The Wheels Are Turning

I guess this is it.  The wheels are turning inexorably and it’s only a matter of time, maybe one or two months, before I finally leave this country for greener pastures and officially become an OFW.  I declined an offer to work in Hong Kong but accepted a posting in Dubai.  I’m now being rushed to get my affairs in order so I can fly there and start as soon as possible.  It’s a little surreal and daunting but also quite exciting, not so much for the travel but the opportunity for a fresh start and an international carreer. I’m about to take a job very similar to what I’m currently doing but the way things are done could be very different.  For example, the normal working days in Dubai are Sunday to Thursday. 

It’s also a little scary, I’ve heard some good things about Dubai and also some pretty bad things.  I recently read an article about a British national who, on his way back to his country had to pass through the Dubai airport, is being jailed for 4 years, a mandatory term, for having literally a speck of cannabis under his shoe.  The speck is purportedly only 0.001 grams, smaller than the human eye can see but big enough to be detected by the country’s high-tech equipment.  Another man was also jailed for having been found with three poppy seeds which apparently had been left over after eating a bagel.  These are literally insignificant amounts and would very quickly be dismissed in another country but Dubai has a strict zero-tolerance policy on illegal substances as well as pirated articles.  I guess, it’s just better to be safe than sorry.  So, before my flight, I’m going to make sure to stay away from any plants, vegetables, medicines and make sure that my belongings are devoid of any pirated materials.

On a positive note, my sister has been living in Dubai for a little over a year.  It’s good to have some family around.  There’re also a lot of Filipinos so it should be easy to find some sort of small community that will help acclimatize myself to the new environment.  I will also need them for all the athletic activities that I will surely miss.  Shopping certainly will not compensate for that. 

I never thought I would go this early or this fast but I guess at 26, this is a great opportunity.  I always imagined myself working abroad for five years or so to make just enough money and then come back to the Philippines to settle down.  However, it seems like I’m going to be permanently out of the country, at least for the near future.  I’m not saying that I will stay in Dubai forever because there will be many other oppotunities in the future for me to work in other places.  London, New York or even Tokyo come to mind.  When I start working in Dubai, these places will not seem as far or as hard to reach as they used to.  Hopefully, wherever my travels take me, I should be able to save enough to start some sort of business in the Philippines and live how everyone should live - which is to be one’s own boss and to work on something that doesn’t feel like work. 

I guess it’s a fact of life for Filipinos.  It has often been called a modern day diaspora but until our country is able to adequately provide for each Filipino’s needs, then the exodus will continue.  If the opportunity for a better life presents itself, then obviously one has to take it.  As of today, I probably have more than three dozen friends and relatives, born and bred in the Philippines, who have uprooted themselves to settle in another country and many more are planning to.  Nevertheless, I will look back to the Philippines and long for the place where I grew, to be with the friends and family that I know.