There's no word to express how grateful I'am today and everyday.
I'm blessed. I' favored. I'm at peace and..I'm off duty today.
Leaning on the most comfortable couch, drinking an odd grape soda, with 2 bananas and an apple at my sides. I'm watching an odd romance horror korean drama with The Day After Tomorrow run on the TV here in the dining area of our accommodation. Welcome to Saudi, where you can't go out alone even if your pockets our full in fear of total disappearance. Destination? Unknown, it depends on the person who will take you. Scary huh?
I've been here for 10 months and 2 weeks now. Whew! I'm a survivor! Nah. It wasn't that bad here. In fact, I like it here. There is a huge gap between where I've been and where I'am right now. There are down sides but I choose to linger on the upper sides. Let me tell you what are those.
* FREEDOM. It's limited. I can't go out alone, it's not safe to go unaccompanied. You have to be with somebody though you find it burdensome. Like, it's your off and you want a cup of coffee from starbucks but you don't have anybody to come with you. Gah! spare me from of my cravings. There are times that I had to send money but I can't pull out anybody to escort me. It's really burdensome. However, on the lighter side I learned to recognize the importance of partnership. You always have to consider the need of others. Unlike in the Philippines which I can do all thing alone, I realized that people need people and you should learn to rely on them sometimes. Saudi made me realize this saying, "No man is an island".
* AMATEUR. I thought I was good, well that what my previous head nurse said. Working here, I got slapped right and left and learned that I'm nothing but an amateur. There are a lot of things to learn to the point that I felt stupid. The nursing practice here is quite advance. Patients had to get what they paid for. On top of that, the company had to get what they paid me for. I accepted the challenged and learned as much as I could. By the way I'm still a work in progress and I'm well adapted (glory to God). Nursing practice here took me by surprise but I like how it ignited my passion for some real ideal medical practice. The nurse in me awakens.
* SPIRITUALITY. This is a Muslim country and people here are very religious. It's part of their life. They have their own prayer time and it's really well practiced here similar to eating. However, this didn't stop me to grow spiritually with my God. I'm really amazed how my relationship with God grew deeper and stronger in this place. Unexpectedly, I got to know Him well here. I had the time to read the bible and do fellowships. Probably, because of the setting. This place had some resemblance with the place they are mentioning in the bible. Moreover, here there's less distraction, giving you more time to ponder and build your relationship with Christ.
* TRUST. I feel fortunate to be in a place where there are a lot of "kababayans" but I learn not to give my trust easily,.It might come rolling on you the next day and you'd be in the hot seat. You have to be smart. Learn to shut your mouth strategically. Don't voice out your opinion freely on anybody. Like they say the walls and ceilings have ears. Sometimes, you just have to keep to yourself.
* INDEPENDENCE. I've never been independent-- household chores in general. I relied with my mom to do all and I just had to eat, work and sleep. Now, the cycle is the same but I had to do all the tasks by myself. It wasn't easy. Surprisingly, with a positive attitude towards learning everything is going fine so far. I feel proud that I was able to eat my own food and wear clean clothes I washed. This is like a preparation to motherhood which I'm afraid I wasn't able to go through if I were in the Philippines.
*CAREER. Work is the main purpose of my existence here in Saudi. Fortunately, I was able to get in a hospital that allowed me to practice my experienced profession in the Philippines. I'm too much blessed that I was given the opportunity to do what I love to do. I felt bad that I had to abandon my previous job but it's part of the process. My work here is challenging. My colleagues are challenging. Our patients are challenging. Nursing practice here is challenging. To sum up, everything here in challenging. A positive outlook and faith in God helped me to openly grab and welcome all these challenges. And I'm looking forward to better nurse in me once I passed all these challenges.
My story is getting long now but this isn't end yet. I'll let you know more next time.
