Opportunity not a sacrifice

Being a Filipino, it is a common to know a relative, friend, a family member, a faather, a mother or a love one who works in another country as an Overseas Filipino Worker(OFW).  And every time we hear, that they are the modern heroes of our country and we acknowledge their great deal of contribution and sacrifices for their families.

Now I am one of them.  Two weeks here in Oman being an OFW has not yet sinked in my system.  Though now I can truly relate to the word homesickness. How desperately you wanted to go back home and sleep in your own bed, hear the usual voices, eat your favorite food, ride jeepneys, or even just watch your favorite TV shows and tele novelas.  That emptiness that you feel when you go home in the villa or flat where you are staying and cannot understand what you feel and feels just like crying forever. Friends will say, you will get over that in few days or months or so.  But yeah it will or will not, it depends on you.  Being in another country is indeed stressful and scary at times.  There are a lot of things that are battling in my mind.  Will I be ok here? Will my job be fine? Will I be safe? Will find somebody I can trust? Will my family be safe back home while I'm not there? or even asking "What am doing here?" Did I make the right decision of coming here? and a lot more. Yes it is indeed a sacrifice. 

However, I'm thinking that being here changes a lot of things. You experience new culture, meet new friends and most importantly you earn more than what you can back home which is the reason why we are all here.  And with that we can send our kids to a good school, help our family and even relatives, build your dream house or help other people. A lot of things can now be done.

So, in my early stay here I changed my perspective. Being here is not a sacrifice but a God given opportunity.  Something that we need to be thankful.  I believe that God has plans for us and this is one of His plans.

Dreams do come true...

I'm now writing this post in Salalah College of Technology, Salalah Oman after being selected by the Oman Ministry of Manpower to work as IT Lecturer here. The college is one of the 7 Colleges under the Ministry of Manpower here in Oman.  I can still recall my dream to work abroad and wishing and praying that I will be given an opportunity to work in another country.  Finally, here I am...

They say dreams do come true...I say yes it does.  I have dreamed of this and God provided me this opportunity.  Being here provided me with a rare opportunity to experience new culture, meet different kinds of people, learn new things and pile up experiences that can never be forgotten. However, like with a lot of people working abroad, living family and loved ones requires a great deal of courage, strength and faith.  It's easier said than done.  Arriving in another country with totally different culture is challenging and hard at the beginning.  But with prayer, practicality, wit and humor you will overcome this.

Prayer gives us the strength to fight homesickness, anxiety, fear, depression and other negative feelings that will weaken us.

Practicality is needed to make things easier for you and reminds of why you are here and will help you answer yourself every time you asked the question "What am I doing here?".

Wit and smartness will be a key for you to easily learn the culture and do well in your job. Being dumb just doesn't work here.

Humor is like multivitamins to your body, like fire through the rain.  You should learn to laugh and enjoy experiences instead of stressing yourself.  If you have a hard time understanding their language don't get pressured just take your time.  In other words just find the good side of things and stop whining.

I know life here is not easy but God has plans and He will be my guide.