From Zamboanga to Qatar - Part 2
I flew back to Cebu City on the 14th of January. I had lunch with some friends and said my good byes for now and chilled with my guy. After all, I was leaving the Philippines on the 16th. In my mind, I guess I really needed to move forward because it felt like I was pretty much stuck, not getting anything else happening in my life. I was stuck in a routine. I wanted to try something new and being an OFW is something I haven't done before. And maybe it'll keep me grounded for a few years.
The 16th. I had an early morning flight to Hong Kong. My guy had to ask his friend for a favour to drive me to the airport. We both couldn't stay long with each other. He had his friend with him and they were just using their lunch break to take me to the airport. I had to go through check in, travel tax processing and immigration. I've heard plenty of horror stories involving the immigration process, so I was praying internally that everything goes smoothly.
As someone who has not traveled out of the country alone, with very little research about the country where I'm headed to, you would think I'd be shaking from anxiety and stutter all the way through, but strangely enough, I did not even know how to feel. I just knew that I will get through just like I have done so for the past 30 years. That everything will always be all right.
The check in counter asked for my passport, baggage and ticket. He also looked for my return ticket to the Philippines from Hong Kong, which I did not have, so I gave him my second ticket, heading to Qatar as well as the return ticket. He verified my visa and verified the airline company I was travelling on. He reminded me to pay the travel tax and after doing so, I took slow steps towards immigration. Aside from travel tax, I had to pay the terminal fee before getting through to immigration. There was a man who was arguing with one of the counters because they only accepted USD or PhP. He didn't have enough cash and had HKD. He was upset that the airport didn't take credit cards either.
On to immigration. I was fourth in line. I have a habit of counting the number of people in front of me. I am almost always fourth in line. I've stood in line so many times that the only thing I thought worth remembering was that I was almost always fourth in line. It's like the fourth spot was reserved for me.
The other people's interviews took about 10 minutes. Ten minutes was a long time, right? The last time I went through here was on a trip to Hong Kong with friends. On my turn, the immigration officer took a look at my ticket, my ID and visa and that was it. No complicated questions.
My documents have finally made it back from the Department of Foreign Affairs and someone's holding on to then right now. It will cost about PhP 2,500 to send them here. With all that money coming out of the pocket, I have to get a job that is actually going to cover all the expenses.
Fast forward to the time when I got the documents. The DFA returned them because CHED forgot to actually sign the document.
$#!+.
The 16th. I had an early morning flight to Hong Kong. My guy had to ask his friend for a favour to drive me to the airport. We both couldn't stay long with each other. He had his friend with him and they were just using their lunch break to take me to the airport. I had to go through check in, travel tax processing and immigration. I've heard plenty of horror stories involving the immigration process, so I was praying internally that everything goes smoothly.
As someone who has not traveled out of the country alone, with very little research about the country where I'm headed to, you would think I'd be shaking from anxiety and stutter all the way through, but strangely enough, I did not even know how to feel. I just knew that I will get through just like I have done so for the past 30 years. That everything will always be all right.
The check in counter asked for my passport, baggage and ticket. He also looked for my return ticket to the Philippines from Hong Kong, which I did not have, so I gave him my second ticket, heading to Qatar as well as the return ticket. He verified my visa and verified the airline company I was travelling on. He reminded me to pay the travel tax and after doing so, I took slow steps towards immigration. Aside from travel tax, I had to pay the terminal fee before getting through to immigration. There was a man who was arguing with one of the counters because they only accepted USD or PhP. He didn't have enough cash and had HKD. He was upset that the airport didn't take credit cards either.
On to immigration. I was fourth in line. I have a habit of counting the number of people in front of me. I am almost always fourth in line. I've stood in line so many times that the only thing I thought worth remembering was that I was almost always fourth in line. It's like the fourth spot was reserved for me.
The other people's interviews took about 10 minutes. Ten minutes was a long time, right? The last time I went through here was on a trip to Hong Kong with friends. On my turn, the immigration officer took a look at my ticket, my ID and visa and that was it. No complicated questions.
My documents have finally made it back from the Department of Foreign Affairs and someone's holding on to then right now. It will cost about PhP 2,500 to send them here. With all that money coming out of the pocket, I have to get a job that is actually going to cover all the expenses.
Fast forward to the time when I got the documents. The DFA returned them because CHED forgot to actually sign the document.
$#!+.
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