The Corniche Experience

Every weekend now I make it a point to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and take a run. A compatriot nurse who works for Hamad Medical Center told me that the most common ailments plaguing the OFW community in the Middle East are kidney problems, diabetes, and heart diseases. To avoid kidney problems, I drink a lot of fluids – water and fresh juice and I stay away from sodas and sweetened drinks. To avoid diabetes, I stay away from sweets and, ever since I came to Qatar, use pure honey to sweeten my tea or coffee and any other meal that may be more palatable when sweet. To combat heart disease, I have been trying to bring my weight down and jog on weekends.

But as I found out, I easily get bored if I run and see an uninteresting view around me. I tried to use a thread mill but running in front of a wall or a TV set blaring the day’s news or a movie gets boring after sometime. And running just around the neighbor proved hazardous to my health because of the pollution the passing vehicles emit and the danger of being hit by a speeding Landcruiser which in the Middle East is not uncommon occurrence.

I found a place that is frequented by many of the locals and expats as well. I see individuals, couples, families and friends either just taking a leisurely stroll or jogging down its paved, clean path or even just enjoying the view and the breeze along the stretch of break water. This is the Doha Corniche. It is 7.5km stretch of beautiful bay from the Sheraton Hotel to the Marriot Hotel. It is a horseshoe shaped bay with the Palm Tree Island just near the shore. Along the busy boulevard there are the famous buildings and landmarks in Doha. There are distance markers placed along the path so one can record the distance covered on each run.

All these things to see and enjoy along the Corniche, makes running or walking along its course a joyful experience.


Pictures from top left going down left and right alternately:
a. Sunrise with the new Museum in the panorama
b. Sunrise at the Sheraton in the West Bay area
c. View of the West Bay panorama
d. Traditional Dhow docked near the Corniche
e. Doha Asian Games catamaran anchored near the Corniche.

Mga Kawawang Bayani (Pitiful Heroes)

Over the weekend the Pinoy blogosphere was abuzz with reactions from the People Asia article that was written by a certain socialite wannabee and pachyderm. Many blogs and even many more comments came out since and are still being written. One just has to type her now famous … err… infamous name on Google search and you’ll find her story there. I will not anymore waste my precious blog space to such an obnoxious person and give her the fame she desperately seeks no matter who she maligns in achieving it.
However, her “acerbic” article and proclaimed disgust of OFWs in general, reminded me the way other Filipinos look at their fellow countrymen who chose to leave family and familiar environment to work in a strange country with even stranger customs just to be able to give their loved ones a bright future. The Government hails them as the “Modern-day Heroes” (Makabagong Bayani) while the same people are treated pitifully by Government agencies that are supposed to serve and protect them.
My first taste of this treatment of OFWs was when I was preparing for my trip. It started with the medical examination in which an “authorized” medical testing center will find something that makes you unfit to work when a more established medical institution doesn’t find anything medically wrong with you. To clear this medical examination, one has to cough up a lot of money to pay the retests and seek consultation and clearance only from their authorized specialists who give receipts without tax numbers.
Then came the POEA, for a 'named hire' worker (someone who found a job without the help of an agency), I had to be there more than an hour before the office opened. When it did open, I had to elbow my way to write my name on the list of people they will process for the day. I was wondering with all the fees they were collecting, why don’t they buy a simple queuing machine which gives numbers on a first-come, first-served basis? After that came the OWWA fees. Again, with all the fees they are collecting why are they having a hard time repatriating OFWs each time there is a need to do it. Remember the war in Lebanon?
On the day I was leaving for Qatar, I was at the check-in counter of Emirates Airline. I was 5 kilos over the limit of 20 kilos. I had an e-ticket which is actually an email which did not show my baggage weight limit. Instead of telling me nicely that I was over the luggage weight-limit, the airline employee blurted out disrespectfully: “Next time learn to read your ticket!” in the vernacular so others will hear. Patience got the better of me and I did my best to follow the luggage weight requirement. While I was removing some of my clothes from the luggage, I was thinking to myself: “I am now living the life of an OFW and I have to face and accept such things.”
Even former officemates or acquaintances think I was so desperate in life that I chose to work as an OFW. Yes, to many Filipinos you only think of becoming an OFW when you are desperate. That is how they think about it and I cannot change how they think. There is dignity in what we OFWs do and I am saddened by the fact that it takes people of other nationalities to appreciate and recognize the work we do while my countrymen denigrate us who contribute a lot to our country collectively. Despite their comments, I am content on the fact that now I am paid for what I know and not for whom I know.
Moreover, I know I chose this life for a higher purpose. I want to give my family and myself a future that is brighter and more secure. I have given up career, a work that I love in a prestigious company and left behind friends because I chose family over career. After all, for me the security and happiness of my family is more important than career and prestige.

