Living from afar…far from home……from our family…...is hard
as it can be…
We, expatriates, have the same feelings and situations (in
terms of missing our loved ones), which we are coping up each day from the time
we wake up in the morning to get to work until we get home to bed to take rest
and sleep. We always search for ways to make ourselves busy to forget (for a
while) the loneliness we feel inside us. We make friends within the foreign
country, go out and enjoy, temporarily, for the sake of keeping ourselves
occupied with ideas to knock out ourselves to make sure that we are tired when
we get home to skip the “emote” moment upon reaching our “foreign” home.
The real tough times for being far is realizing that an
upcoming holiday is drawing near and we feel uncomfortable with it thinking
what to do or where to go during that holiday rather than sulking in your
accommodation thinking of the family in your home country which will make you feel more sad and make
you in deep sadness.
There are means of communication to be close more with your
family from afar. We can easily call them and send messages. But for me, I feel
sadder whenever I contact them. After hanging up, feeling homesick will prevail
and that is the hardest part for me. I felt happy talking to them but then,
sadder after saying goodbye. The more I get sms from them, the more I miss
them. I don’t like the feeling but I’d rather feel homesick than not receive
any sms from my family.
Christmas….New Year…I will be here in the foreign country
far from my family.
To my dear fellow ofw’s……if you are feeling the same way
like I do….I have some things that I do to cope up with loneliness…sadness…..homesick....etc……
1. * Since
I have my own room in our accommodation in a secluded part of Al Khuwair, I
make sure that every day off (Thursday and Fridays), I have to go somewhere to
spend with my friends or relatives.
2. * Our
neighbors are not friendly, so I see to it that I never talk to anyone of
them!!! Hahahaha
3. * There’s
a small shop near our accommodation, I make friendly smile to them but never
talk to them much to avoid making friends coz Filipina here in Oman are always
misinterpreted for giving even a simple smile.
*. Listen to your tone as well, coz
maybe might sound flirty, naughty, and encouraging which will definitely let
them think of something you’ve never thought of.
4. Take
a walk near or just within the area but be sure to not wear something that can
catch attention coz there’s a lot of unrespectful young and older people
outside. Ignore any horn and any howling noise and never look back or look to
those kind of people. Better take your phone/mp3 with you and use your earphone
while taking a walk.
5. When
I feel lazy to walk, I’ll check if I still have some baking ingredients or I’ll
bake from out of what I have.
6. Make
sure that my journal is updated, everyday. It is like duty…some things
happening everyday. Important or not, I am writing it in my diary.
7. Try
to cook viand or ulam. I don’t know how to fry eggs perfectly, much more fry
fish…so whenever I don’t have anything else to do, I try to fry fish which actually
until now, I cannot understand why it look like a scrambled egg torn into
pieces. Hahahha
8. Play
games like solitaire in my laptop, zuma, or subscribe to internet to update my
facebook.
9. Clean
my room and bathroom after doing the laundry. (this is the hardest thing to do)
haahahhaah
10. Exchange
sms to my family and friends in Philippines, friends and relatives here in
Oman. I limit calling coz it is damn expensive and the feeling of missing them
more.
11. Write
letters, essays, and blogs.
One rule I always tell myself!
Be happy; try not to think to not feel sad, even if it’s
real hard.
