An Expat's Life
I really did not get the sense of being an OCW (Overseas Contract Worker) until I started with the Pinoy Society. Male is already like a second home to me. The streets of Male is as familiar to me as the streets of Cebu or Manila, or even more so, now that I have stayed here for close to four years already!
I don’t mean to sound so heartless but I did not really experience the crying bouts and the clinical depressions that continually plague most OCWs when they live abroad. I travel alone or with friends at least twice a year (during my first year, it was almost like every 2 months! To stave off the island boredom…hehehe) and travelling to exotic places really makes life colorful and exciting. That is what my life has been here was like.
Everything has not been a bed of roses though. I’ve had my frustrations, my despairs, and my miseries. There are times when you felt so caged in that you wanted to just get out and be free. Well, I felt like that last year. I left Maldives (I thought for good already) in February 2007 and came back only in August. We do have our saturation point, I really felt I already reached mine that time. But well, I just cannot resist the temptation of coming back…hehehe
“Support System”
The transition from my life in the Philippines to the eccentricities of Male life was never traumatic. I never felt as if I was transplanted to an alien world --- as what some of the people I meet often say. Except for the extremely spicy food and the minuscule houses, there was nothing that shocked me when I first came here, even until now.
Everything was largely thanks to the “support system” I have here. I was fortunate enough to have the people close to me, who mattered most to me, be with me here especially from the start. It was a rough time as most expats usually experience in their first relocation abroad, but it was never depressing --- it was full of partying, laughing, and plain having FUN with friends!!!
I will always be thankful to my support system for making my expat life in Maldives easy and unforgettable.
I don’t mean to sound so heartless but I did not really experience the crying bouts and the clinical depressions that continually plague most OCWs when they live abroad. I travel alone or with friends at least twice a year (during my first year, it was almost like every 2 months! To stave off the island boredom…hehehe) and travelling to exotic places really makes life colorful and exciting. That is what my life has been here was like.
Everything has not been a bed of roses though. I’ve had my frustrations, my despairs, and my miseries. There are times when you felt so caged in that you wanted to just get out and be free. Well, I felt like that last year. I left Maldives (I thought for good already) in February 2007 and came back only in August. We do have our saturation point, I really felt I already reached mine that time. But well, I just cannot resist the temptation of coming back…hehehe
“Support System”
The transition from my life in the Philippines to the eccentricities of Male life was never traumatic. I never felt as if I was transplanted to an alien world --- as what some of the people I meet often say. Except for the extremely spicy food and the minuscule houses, there was nothing that shocked me when I first came here, even until now.
Everything was largely thanks to the “support system” I have here. I was fortunate enough to have the people close to me, who mattered most to me, be with me here especially from the start. It was a rough time as most expats usually experience in their first relocation abroad, but it was never depressing --- it was full of partying, laughing, and plain having FUN with friends!!!
I will always be thankful to my support system for making my expat life in Maldives easy and unforgettable.
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