I Got My Passport Woot!

If you watched some of my videos in D.Tube, I already revealed that I was born and raised in the Philippines.

I'm a programmer and was working for a US company. They promised that they are going to send me to the US for a training so I started processing for my passport.

I have never been out of my home country and never flown in an airplane. So when they promised that training, I was ecstatic!

Woot! If I remember it right, I got my passport processed within 3 weeks. Which is a phenomenal feat in the Philippines. I will write a post about how I was able to accomplish that. I am not rich (mayaman), I was only making less than $5,000 USD a year.

I Got My Visa (Another Woot!)

So the next thing is getting a visa. I didn't have any problems with the paperwork but I was more concerned about the interview part.

The bad thing about any place you go to is the rumor (chismis). I heard that even if the company is well-known, if you didn't answer a certain way, you'll get denied.

drum rolls please

Cut the story short, I aced the interview! No one coached me. No one told me any pointers. I was just blessed to have an interviewer that asked a simple question.

Woot! I got my visa in 2 weeks.

Big Disappointment

So I was supposed to go to the training. I asked about it and my supervisor just said the bosses aren't sure yet.

Why?

I asked. They came back to me and said something about the blasted bird flu. Claiming all flights are getting canceled because of the flu. My husband checked and told me that was false. No flights were canceled at that time because of any reason.

I'm Flying

My husband wanted to live in the Philippines with me.

He didn't want to live in the US anymore. He knew what it was like here. I didn't. So I wanted to come to the land of opportunity so I could send for my family back home.

I gave my 30-day notice (yes, 😥 30 days). My husband threw a fit. 30 days for a company that treated you like a slave.

My husband said "Come, I'm ready for you now." He got me a plane ticket and sent me the itinerary.

Anyway, if I knew what I know now. I would have packed up like Batman.

The Trip

Going to Manila from Baguio City is always a nightmare but I got through. That's a 10-hour bus ride to Manila then a taxi ride to the airport. Make sure you make it clear to the driver that you need to be in the international airport, not the domestic one.

You have to be at the airport at least 3 hours before your flight because of long lines. Filipinos are known for bringing a ton of stuff so there you go, customs line nightmare.

And make sure you still have some Philippine pesos with you because you have to pay an exit fee since you're a Filipino. I made this mistake so I had to convert some of my USD to PHP.

Boarding the plane is ok. I say ok, I'm having my first flight and I'm excited and afraid. What if the plane crashes? Oh my gosh, I can't SWIM! For goodness sakes. So if you're Filipino, learn to freaking swim! We live in an archipelago! Water everywhere.

Ok, that's it. I'm just saying. Btw, I still don't know how to swim. I can float though! And my husband is teaching me to not be afraid of the water.

The Now

I didn't really think about how I'm going to fit in a different culture. I am doing great considering I live in the South. I have a Southern accent (can you believe that? Dang Texan twang).

People are astonished when they meet me and I talk. I speak fluent English, I spell better than my co-workers. My husband calls me his spell checker. I spell better than the computer sometimes.

It took a while for me to be where I am at now.

Thanks to my very loving husband who helped show me how valuable I am. How a little lady who thought she doesn't matter DOES matter and that she is the daughter of the MOST HIGH GOD. And the wife of a loving and thoughtful husband. I'm also a mother to 4 wonderful beautiful Fil-Am babies.

_{Started out with one, now I carry 10 only 8 in the pic I got 2 coming for my newest baby girl}

East West North South

Culture is a very big topic. When East meets West and West meets East we're talking Asians Caucasians, interracial marriage and the sort. They're all just words. It doesn't really tell you the story behind the person.

We get a lot of stares because we always all go together (yes, all 6 of us now). It is important to us to be together. Our children are growing up so fast it will be like tomorrow and they're already grown up. We don't want to miss anything.

The two days I have to go to the office is very tough. But we endure as always and my husband keeps me posted on any new thing about the children.

So What's My Take

I'm doing ok as far as assimilating into the culture but not completely. We don't drink, watch TV or sports but they do those things in the Philippines too. We don't celebrate traditional holidays. We only celebrate what we have right here right now, our FAMILY.

The Future

Right after I moved here, one of my great aunts got sick and wanted to sell her land. We bought it (my husband did) and it's a big land in the Philippines. It's close to the relatives that I have never really known. They have shown us great love and we're working towards moving there as soon as we are able. To make a big difference in the community and in our children's lives. We so desire for our children to speak the language and know the culture of their heritage. We're hoping within the next 2 year to relocate permanently to our slice of tropical paradise.

Mabuhay!

If you read this far, thank you.

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