OFW’s First Step

How many times have you tried, then failed? How many times have you failed in order to succeed? Let the world hear your stories.

“Filipinos are all over the world.”

People are sometimes very private, that introducing themselves or their names to anyone could be harmful. But there are people who can make a chit chat to strangers easily… including me.

So, hey people, my name is Analy. My online and close friends call me ‘Ann’ and my family call me ‘Bai’, a girl in Maguindanaon. Maguindanaon is one of the native languages in the Philippines, particularly in North Cotabato, Maguindanao, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. The people is also called Maguindanaon, one of the Moro ethnic group in Mindanao.

My sign is Virgo. I am an OFW based in Jordan. I can wear both leggings and jeans, sneakers and slip-on shoes, loose and fitted t-shirts, but didn’t dare wearing high heels and dress in public. I workout at home. I love Minions and The Smurfs, also Naruto (though I love Sasuke 🙈). May diary ako, para puwede kong balikan ang mga mahahalagang nangyari (and secrets) sa buhay ko anytime.

Isa sa mga hobby ko ang photography, sa ngayon ay mobile photography ang ginagawa ko, pino-post sa Instagram habang wala pa akong DSLR. Ah, bad habit ko ang pagkusot sa tungki ng ilong ko kapag nenenerbiyos ako. And guess what? I’m weak at eye contact.

Paboritong kulay ko ang pula at berde pero wala akong anumang gamit na kakulay ng mga ’to dahil kulay itim at puti ang madalas kong binibili; mula sa damit hanggang sa sapatos. Coffee addict. I hate cinemas. Mas prefer ko kasi ang manood mag-isa kaysa may kasama. I love Fridays. Don’t know why. Hindi dahil puwede akong mag-pray sa masjid pero dahil napakatahimik kapag araw ng Biyernes at nakakapag-isip ako nang maayos kapag tahimik. At the same time, I have scoleciphobia (fear of worms) and acrophobia (fear of heights), pero mabuti na lang at hindi ako inaatake ng acrophobia sa loob ng eroplano, haha.

Ito pa aminado ako na sa loob ng pitong taon ay ginugol ko ang panahon sa pagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa— malayo sa totoong tahanan at pamilya, bilang household worker. And within the first three months, I have experienced homesickness and various of emotional and mental trauma. The worse, I couldn’t just ran away and escape from these trauma as the job is waving at me.

Araw-araw ay pagsubok, literal. Hindi ako pwedeng magreklamo, umaray at magmukmok sa sulok dahil ito ang tanging dahilan kaya ako nasa ibang bansa— magtrabaho nang magtrabaho. At sinasahuran. But despite of the guts in achieving my goals, earning enough money for my family’s needs there are times that I have to ask myself what is my purpose in this world to encounter these struggles.

Sa tuwing pipikit ako para bang dumikit na sa likod ng mga mata ko ang rason na kung bakit ako nasa malayo, nag-rereflect sa kung saang bahagi man madako ang paningin ko. Ipinaaalala niyon sa akin na, “Hoy Analy, para sa kahit papaano’y ikaaangat ng pamilya mo ang ginagawa mo.” at “Sa kinabukasan ng anak mo, dapat matuto kang magtiyaga at magpakumbaba.” Dahil oo, isyu sa pinansyal ang dahilan kaya ako nasa Middle East. (And sooner or later, I’ll be returning home for good.)

There, I become tough. And dealt a lot of adjustments. Pamilya ang kahinaan ko pero sila rin ang nagpapalakas ng kalooban ko. “Kaya mo iyan, Analy!” paalala ko palagi sa sarili.

And for that, I can understand many of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) working at foreign home on how they manage to fight with their fear in day one and emotional traumas by the following days until the 2-year contract has finished, especially to those girls ages below 25 ’cause that happened to me, but no one can help me/us to endure this kind of pain except ourselves.

Kayang-kaya natin ito! Sinimulan natin dapat tapusin natin!

Plus, this is our chance to travel and see the beauty of every country in the planet; from their culture and tradition, foods, languages, fashion, tourist spots and their behavioral traits and more. So, why not to become an OFW? It is really fun!

Try it. You’ll enjoy working abroad.

Hanggang sa susunod na kuwentuhan. Ingat.