ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴅᴀʏs ɪɴ THE NORTH

My husband is finally on vacation after around seven months of working.  His last vacation was in the Philippines and this time we'll spend it just here in Martinique, no airplane rides.  He's been here for more than three years so he knows the island and he's been showing me around since I arrived in May.  We live in the south and he's been telling me about showing me the northest point of the island which we have decided to do in this vacation.  He's a very good guide and the best in planning vacation activities.  He invited two of his colleagues to join us in the longest trekking of the island, at the north.

 

Since we're from the south he offered me a three day vacation in Grand'Rivière, the northest and last city of the island facing the Atlantic ocean.  The first day we'll enjoy to ourselves, the second day we'll spend trekking with his colleagues and the third day will be to relax a bit before driving back home. 

 

Indeed, we left home at ten in the morning and started hitting the road.  We made a few stops along the way; first was in a grocery store at the city called Le Lorrain to buy us some bottles of water.  Then at Basse Pointe (where Aimé Césaire was born) for lunch, we found a good native restaurant called Petit Palais, the price and food were correct and the waitress was very kind.  The last stop was at JM rhum distillery in Macouba, the last small city before Grand'Rivière.  It's a small distillery which is being renovated at the moment.  We bought a bottle of an old rhum and a few rhum glasses. 

 



At last we arrived in Grand'Rivière at a little past four in the afternoon.  The city is very small, it's just like a small barangay back home (in the Philippines).  There's only one hotel/guest house in the city, my husband booked a room a week ago-which was pretty challenging because he had to call back around five times before it was actually done-.  The name of the guest house is Chez Tante Arlette which is also a very good native restaurant.  When we arrived we found a parking lot facing the Atlantic ocean where we could also see Dominica, the next island, it was very nice then we walked a little towards the newly built dock to enjoy the view even more.  After enjoying the view, the sun and the Atlantic wind we went looking for Chez Tante Arlette which never took long at all, it was just a few blocks away from where we parked.  When we arrived at the guest house it was kind'a strange, they were all looking at us like we're some kind of zombies..lol...but a few minutes later Tante Arlette welcomed us so warmly and we felt better.  We then moved the car and parked it in front of the guest house.  There are only three rooms in this guest house, at the second floor and the first floor is their very good restaurant and it's where they live too I suppose. 

We settled in our room and went out after a quick shower for a sunset walk.  Then at the same time I suddenly felt sick, I couldn't stop peeing and it's painful...a Urinary Track Infection for sure and it scared me.  Well, we still went for a walk...the sunset was very beautiful and we went to the church too.  They have a very beautiful church, small but beautiful and there's a huge christmas tree across it.  Unfortunately we didn't enjoy the afternoon so much since I was feeling so sick.  I started drinking a lot of water because I know it can help, then my husband called one of his colleagues whose coming the next day to try to drop by at a pharmacy to see if he can get me something. 

At seven-thirty we went downstairs for dinner and I asked my husband to inquire if they have coconut water because I know it's good against the UTI too.  Unfortunately they don't have it available at the moment but Karine, the daughter of Tante Arlette called someone to ask for coconut water for breakfast.  We were so happy and amazed with their kindness because we don't see that a lot in this island.  They also gave me a glass of half beer and half water, apparently it could help too.  For dinner we had grilled fish, the best grilled fish in the world!!hahaha...  It was marinated and prepared by Tante Arletter herself, she's most likely over seventy years old but she still does what she does best, cooking and welcoming guests.  During the meal I forgot for a moment that I was sick, it's that Delicious!!! 

After dinner there's nothing else to do there so we went back to our room and I was feeling worst.  It was like a nightmare, at some point I peed more than a dozen times in an hour.  It's not making us sleep and we had a very long hiking to do the next day.  It was scary and frustrating at the same time.  There's no doctor or pharmacy in this part of the island so it was very challenging.  At around midnight I wanted to sleep on the floor because I didn't want to bother my husband since I kept going to the toilet every three or five minutes but the moment he noticed it he didn't allow me.  Thankfully the urge to pee and the pain somehow decreased allowing us to sleep a few hours and in the morning I felt a lot better and I was sure I could go hiking with them.  During the breakfast I had my coconut water and it indeed helped so much!

