Category: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

I took a break from writing because a lot happened over the course of one year. I quit my job in the Middle East, got married, got COVID-19 twice, moved to 3 different countries, experienced a typhoon, a snowstorm, became a student in Canada, was without a job for a year, almost drowned in a freshwater lake, celebrated our one-year anniversary, played at an event with over 1700 people, flew a plane, etc. PHEWWWW!!! Honestly, as I look back, 2021-2022 has been one crazy year, and there’s still some left as we approach the last quarter of 2022.

I was a flight attendant with Qatar Airways, and I was based out of Doha. I was supposed to get married earlier than our original date, but COVID-19 played spoil sport for the entire world. Being engaged and in a Long distance relationship was one of the hardest things to experience. I was in Qatar and Joanna was in New Zealand, only a 17-hour flight from each other. After a year of being engaged, we decided that we would find a way to meet and get married. And guess what? We did eventually find a way to meet in India, but Joanna’s parents and community would not make it due to covid restrictions. We were willing to take that bold step because long distance was just getting tough on us, but we understood what it would mean when we made that decision. It was going to be a hard decision.

Delhi it was. Joanna arrived, we got married, 50 chosen people made it to the wedding, and we were off to our honeymoon. We were having a great time driving around the hills and were very grateful that our parents lent us their car. Our fun time ended when we met one of my relatives during our honeymoon, and ended up getting the coronavirus. We were scared and had all kinds of mixed emotions. It was one challenge to recover from the virus, and we definitely got an early test of our vows to help each other in sickness and in health.

During our time in India, we were trying to apply for a visa to New Zealand, but after trying five times, there was no luck. The door was shut to enter the country, and our visa application was rejected five times. Disappointed and not knowing what to do next, we trusted God to lead us to our next steps. We quickly learned that sometimes when the door is shut, no human effort can open it, and when the door is meant to be open, no human effort can close it. Not to forget, Joanna’s job was a blessing indeed because her company supported us at every step. Thank you to the team and to the company that empathized with our situation. For Joanna to retain her job, we had to move countries for taxation reasons.

Philippines: Joanna’s home was our next stop. While she, being a citizen, could enter the country, it was another hurdle for me to obtain a visa. After rejections and not hearing back from the numerous emails sent, our hope was getting drained. Again, a LDR for 2 months. What was supposed to be a quick approval led to a 2-month wait. We definitely learned that one cannot escape the seasons of waiting in life. You can’t skip it, and you can’t cut corners. You’ve just got to wait, but with the right attitude. My visa came through at a time when we almost gave up on hearing from the embassy. Funny how that happens, but we were reminded that sometimes what you think is a period or fullstop is just a comma and that God would not take us through something just to break us but to build us. The Philippines was great, where I got to meet Joanna’s family and community. In the meantime, I was continuing my visa application for Canada. I decided to complete my masters, and we decided that Canada would be our home for the foreseeable future.

Just when I was about to submit my passport for my visa, the island was hit by a typhoon, and many couldn’t make it. The grocery and gas station lines were literally kilometers, there was no electricity for a month, no wifi, charging phones and gadgets led to massive lines at public charging stations, and there was devastation on the island. In the midst of all this, we managed to submit my passport and were eventually called to collect my passport from the capital city, Manila.

Our next stop was Canada. Upon landing in Canada, we were quarantined for two weeks, but when we got out of the quarantine, we were hit by a snowstorm, the kind that had never happened in 20-30 years. It was hard to begin a life in Canada, juggling school, building a life, finding a job, a community, having no car, and finding a house that was close to school. We were blessed to get a house that was close to school because the school shuttle bus just picked me up from in front of my house. That was another blessing because we didn’t have a car at the time.

From there, our faith has gotten stronger because we found the strength to overcome these hurdles. We didn’t just pray for solutions, but we prayed and acted on finding solutions for every problem. We learned that solutions don’t come to those who just pray, but to those who put their faith in action, and that taking action is a big deal if you want to get results. Couple that with prayer and you would get a strong mix.

