Working in a Foreign Land

What your priorities are defines you.  It is a fact that what you consider essential in life really determines what your next move or actions will be.  I look back at the Year 1999 where, I have already moved up to be a Manager, but still had the desire to make more money.  I was working for a leading Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and had received a juicy offer from a competitor company based in Indonesia.   The Salary was almost 4 times my current

I accepted the offer and was soon on my way to a foreign land on October 1999. The Singapore Airlines flight I rode was flying to Changi Airport (Singapore) as there was no airport in Batam Island where I was scheduled to work.  After arriving in Changi airport a fellow OFW waited for me and we then took a cab to WTC(World Trade Center) where we a  took a ferry(30-minute ride) to Sekupang port.  We then took another cab(an old one this time) and arrived in a house where I was supposed to stay as an expat in the stated Indonesian Island. I met at the house Rod Zepeda whom I used to work with in Amkor Technology at the Customer Service Department.

It is funny how your lifestyle changes when you are living or working in a different country.  Compared to Singapore, Indonesia was a nightmare.  I knew Singapore years back as I had a chance to go to this country previously during business meetings.  I dreamed of working overseas in a progressive country like Singapore.  Batam Island seemed like a step back on my career plans. Moving to another country was one thing, but living in a house all alone where people were different in culture and beliefs was another heartbreak altogether. Notwithstanding my frequent disagreement with my boss, I decided to go back after 6 months.  Working in Batam proved one thing.  Money was not everything.  All the key ingredients for me to stay there were not existent.  It was the longest 6 months I have experienced in my entire life.

I never regretted going to Batam.  Life has a funny way of teaching us how to value some things better than others.  The experience made me realize how important being with my family was.  Boy, did I ever miss my family during those times.  As history would have it, I was back at my old company April of 2000 and had my second child by September.  The struggles we encounter do mold us in a certain way.  It is what we do with those challenges that determine where we will be headed.  That was what I did.  I made a decision and never looked back........  Always excited about what life has to offer......