Tuesday, 10 April 2007

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  Just in Case

  you were wondering what I've been up to the past two months..

  I'll do my best to recall everything that has happened.

  Feb 5 (the Day we flew outta Manila)

  It was such a difficult day. I was so jittery and nervous I could hardly stand still and could barely keep a decent conversation with anyone.

  I suppose the most memorable thing that I can remember from that day was when Trinny started crying at the airport. I don't mean those fake cries, but with tears. Like I really felt her pain of saying goodbye to my sister, Manang and Mark.

  When we finally got on the plane, I just felt that my heart got 10 lbs heavier. Like I wanted everything to go in slow-motion so that I'd stay in the Philippines longer.

  Feb 6

  WELCOME TO THE UK!

  We arrived at Gatwick airport at 6:20 am. I WAS BLOODY TIRED...Trin slept throughout the flight and only woke up to eat and go to the toilet..Kit did the same thing... I on the other hand slept for about 2 hours total..

  *sigh* A two hour train ride lay ahead of us.

  That train ride was one of the most difficult journeys I've ever experienced! Imagine having Trin, plus three suitcases, a laptop and a huge gym bag filled to the max and zero degree weather with this wind chill factor of God knows..

  Oh, but it didn't stop there. We had to take three different trains to get to Carmarthen, but just our luck, the second train we were on got stuck in Newport for about 30 minutes and we ended up missing our train. OOH NO..

  Its alright though, we took a detour to Swansea and Kit's MUM (Trin made me type that just now), Nikki picked us up at 1 in the afternoon. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was over 24 hours of travelling and we were pooped.

  THE WEEKS AFTER WE ARRIVED

  Seemed like a blur..so many things to do! Buy furniture for our house, pick up our car from Andy's parents house, sort out Trins school, the doctors, dentist, national insurance number, paint the house, get phone and internet connection, and we had to assemble all of our furniture!...AAAAAAAAAHHH!!

  It was like everyday was jammed pack with stuff to do! I could hardly catch  my breath.

  Amidst all the excitement there were times I'd cry and think of how much I wanted to be in familiar surroundings...

  And isn't it funny..the day we headed down to Ikea..(it was a miserable day, cold, gray and wet!) Trin and I were in the backseat of the car. Kit and Nikki were so excited, they were like tour guides pointing out all the places to see and go in Cardiff.

  When we got to Ikea, it was so weird..Trin and I started crying at the same time..I picked her up and she whispered, "Momma, I miss the Philippines."

  Nikki was so sweet, she hugged me and said it'll be okay and Kit picked Trinny up and said the same..

  The trip to Swindon and Faringdon

  Trin and I went to Swindon on a train to visit my cousin and aunt. They both hadn't seen me for about 14 years! It was amazing! I learned so much about my mom during that trip. I felt really safe in the UK now because of my family. Its a wonderful feeling knowing that there were people I could turn to for anything.

  It was a good trip, we went to the museum of Faringdon. Its such an old town. I felt like I was walking through history. Like their gravesite have epitaphs that were from the 1800-1900's!

  I hope to visit them again soon! They fed me and Trin lots of Filipino food! Tocino and sinigang!! YAY!! And gave me loads of stuff from their Oriental Food store.

  A month after we arrived..

  Trin was settling in school just fine. I made a new friend. Her name is Rachel. She is so sweet, genuine and thoughtful! Since I met her on St David's Day, she dropped by the house with a bouquet of daffodils! And on top of that, gave me her job at the school as a dinner lady for the infant school which meant I'd be with Trin during her lunch time!

  Lo and behold! There was another Filipino family in the neighborhood with a son that goes to school with Trin! EEEEK!! They're both nurses! Yay!

  Hmm, what does a dinner lady do exactly? Well, there were five of us watching 120 kids during their one and a half hour lunch break. YUP..120 hungry 4-7 year olds.  

  The kids are absolutely adorable! I was with the four year olds on the first day, and I had to help them cut their food up into bite size pieces! And they were so polite, they always raised their hands and asked if they could eat their afters (i.e. dessert)

  The Job Hunt

  So I officially started my job as a dinner lady on the 12th of March. I was happy, but reality kicked in and hey the Wilsons need money and since Poppa Bear started a new job at the Royal Bank of Scotland and wasn't getting paid till the 18th of April..so the job hunt continued..

  I have no idea how many job applications I filled out! Countless CVs sent through post and email.. Weeks passed..then came the rejection letters and emails. I felt my self esteem hit rock bottom. Then came thoughts of,

  "OMG, am I not good enough? I don't think I'm qualified for anything! Uh Oh, maybe because I'm from the Philippines."

  Honestly, I felt really bad because Kit applied for jobs on behalf of me and used Wilson, and OMG, the next day I got a call from the recruitment agency. And what a biatch, when she found out I was from the Philippines, her tone completely changed AAAANNND, she had the audacity to say, "Oh right, you know how to do admin stuff right? Do you have a passport?" WTH..I had to bite my tongue when she was asking me those questions..

  Anywho, the endless applications took a huge chunk of my time since they were very detailed! I felt like I was back in school! You had to explain what attributes you have that makes you the perfect candidate and in addition, put how you meet each quality that was essential for the role on the person specification part of the application. WHEW!

  All the rest..

  I went out with Kit the night Wales beat England in the Six Nations Rugby Match! It was unbelievable..I've never seen so many people out and about!

  I met all his friends who were absolutely fabolous! They can drink like noone's business..SCARY They like 80's music and danced the night away..I was like errr..YAHHHH!!!

  HEHEHHEHE..I hope one day we can all get together..The girls Jo, Jo, Sally, Rachel, Sian (pronounced Shaun), Yona, Leanne..and all the boys Owain, Iestyn, Sweeney, Wayne, and err I forgot all the rest of them...They made me feel so welcome..

  I've been to museums, parks, shopping centers, Techniquest, the countryside..

  Yes Cardiff is starting to grow on me. I love the fact that I can get everywhere on the train or on the bus. That when you drive people are nice. Haha..That when you go to a store you don't get followed by the ladies in their uniforms saying, "Yes maam/sir" I love the weather..I love the biscuit and chocolate variety.. I love that their post office is very effective!

  But hey, I miss sharing food when you sit down and eat, I miss the tricycles, I miss Rockwell, I miss Grams, I miss the fat, I miss the PRICES! Imagine a frapuccino costing 500 pesos! I miss driving on the other side of the road! I miss wearing sandals everywhere! I miss the bagoong readily available..but most of all I miss the people..

  to be continued...(I have to finish uploading and sorting out all my pictures)

  Kudos to you if you actually read all this! Hahahah..

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