We’re now in the season of life where we’re still figuring things out and are a work in progress, but we can say that we’ve been blessed, and we love to share those blessings with people around us. That service brings us a great deal of satisfaction. To conclude, as we look back, we can see God’s footprints in our lives, where He carried us in His arms when we couldn’t walk.

Coming from a strong family background, I was used to being around people most of the time. Right up from school to university to church to sports, I was always used to having friends and people around me. I was not at all used to living away from home for long periods of time. But you realize over time that to make a living, you gotta make a sacrifice. For some people, that looks like leaving home at an early stage, and for others its something else. It probably requires them to make a sacrifice in a different way. My plans in life were to pursue soccer as a career, as I was passionate about the game and wanted to play the sport professionally. However, things in life don’t always go according to what and how you plan. 

I began my first job almost 6 months after I had graduated from university. It was the job of a flight attendant for a domestic airline in India. The independence of not depending on my parents or anyone else for that matter, felt like I had wings to fly. At the time, I still shared space with my brother and parents, but it felt great to be self-sufficient to stand on my own two feet. However, all of that came at a cost. 

My involvement in sports and church started to take a back seat, and I started to be increasingly involved and busy at the workplace, which is normal but since my job was not a regular day job, matching schedules with my buddies, or even doing life with friends became increasingly challenging. Not only that, but dedicating time for the things I loved the most started to be pushed to one corner.

Now I was not rostered for long flights, but flying itself was getting tiring and exhausting. The different schedules, odd sleep patterns, etc. became a part of my lifestyle. It was not all that bad since I was flying regional at that time, but I had no idea that very soon my schedules were going to take a big hit. Soon after I received the opportunity to fly for an airline in the Gulf, I left for the Middle East. I thought my schedules was going to get better, but low and behold, I was wrong. 

From the outside, life seemed pretty comfortable and settled. Traveling to new countries for the next two years, visiting new places every week, swimming at white sandy beaches, completing close to 60 countries, it was indeed a fun phase of life I lived. The average roster for the month would start in the Americas and end in Singapore or New Zealand. Trying new cuisines, meeting new people every other day started to become a norm. Not to forget that our transportation and accommodation were covered by the company, It was a life where we got paid to travel. On long and ultra-long flights, we had inflight rest, (basically sleep on board) which was legal rest on board, so as to perform our duties efficiently and remain vigilant on the job. 

Our salaries every month were tax-free, and we had no delays in receiving them. 95% of the time, we never stood in queues for immigration or security. And on layovers, our transport was arranged every time by the hotel we stayed at. The only things we covered were our food and internet. Well, everyone would pay for that.

As much as the outside looked perfect and happy, keeping oneself motivated and inspired every day in spite of the perks and the travel was a challenge. Some days felt like a huge climb to have that intrinsic motivation because life after all was not that comfortable as it seemed. We made some amazing friendships over the years doing flights with them, but because of the different schedules everyone had, it was a challenge to meet up. 

Now some obviously were happy with their social lives; however, it was a different story for others. It was a life where you couldn’t have the comfort of having someone around you when you needed someone. Feelings and emotions were suppressed at times when they needed vulnerability. Making a lot of friends became easy, but making real friends became a challenge. A lot of people just longed for a connection, a real connection with someone, and soon I realized that it is not about the number of friends you have but about the quality of friends you have who would be available when you need them. 

Ive seen and realized one very important learning of life, that is, work is just a small part of life. The work one does doesn’t define them in life. I learned that work is not life but is just a part that makes life beautiful, challenging, yet exciting. There are many things in life apart from the work space. Things that drive you, things that make you happy, things that you are passionate about, things that challenge you apart from work. Not to forget that we are not designed to live in isolation and separation, but we’re designed to have social connections and connect with people. Yes, balancing work and life can be challenging at times, but what you don’t know, you just learn. I’ve learnt, life is about learning at different stages and seasons of life if you allow it.

I’m not sure where I read this, but it quoted as, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone, but if you want to walk far, walk with a group.” I hope we will find a group that will empower us, encourage us, inspire us, and lead us closer to the aims and goals we want to achieve in life. Staying connected with people is the key because it’s not always about you but about how you connect and relate to people.