My Travel Experience

It was month of April when the travel agency has called me up to confirm my passport ready. I was sponsored by my son-in-law to visit their first baby. My daughter has just given birth to a healthy baby girl in Saudi Arabia where the couple has been working for the past two years. It's their first baby after three years of marriage. Though their were excited to have a baby they would be saddled with the burden of caring for her and this saddened my daughter because this would mean she might stop working. It's the reason also why I was asked to speed-up the processing of my passport. I'm doubly excited to tackle the task of being a nanny to my grandchild and to travel abroad for the first time. I arrived here in Saudi last May anxious to find out how the procedure is going and how I should adapt to their culture. My lady co-passengers mostly Filipinos are already putting on their abayas when the plane has touchdown and we were advised to be alighting from the plane sooner. My daughter has called me up on my mobile phone, they were already on the arrival area to fetch me. I was still on the ground waiting for my baggage to pass the x-ray machine. After I got hold of my baggage I was finally relieved. I know I have nothing to worry about I have not brought anything illegal or banned materials but still my being first time traveler to totally different culture like us ,it make me shrink.

Contrary to the negative picture of how Saudi's strict culture has been projected in my mind, I was met with group of smiling and contented Filipino workers upon my arrival to the rented house of my daughter. Some of them have stayed in Saudi for more than ten years with their family and children renting on one big mansion sharing together with other Filipino families with each occupying a big room space with common kitchen and comfort room. A room space is as big as or a little bigger than the row house being sold for a low-income earner in the Philippines. All rooms are air-conditioned and all families are enjoying a comfortable lifestyle owning necessary automatic electrical appliances and cars. Electric bills are very minimal almost negligible to the budget compare to the Philippines. The temperature outside is hot dry above 40 degrees centigrade and there is an occassional sand storm. With contrasting temperature of hot dry outside the room and cold dry inside, we all experience dryness of the skin and everybody are applying the petroleum jelly to moisturize the skin and our sweat gland remains intact.

So far the places I have visited is the mall and hospital. We went shopping at the Riyadh gallery last Friday. The week end days here are Thursday and Friday so my daughter have to plan all the necessary outing and shopping during those days. The mall is superb big and full of lights. Friday is the day for family. Women are not allowed to go out without their abayas on and also to walk alone without their husband or children. Single women have separate days of malling allowed only during Monday. Supermarket occupies a very large space and grocery items have a very low cost with plenty of promo items and they are usually be bought in bulk.

My daughter has a work during Saturday. It's a vaccine day for my grandbaby I was with my son-in-law to take their baby to the hospital. We already have a contact Filipino nurse in the hospital so we can well be accommodated. We were welcome by our smiling Filipino nurses. It's a private hospital and most nurses are Filipinos. I take pride for them they are smart and friendly.