Saturday, April 07, 2007

Adios and Si Yu'us Maasi Saipan


Date of arrival in saipan: February 8, 2006
Date of departure: February 10, 2007
Length of stay: 367 days


At the Francisco Ada International Airport prior to my departure. With my badminton friends - Cathy, Cecile and Cecile's cousin. February 10, 2007


Thank you and Goodbye Saipan.

After one year and 2 days, I am leaving the island which has served as my temporary home. An island where I experienced and learned a lot of things about myself and about other people.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the improvement in my financial status which has allowed me to afford a two month sabbatical. Two months which helped me re-discover relationships which were important to me. Relationships with my family and my friends.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the chance to feel varied emotions in a more intense manner. Thank you for the experience of fear, hate, love, affection, hurt, gratitude and many more. Thank you for the appreciation which helped boost my confidence.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the chance to be one of the living heroes of my country. Thank you for the OFW experience. Now I know the struggles and the rewards of being a contract worker. The good and the not so good side.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the new acquaintances and friends. Thank you for the companionships albeit temporary and fleeting. Thank you for the chance to share my humanity with others and to experience others' humanity too. I am enriched with such experiences.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the chance to work in a multi-cultural environment. Thank you for a chance to see work in a different backdrop. Thank you for the new learnings specially about US labor laws.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. Thank you for the chance to appreciate where I came from. Thank you for making me see my previous company in a different light. Thank you for the opportunity to compare what I had before and what I have now.

Thank you and goodbye saipan. For the many experiences which you made me go through for the past 367 days. The learnings and unlearnings which has helped me be the person I am right now.

This is my last entry in this blog. Goodbye Saipan. Thank you for everything!