It is for them I am here.

Something new to look forward to

Fly, fly the butterfly
In the garden it’s flying high
In the meadow it’s flying low
Fly, fly the butterfly

This is one of Trey’s favorite nursery rhymes. Whenever he hears the song, he immediately puts his hands together with fingers interlaced. He then proceeds to mimic the flapping wings of the butterfly. So when I saw the Butterfly Farm in Camp John Hay, I immediately said that we will not miss going to the site.
It was just after an early afternoon shower that we decided to go to the Farm. As we were registering, the caretaker happily told us that the best time to visit a Butterfly Farm is either on a cold cloudy day or just after a rain. He said that butterflies love the warmth of the sun. And since after a rain or on a cold cloudy day the sun it out, butterflies tend to find the nearest source of heat – body heat. So it is easy to let the butterfly rest on any part of your body just for them to enjoy the warmth you give out which is impossible to do on a sunny day. And we very lucky indeed and Trey was very, very happy because he got to touch and enjoy the butterflies hovering near him and even clinging on his shirt.
When we were having our breakfast at the hotel, his eyes were in amazement over the birds that fly just near the open air restaurant. He couldn’t control his laughter when he was able to touch the running water of the fountain. He gazed with astonishment at a small man-made fall on the lawn as he hears the water hitting the rocks. His laughter was loudest as I allowed him to run across the green grass. He would then stop and bend down to touch the grass or pick up a small stone then show it to me. He was in awe with the horses at Wright Park and he enjoyed his time on the bike and a car. He couldn't keep his excitement with all these new things. To him there is always something to new to discover and enjoy each day.
It is quite a sight to see a kid’s eyes in amazement over something new and over something he enjoys. You can’t help but also feel happy at a child’s joy in discovering new things.
Do we still remember the feeling of discovering something new in our life and in the world around us? Trey’s happiness in all this got me to thinking also. Do I still have the same excitement at the start of each day hoping to discover something new in life? Or am I just living life each day trying to catch up with the unfinished worries of yesterday? I have resolved to find something new to enjoy each day so each new morning is always something to look forward to.

Vacation Time !

