Each day that I spend here in Bangkok brings realization about a lot of things about myself, my work, my surroundings, the people I am with, and the people I care about…Yep, it’s only been two weeks and yet I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately—amidst all the partying, the drinking, the malling, yes, I sometimes catch myself staring blankly in midair as if I was taken into some deep slumber…A few things I learned about myself: I realized I can actually live by myself …I mean, yeah, it kinda gets lonely at times, but being a thousand miles away from your family leaves you with not much of a choice but to deal with it…you can either let loneliness get the best of you or make the most out of the ‘me’ time that you have for yourself…I chose the second :) I also got to know the ‘domesticated’ part of me…I learned to wash my own clothes, clean my own room, cook my own food (well, I’ve just started), budget my own money(I’m trying!)…Well, I used to live away from my family din naman for a couple of years during my last year and college and my first years working…pero iba pa din ung you can always go home when you feel lonely or something…dito I can’t do that kundi mamumulubi naman ako…oh well…it’s been pretty tough and fun at the same time, but as the saying goes, ‘That which doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger’.

With regards to work, little by little, I’m trying to learn the processes that they have here. And yes, I’ve had my share of booboos, which I hope lessens after I familiarize myself with their standard procedures…

As with Bangkok, I’m quite convinced from that very first encounter with the city while the taxi was cruising down the road on the way to the apartment, that it is so much like Manila, well except of course for the weird-looking characters on ads and signage. The people here also look so much like Filipinos…nakakapeke nga minsan, just when you thought nakakita ka na ng kababayan mo, tapos maririnig mo silang magsalita ng kakaibang lenggwahe! Wala na! parang gusto mo na lang maiyak kc wala kang maintindihan sa sinasabi nila…Pero in fairness to them ha, most of the Thais I met so far are really kind…So much like Filipinos, very hospitable and accommodating! And yeah, did I mention that they have good food too? Well most that I’ve tried tasted good naman…medjo weird ung lasa pero masarap But nothing beats pinoy food of course ;)

The people I am with and the people I care about…I’ve never been so thankful in my life that I have friends in this strange land! I mean, having friends living near you and working with you at the same company, how cool is that? It’s funny coz we were never really that close back in manila (except for paui kc kastartgroup) pero when I got here, they were all just so nice I couldn’t thank them enough for their kindness!

Amidst all the fun, I just realize how much I miss my family and all my friends back in manila. I mean, I thought it would be awesome to finally be independent, pero it’s not that easy din pala. It’s different when they’re too far and you don’t know what’s going on with their lives. That no matter how much you want to keep in touch and be in the loop, the fact still remains that I am away from them. Just the other night I started thinking whether this is all worth it—moving outside the country to earn more money in exchange of the life that I got used to for more than 25 years. But then again, it’s too late to make regrets now. I guess I have no other choice but to give it a try for as long as I can. Who knows, my perception may change after a couple of months…That, my friends, is for me to find out and for you to know soon. I wanted some big change to finally take place, well, here it is right now, slowly unfolding before my very eyes.