10 Months, 4 Days & Still Counting..

I have been here in the sands of Doha for ten months, four days and still counting. I am not the type of person who celebrates anniversaries or 'monthsaries' as we call in the Philippines, but it is just nice to count and reminisce the days that has gone by.

My first step here in the Middle East was greeted by humid air and at 10 o'clock in the evening, dark spots all over the country, which i discovered to be desert surrounding the airport. On a view from the top, this marks Doha among any other cities in the world, which have seamless bright lights all over their vicinity at night. I was like in a sauna bath in a forbidden city.

September 12, 2009, I was escorted by my Aunt Girlie after a sumptuous lunch at Racks to NAIA. Back when I boarded the plane in Manila, Philippines to Doha, Qatar, I did not feel any sadness nor regret because maybe i just want to go to another country and am looking forward to a new environment to build my career, but when I arrived after an exhausting 9-hour plane ride with my two big 'balikbayan' boxes and my even bigger suitcase, loneliness filled my heart. Yes, it hit me! I do not know anyone in this country and I am miles and miles away from home. I do not have internet connection in my accommodation yet nor an international Sim card that I can use to call home. All I have is our land line with a complementary 50 Riyal call card.

Imagine my misery...I tried to connect an international call but the operator was speaking Arabic and I could not follow properly the instructions on how to connect to a call. After many failed connections, I went down and spoke to a Nepalese security guard to ask for help on how to do it. I really do not know what happened to me, but I lost composure. Anyways, instead of panicking all the more, I paused and prayed to help me just get through a simple phone call. And, I did... It was the sweetest 15-minute relief in my life when I was able to hear my mother's voice and it ended. I have to face reality, ready or not. I unpacked my things and opened the complementary groceries and kitchen wares from the company. Luckily, my flatmate, a Chinese-Malaysian girl, assisted me until she has to go to sleep. As for me, I was left alone with nobody to talk to until 5 o-clock in the morning with all the mess in my room.

Breathe...
Now, I only have to talk about happy thoughts, which i always keep on my mind. I am flying 80-120 hours per month and I have a roster of flights, which I bid just before every 15th of the month. I choose wherever destination I want to go to on every season of the year and whenever I want to go, but it still depends on ones luck. For example: This July I got Paris, Kuwait, Bangkok, Beyruit, Lahore, Stockholm, Paris, Beyruit and Cebu.

For me, even though I am almost a year away, I always bid for Cebu, Philippines to steal even 6 hours of stay at home just to keep me going on my travels and work. Nothing beats the home-made food my mother prepares for me all the time, the tightest hug from my brother, loving guidance from my father, smiling faces of people around, the genuine laughter i get from my friends and a romantic date with my boyfriend all back home.






I am a lucky cat! I go home every month with a job in the desert and 40,000 feet up in the air reaching one continent to another time after time. ::::)))))