Here's the link to my article: http://www.philstar.com/share-your-story/566094/blessed-two-homes
Blessed with two homes
By Marissa Cabugon (philstar.com) Updated April 15, 2010 10:15 AM
I have been very attracted to the idea of living abroad. When I was on the fourth year of my professional career in a multinational IT firm, I got my first assignment outside the Philippines. I had a six-month on-shore (office based outside the Philippines) assignment in Madrid, Spain.
I was living the life of an expatriate — I had corporate housing, per diems, met new people and experienced a different culture. It was a truly amazing experience! It was funny because most of my Spanish officemates were asking me if we Filipinos bear grudges with the Spanish, as our beloved Philippines had been a Spanish colony for more than 300 years.
In those six months, I traveled, enjoyed the gastronomic experience, earned new friends and met my future husband. After my assignment, I moved back to Manila, stayed in the same company for a year and a half, and the journey of my long-distance relationship began. I received a job offer to work in the quality department of the IT arm of an international bank in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I stayed there for eight months until I married my Spanish boyfriend.
The best and most unforgettable blessings I gained from my Kuala Lumpur experience were the beautiful friendships I built. I spent the next four months working on my family visa, and I officially started a new life in Madrid sometime in April 2008. It’s a new life because of the major changes in my status — I am now a married woman; my home base has changed from Manila to Madrid; I will have to cultivate my Castellano, the official language in Spain; and as I am leaving behind my strong support system, my family and my closest friends, I will have to be stronger and more hopeful that I will also be able to build my own reliable social circle here in Madrid.
I have been blessed with tremendous faith and optimism. I honestly think that my unwavering faith in God, my determination, and the strong support of my husband and my loved ones helped me go through the rough times and the adjustment period.
Although it was no longer my first time to be away from home, this move was the hardest and the most difficult because of its permanency and I was starting from scratch. It was certainly a period of uncertainty. Armed with love and my faith, I bravely crossed over from Southeast Asia to Europe.
The first semester was a very difficult phase. I had low self esteem and insecurity brought about by my deficiency in Castellano, the overall adjustment in terms of my professional career and the “culture shock” in general. I can honestly say that my prayers helped me overcome this challenging phase in my life. I remember going to the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen, in Calle del Carmen in the center of Madrid, almost on a daily basis asking for guidance, determination, patience and strength. Of course, my conversations with my husband and my family and friends helped me a lot as well.
Now I am on my second year in Spain. Things are now different. I am still adjusting but now, I am a lot better. I was blessed to find a job related to my background. I was fortunate to work with open and warm officemates who motivated me and helped me adjust well in the corporate world here in Madrid. With my daily exposure in the Spanish language, I gained confidence and have mustered the courage and guts to speak Castellano.
Needless to say, I still have a long way to go in improving my Spanish. I have grown accustomed with the cold, windy and sometimes rainy winter and the extremely, scorching dry summer. I am very comfortable with the sophisticated and reliable public transport system, though I still miss sleeping in the bus and occasionally, I miss the traffic in Makati, Manila and Muntinlupa. I find joy, satisfaction and relaxation in walking around the city, the metropolis. I look forward to the winter and summer sales. And of course, I now enjoy the Spanish food and tapas though I must admit that a week never passed without eating rice (in our kitchen, there’s always a bag of rice available for cooking). I now feel relaxed and comfortable watching the local Spanish programs and reading Spanish magazines but a day will never pass without reading our Filipino broadsheets and getting updated with the entertainment scene in Manila! I am also fortunate to have gained friends (Filipinos and Spanish) as part of my support system.
I miss home, the laughter and the warmth of the Filipinos in general. I miss my dear mother, brothers, sisters, friends, our Labrador Viashino. I yearn for the weekend parties with my big extended family. I continuously crave for all kinds of pancit. I miss our fast-food chains. I miss the malls. I miss the local programs. I miss the most of the time bizarre political scene in the Philippines.