It has been almost a month since I last updated my blog. I wasn’t tired of writing nor did I get a writer’s block. The fact is that I just recently came from my vacation.
At first I was so excited to go that I did not find time to write about it. I was busy buying things that my wife emailed me to buy. Would you believe that in the end half of my luggage was baby diapers? There was a sale of diapers in Carrefour that when I did my calculation a diaper would cost only 3.50 pesos. Where in the Philippines would you be able to buy a branded diaper at 3.50 pesos?
Anyway, back to my vacation. Why was I eager to go home? It is Trey’s 2nd birthday. I already missed his first birthday celebration and I will not miss this one now that he knows what a birthday party is and how to blow a candle. My wife has been spending the previous months teaching him how to blow one.
The party was held in Makati Sports Club. This time the weather was on our side. Last year they said it was raining heavily but nevertheless there were many guests. This year the weather was fine so we were expecting more visitors.
And indeed there were many guests, from our relatives to friends, to former officemates, to Trey’s classmates and their families. The main hall was filled and we had to ask additional tables and chairs to be placed almost beside the buffet table. There was even the PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) couple (I forgot their names since I haven’t watched the series anyway).
It was Trey’s night. He was happy running around so many people. He enjoyed the magic show and games. He played and danced around the bubble machine.
He was very happy and was even clapping his hands when we sang the Birthday song to him and in the end he blew the candle excitedly.
It was a happy occasion to share with all those who touched our lives and in turn we and Trey have touched.
This vacation was a time for catching up between me and my family. Since I arrived, Trey has suddenly learned to say the words “Daddy” and “Mommy”. My wife excitedly told me that he wasn’t saying those words before I arrived no matter how much they egged him on. Now, he was calling us every minute or so. It is an indescribable feeling to hear your child call you Daddy and Mommy the first time. It’s is like you have accomplished something very big. You feel proud but at the same time humbled by the responsibility you have. I love hearing it.
It was also worthwhile sending Trey to school at a very young age. “School” which is mostly playtime has been very useful to him. When I first raised the idea to my wife I told her that it is good to send him to a school or a nursery because I found our son very observant. Also I wanted him to gain more social skills since on my last vacation I noticed that he only clings to the people he sees everyday – my wife, my mother-in-law, the maid and the driver. He knew me because he sees my pictures everyday and I sing nursery rhymes to him whenever I call. But he is afraid of other people. It will even take sometime before he goes and plays with his cousins and be with his aunts and uncles.
Now, after just barely 4 months in school, he is very sociable and very active. He now knows a lot of shapes even though he can barely say their names. He has even started to recite the ABC. His teachers even commented that he is the only one in his age group to dance with gusto each time the teachers sing. He easily picks up new things to learn and is not afraid to experiment on his own to discover new things. I was amazed at the way he observes a bouncing ball until it dies on the continuous rebound. I was surprised at how he would compare the rebound of different balls on the floor. I jokingly told him: “Someday you’ll learn about kinetic energy, velocity, gravity, and coefficient of restitution.” as if he understood what I just told him.
We had a lot of time bonding as a family especially on our own time in Baguio. Only that we did not get to enjoy it much because he got sick on our second day there. Anyway we were able to go Mines View and Wright Park. He was so excited to see the horses. Athough he was not able to ride them, he was nevertheless contented just to stare at them. He would mimic the sound the horses made and would laugh heartily if I did it as well. We also went to SM City where saw some pets at a pet store. He was so happy to see the butterflies in the Butterfly Farm. And as we sang one of his favorite songs "Fly, fly the butterfly", he gamely did the action with his hands. But we were really worried with his worsening cough, colds and fever.
So as soon as we came home from Baguio we brought him to his doctor. He was confined just 4 days before I was to leave again. It was disheartening to see him motion to me that he does not want the IV on his arm and is pleading us to remove it. When it was being put into him I was feeling his pain too but it was best for him.
Even though he had his IV, whenever his fever went down, he was back to his bubbly self. So we would walk around the hospital hall with the IV in tow. We had his favorite toys with him and his Mickey Mouse stuffed toy kept him company in bed.
He couldn't hide his happiness when the IV was finally removed on the 3rd day. He only had a bit of colds and cough but the fever was completely gone. He was running around his room and playing in the cabinets.
It was a very happy vacation time for me. Again the days were so short. I wish I could have stayed long and accompany him to school and watch him enjoy his time there. I wish I had more time so I can enjoy more my wife’s company. We didn’t even get to have a quiet dinner just the two of us. Anyway, now I am back in Qatar and I am more excited than ever to have them here with me. If everything pushes through then they will be with me by January 2008. Right now flights are full for December and I am keeping my fingers crossed. Inshallah.

PICTURES:
a. Trey's birthday Mass with his birthday banner at the stage;
b. Family picture with Trey's unusual 'smile' to the camera;
c. Trey blowing the candle which he did several times;
d. With cousins;
e. In Camp John Hay Manor Baguio City, where he enjoyed running on the grass;
f. Playing with Mommy on the way to Baguio;
g. Trey in school;
h. Playing with Daddy while waiting for Mommy;
i. Trey in Asian Hospital;
j. Trey showing his love of sunglasses;
k. Daddy captures Trey's smile on cam.