiest way to share my food pictures (with the hope of making people salivate in the process.  Haha!).  Travelling to other countries can be very expensive so I just let my tastebuds do the exploring.  Dubai plays host to a variety of cuisines and eating can arguably be this city's favorite activity (but the shopaholics might protest).  This mini-blog will chronicle my journey with food (and includes info on where I ate it, how much it costs and if I am not too lazy, how it tastes) and pay homage to the ones who created it.  It is my hope that my photos will do justice to their masterpieces.  To the people who want to know what is there to eat, this will give you an idea.  To the ones who ask why I am not losing weight, this is your answer.  To my friends who get stopped from digging in until I take a picture of the food, this is where all the photos go.


Join me on my food adventure at:  http://bittenbythefoodbug.tumblr.com/.


Because life has a lot of flavor.

Roma's State of Mind

I was walking home tonight after a long day at work and suddenly, a thought occurred to me.  I am happy to be where I am but I am raring to go and explore more of the world.


After almost three years in Dubai, I can say I have eaten my way through it, seen the sights, learned to do housechores, lived with lots of people and experienced diversity firsthand.  I am happy because I can say I have achieved a certain level of comfort working and living here.  I had come at a time when recession was starting to peak but I am glad to have caught a glimpse of how people react to the most adverse of circumstances.  I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best and the most hardworking people I have known.  After almost three years, I have learned to deal with the different characters at work - the man I affectionately call my father, who can arguably behave like a brat at any given time of the day, the woman who is reputably the craziest of them lot, the quintessential last minute man and the man who likes to wear blue when he visits the office because he thinks he gets better treatment from me.  After almost three years, I already know how they want their tea or coffee.  They in turn already know that the best way to say thank you for doing crappy things like formatting BOQs or binding reams of papers is through food - a bar of chocolate, lunch or Starbucks.  If they go on trips, they know what to get me - postcards or money.  If they get their post, they automatically surrender the stamps to me.  I am happy to give an answer to the weirdest queries, happy to teach a few tricks in MS Word or Excel, happy to book the most complex of flights, happy to lend my writing and editing skills to each letter, report and submission that goes out of this office.  I am happy to just make things happen for everyone, perhaps except for me.


Unfortunately, at the end of the day, I cannot hide the fact that I yearn to do something else - something that will make use of my brain more extensively, something that will eventually pay more money.  I may be good at what I am doing now (ok, maybe except for the filing bit) but the call to excel at something more meaningful is something that has been resounding in my head for quite sometime now.  Change is the more important issue that I need to address right now - it could be in the form of moving to a different company or maybe even moving to a different country.  I am still buying my time, gathering enough courage, battling with myself and praying to God.  It will only be a matter of time before I stray from my comfort zone and plunge into the unknown.

Back in 2008...

I was dragged by my sister-in-law to attend a free Arabic course at the Eton Institute. This kept me busy while looking for work during Ramadan. It was a good introduction to the Arab culture and a good exposure for me too (Imagine being caught on TV after just living for a weeks here!) . Who would have thought that after 31 months, recession and all, I am still surviving in this amazing city?

See me and my groupmates (who later turned out to be my first non-Filipino friends in Dubai - both have left the country already) count in Arabic starting at 00:40. :) For me, this is where it all started. Enjoy! :-)

Strange Brew

My Chinese colleague Chen made me the strangest brew I have ever tasted.  Now I am not a fan of tea (or hot drinks in general) but of course I could not refuse.  After all, it isn't everyday that somebody makes tea for me.  I gave it a shot...

and regretted it after.  First of all, it looked something like jutes swimming in hot water.  This was supposed to be green tea, "Good for the health!" as Chen said.  It was green, sure, and it indeed tasted like it when the warm liquid touched my mouth.  It was a different story as soon as I swallowed the tea. The bitter taste started creeping in like ants crowding over a mountain of spilled sugar.  Blech!  I took another sip to give it another chance but it was no better than the first.  Ah well, at least I tried...and perhaps the same can be said with certain experiences and with certain people you come across in life.  We meet people who leave a bad taste in the mouth but we still give them another chance in the hope that the outcome this time will be different.  In the end, you realize that you just never really liked bitter.  You can only give yourself a pat on the back for having at least tried.

The Birds Are Falling

I'm going to try my hand at short entries with pictures for a change....

28 January 2011.  I was hurrying on my way to the metro station but I just had to stop and finally take a photo of this eye-catching graffiti.  It was one of those "artistic" shots that you so luckily stumble upon.  I wondered who made this given that a construction site would probably be the last place one would think of writing such a cryptic message on.  Interestingly enough, as soon as I reached the platform, the skies began to get dark and a thick cloud of sand covered the horizon.  It could very well have been an ominous sign to the unexpected sandstorm that lasted for about half an hour.  And perhaps that day, a few birds fell indeed.

My Thursday Surprise

Thursday led me to a small flower shop to buy a bouquet of flowers for a colleague who was leaving.  As soon as I entered, I knew something in me ticked.  I suddenly forgot that I was in the middle of a bustling commercial property.  Time stood still as I looked at rows and rows of pretty flowers in different colors, shapes and sizes.  A smile slowly formed.  I felt like Rosalinda*, in her flower shop.  My reverie was interrupted by a kabayan** who promptly asked how he could be of help.  I answered, albeit in a distracted mechanical manner, that I was looking to buy a bouquet.  Mr. Florist asked what her favorite color was and I told him I had no idea.  He then asked how I wanted the bouquet to look like.  My gaze shifted between looking at him helplessly and looking at the flowers in awe.  The roses, mums, lilies and hydrangeas all seemed to say, "Pick me!".  I was confused.  Forced to make a decision, I pointed at something blue, yellow, white, purple and green.  

While Kuya Florist was arranging the flowers I picked, I decided to make small talk.  I told him he was lucky because he is always surrounded by beauty.  I asked if it was easy to arrange flowers and he said it was.  I asked if he could teach me how to do different types of flower arrangement.  Kuya Florist said I could drop by after work or on Saturdays.  "Proomisssse?"  "Promise!"  I still couldn't take my eyes off the blue flowers.  I asked if they were artificially colored and he confirmed.  "Paborito mo ang blue, ano?"  (Blue is your favorite, right?).  He then decided to throw an extra flower for me and picked a blue rose (Good choice, Kuya!).  I beamed.


I then approached the owner who was manning the counter.  I told him I liked his shop and cheekily asked if I could learn flower arranging there and work on weekends there.  The owner was amused and said he would allow it but I won't have any salary.  I agreed and told him I would swing by one Saturday.  I was pleased with myself because I now have something new to do.


Kuya Florist approached me and showed the finished product.

After which, he handed me my special gift:  my very own blue rose. :)

I walked out of the shop feeling like a million bucks.  The blue rose seemed to catch everyone's attention and perhaps so did the mysterious smile pasted on my face.  I was the happiest girl in the world.


*Rosalinda was the name of the character (she sold flowers) that Thalia played in the hit Mexican telenovela of the same name.
**kabayan (aka kababayan) -  from the same country