I may be away from home but I will always be a proud Filipino who has found her second home, Madrid, away from her home, Manila.
By Marissa Cabugon (philstar.com) Updated April 15, 2010 10:15 AM
I have been very attracted to the idea of living abroad. When I was on the fourth year of my professional career in a multinational IT firm, I got my first assignment outside the Philippines. I had a six-month on-shore (office based outside the Philippines) assignment in Madrid, Spain.
I was living the life of an expatriate — I had corporate housing, per diems, met new people and experienced a different culture. It was a truly amazing experience! It was funny because most of my Spanish officemates were asking me if we Filipinos bear grudges with the Spanish, as our beloved Philippines had been a Spanish colony for more than 300 years.
In those six months, I traveled, enjoyed the gastronomic experience, earned new friends and met my future husband. After my assignment, I moved back to Manila, stayed in the same company for a year and a half, and the journey of my long-distance relationship began. I received a job offer to work in the quality department of the IT arm of an international bank in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I stayed there for eight months until I married my Spanish boyfriend.
The best and most unforgettable blessings I gained from my Kuala Lumpur experience were the beautiful friendships I built. I spent the next four months working on my family visa, and I officially started a new life in Madrid sometime in April 2008. It’s a new life because of the major changes in my status — I am now a married woman; my home base has changed from Manila to Madrid; I will have to cultivate my Castellano, the official language in Spain; and as I am leaving behind my strong support system, my family and my closest friends, I will have to be stronger and more hopeful that I will also be able to build my own reliable social circle here in Madrid.
I have been blessed with tremendous faith and optimism. I honestly think that my unwavering faith in God, my determination, and the strong support of my husband and my loved ones helped me go through the rough times and the adjustment period.
Although it was no longer my first time to be away from home, this move was the hardest and the most difficult because of its permanency and I was starting from scratch. It was certainly a period of uncertainty. Armed with love and my faith, I bravely crossed over from Southeast Asia to Europe.
The first semester was a very difficult phase. I had low self esteem and insecurity brought about by my deficiency in Castellano, the overall adjustment in terms of my professional career and the “culture shock” in general. I can honestly say that my prayers helped me overcome this challenging phase in my life. I remember going to the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen, in Calle del Carmen in the center of Madrid, almost on a daily basis asking for guidance, determination, patience and strength. Of course, my conversations with my husband and my family and friends helped me a lot as well.
Now I am on my second year in Spain. Things are now different. I am still adjusting but now, I am a lot better. I was blessed to find a job related to my background. I was fortunate to work with open and warm officemates who motivated me and helped me adjust well in the corporate world here in Madrid. With my daily exposure in the Spanish language, I gained confidence and have mustered the courage and guts to speak Castellano.
Needless to say, I still have a long way to go in improving my Spanish. I have grown accustomed with the cold, windy and sometimes rainy winter and the extremely, scorching dry summer. I am very comfortable with the sophisticated and reliable public transport system, though I still miss sleeping in the bus and occasionally, I miss the traffic in Makati, Manila and Muntinlupa. I find joy, satisfaction and relaxation in walking around the city, the metropolis. I look forward to the winter and summer sales. And of course, I now enjoy the Spanish food and tapas though I must admit that a week never passed without eating rice (in our kitchen, there’s always a bag of rice available for cooking). I now feel relaxed and comfortable watching the local Spanish programs and reading Spanish magazines but a day will never pass without reading our Filipino broadsheets and getting updated with the entertainment scene in Manila! I am also fortunate to have gained friends (Filipinos and Spanish) as part of my support system.
I miss home, the laughter and the warmth of the Filipinos in general. I miss my dear mother, brothers, sisters, friends, our Labrador Viashino. I yearn for the weekend parties with my big extended family. I continuously crave for all kinds of pancit. I miss our fast-food chains. I miss the malls. I miss the local programs. I miss the most of the time bizarre political scene in the Philippines.
I may be away from home but I will always be a proud Filipino who has found her second home, Madrid, away from her home, Manila.
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