We’re okay. Traveling back home in time of COVID-19.

A series of unfortunate events forced us to go back to our home country, at least for now. Traveling in time of a pandemic is expensive and stressful. We reached Manila on Labor Day, 1st May. Upon landing, we were told that as returning OFW’s we are required to serve a mandatory 14 day isolation on a government provided facility. We spent at least 12 hours at the airport before settling in our hotel room.

So what happened on that 12 hours outside? Majority of the time were spent waiting for a rapid antibody test at the airport and securing a place to serve the isolation. We heard that some returnees were placed on a ship or a room without a window. It’s definitely a draw of luck where you’ll end up and we consider ourselves lucky to be placed in a 4-star hotel within Manila.

Today, we are on our 5th day of isolation and believe it or not, it can get tough. We created a routine from Day 1 to help us get productive all throughout the day. It also helped that we prepared mentally for this, we got some snacks, books and games to keep us entertained. We also make it a point to communicate with family and friends so we feel connected. Isolation is a test of resilience, you have to be careful of your thoughts.

We are provided 3 meals a day (8-9 AM Breakfast, 11-12 NN Lunch, 5-6 PM Dinner) with coffee, tea and bottled water. A detergent soap is also provided upon our arrival so we are able to wash our delicates on a daily basis. We are thankful to the Philippine Coast Guards for taking care of us, you guys are working tirelessly out of your way. Salamat po!

We’re Okay! We are still alive and we prefer to stay that way. We’ll get through this and better days are ahead of all of us.

5/14

Coronavirus and the intense feeling of returning back to the Philippines and unto Adelaide.

The 2019-Novel Coronavirus or Covid-19 is still wreaking havoc across the globe with almost a thousand fatalities as of today where majority of deaths occurred in the heavily beaten city of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Here in Singapore, the reported number of confirmed cases of NCoV is now at 45 where at least half are local transmission cases. The ‘Disease Outbreak Response System Condition’ (DORSCON) level was raised to orange last week (the third highest level) which triggered panic. A lot of people went into a buying frenzy at the supermarkets and emptied majority of the shelves displaying essential goods such as rice grains, canned food, instant noodles and toilet paper (I have no idea why they bought 40 rolls, maybe they will TP someone’s house), a different level of kiasu-nism was exhibited at this time (I’m gonna write about this next time). Since the alert level was raised last week, a strong sense of paranoia, fear and anxiety gripped the island, some are rationally scared and the others are just kiasu.

I must admit, I’m scared and anxious too, not just for myself but for my husband too. His line of work requires him to be present at his workplace and talk to people face to face. I’m scared because we have our whole life ahead of us, we are bound for Adelaide, South Australia by middle of this year. We want to be there, we want to raise our small family there. We know in our hearts that Adelaide is the place for us, it is waiting for us and with this virus going around and with us being here in this densely populated place with low regard for hygiene (yep, I saw a guy scratching his butt with his bare hands for a good 1-2 mins yesterday), I can’t help but think, why are we even here? For the money? Why are we still here? Can we go back home to the Philippines already? Why do we have to work outside of the Philippines? Why can’t our government provide us a decent paying jobs? Why am I not rich? Arrghh! All these questions kept me awake until 3 am last night, I was restless and anxious.

We still need to be here until middle of the year and who knows what will happen in the coming days/months. I pray to God for this outbreak to be over soon and for His Divine protection.

Will it still matter in the next 5 years?

This is a very personal matter but the reason I’m sharing it here is because I need to get it out of my system like a bad case of diarrhea (yes, it’s gross and disgusting) and hopefully feel better.

My husband and I are recently kinda going through some rough days at work and I must say wherever we are right now, the bulk of the stress we are getting comes from the people we work with and not with the actual work, sucks right? Especially when you just want to plainly make a living and live your life.

When you are surrounded by dementors who feeds on your happiness, what should you do? How do you keep going on without sacrificing your overall health? Is it worth stressing over these people?

That’s when my dear husband said this “will they still matter in the next 5 years?” and it
felt like he cast an “Expecto Patronum” spell and made me realize that these people won’t really matter to me soon and that I shouldn’t give them the limited time and f*cks I have in this world (as Mark Manson said on his book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”).

I have to remember that whatever I do for a living is just a mere fraction of who I am as a person and whatever gossip/rumor my malicious office mate spreads around is just coming from her jealous bones.

So with all my might and happy memory let me cast this to you as well to keep the dementors away.

Expecto Patronum!

Always have something to look forward to

We all need something to look forward to in life.

From lunch breaks during the day, simple dinner plans, weekend getaways, buying your first car, settling down or giving birth to your bundle of joy. The power of anticipation can help us get through rough times.

The positive power of anticipation is my way to go forward. You might be asking why? Well, when I was a kid my “something to look forward to” is going to the market on weekends with my mom and having breakfast together at Jollibee because it’s my reward for doing my homework and for getting through the school week. This system helped me focus on the good of going to school and for helping my mom do her chores.

In the most basic sense, “anticipation” implies a future reward, and in general rewards can be a great and powerful motivator in life. If you are following our little project, you’ll be aware that we are trying our luck to move into a different country, and we are now in the process of waiting for our visa grant. This stage can be a little bit draggy so we are practicing the power of positive anticipation while waiting for our grant.

So how does the power of positive anticipation works?

We are giving ourselves “small” rewards for simply getting through the week by trying the best food/restaurants we can find here in Singapore every Friday or by getting a slice of cake from our favorite pastry shop. At times we reward ourselves with “big” ticket items such as flying back home to The Philippines for a weekend to see our folks.

This helps us get through this waiting period and it gives our mind a positive view of the future.

“When I wait you strengthen my heart”
Psalm 27:14

Project Kangaroo: Part 2

We received our Invitation to apply (ITA) last June 2019. Thank you South Australia for sponsoring us, we can’t wait to see and live in your beautiful state. Thank you Lord for paving and leading the way!

The next big question is, what do you need to do after receiving an ITA? You need to get and prepare all the required documents and apply for the visa. You need to be physically, mentally, emotionally and financially ready to accomplish these next crucial steps. The entire process of migration is not a walk in the park and it can dry your resource if not done properly.

We didn’t hire any migration agency so we are doing things on our own. We scanned all the documents required, filled the forms out, uploaded them into the system and paid the necessary visa fees and now we are waiting for our scheduled health exam and after that, all is done (at least on our part).

The good thing about my husband and I is that we work together as a team. We support each other even in the smallest of things. I thank the Lord for giving me the best partner in life.

So here’s to another phase of waiting patiently and enjoying what could be our last few months here at the little red dot.

And here’s one of my fave verse from the bible.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11