We met the colleagues of my husband at the tourism office of the island where we had to pay for the boat which will pick us up after the 18 km hiking.  There was another guest from Tante Arlette's who had to join us because no one is allowed to be alone in the forest.  We started walking at eight-twenty, the first hour and a half was pretty challenging because we had to climb a little but it was fine, we stopped a few times to take some pictures.  We walked and walked until we were totally inside the huge virgin forest, where you could almost not see the sun.  It was so beautiful, I love the smell of the ground with dried fallen leaves, the fresh cool air, the sound of the birds and the wind and in a way I was forgetting that I was even ill.  After hours of walking inside the forest all the time we started seeing the ocean every now and then, the view was amazing!  At eleven-thirty we stopped for lunch after a short tunnel.  Fabrice made and brought a cocktail for everyone.  It felt so good to fill our empty stomachs after three hours of walking.  As we continued the view got even more and more beautiful but the last hour was a challenge again, our feet felt so heavy and it was so much more for Fabrice because he was carrying two back packs, he didn't want me to carry my back pack... great husband I have, I know :)

We arrived at the beach in Anse Couleuvre where we could see the bottom of the mountain touching the sea directly, it's very beautiful!  We walked five hours and thirty-seven then we spent about an hour and a half at the beach waiting for the boat.  I didn't go for a swim, the sea is too wild and besides I thought it was not good for my UTI.  The boat arrived at four forty-five and I found the boarding funny and scarry at the same time.  Since the Atlantic waves are so strong we had to be very quick in boarding the boat and since I don't swim it scared me so much.  I ran like crazy, got on the boat and sat very quickly then I saw the others doing the same thing like we were running away from a mad man...LOL... While on board the boat the challenge continued for me because the waves were so wild and big.  I still got scared even if I was among some sailors because sometimes I felt like we were flying.  Nonetheless, I still did my best to look at the view and oh my God!  It was so beautiful seeing the forest that we walked, we saw the very beautiful landscapes, the very high cliffs falling directly to the Atlantic ocean.....breathtaking!

 

The boat ride wasn't so long, thankfully.  When we got to the guest house we had some drinks, they had beer and I had my coconut water again.  Fabrice's colleagues then left as they gotta work the next day, Xavier (the other guest from Tante Arlette's) stayed for the night like us.  We took long showers and relaxed a little before dinner.  At dinner it was a feast!  I had a plate of La Grillade du Pecheur which is composed of a half crayfish, lots of shrimps and grilled conch with rice and local vegetables on the side...hmmmm.....It filled my very hungry stomach.  Fabrice had a plateful of giant ouasous (local fresh water shrimps) with rice and local vegetables on the side too!  Everything was delicious and we enjoyed our dinner with our new friend, Xavier.

 

The next day at around mid-day we left for our long drive home and unfortunately on the way I was so road-sick.  I hate long drives :(  Because I was so sick my dearest husband surprised me by sending me to a very good restaurant again for lunch in Depaz rhum distillery called Le Moulin à Cannes.  We had another very delicious meal!!!  Then the next and last stop was the Neisson rhum distillery.  It's a small distillery and they're so good with white rhums.

It then felt soooo good to be home, in our own little paradise in Les Papayers.

The trekking map (image from http://internes-au-soleil.over-blog.com/5-index.html)

Parked just in front of Chez Tante

 The room.

 With Tante Arlette herself :)

 Keeping up with them :)

 Breathtaking view of the Atlantic ocean.

 Some coves you'll see along the way :)

 Matoutou Falaise - a native huge spider.

 My plateful of seafoods...hhhmmmm.....

His plateful of giant native fresh-water shrimps...yummmyyyy!!!

 

Tʜᴇ Aᴅᴊᴜsᴛᴍᴇɴᴛs & Pᴇᴛᴛʏ Aʀɢᴜᴍᴇɴᴛs

Being newly married entails a lot of joys, excitements and a new set of pretty little challenges especially if it's an intercultural kind of marriage.  I have never lived with a man until I got married.  I have stayed long vacations with my husband before we got married but those are different, they were "vacations", stress-free and everyday-happy except on the days when he flies back to France (I was still in Cebu then). 

Living with someone who grew up in a totally different culture can be challenging sometimes for both parties.  And aside from the cultural differences, as a woman, I also got my mood swings especially during the "red alert" times of the month.  I can be a pain in the ass sometimes with my over-sensitivity, my being too emotional and or my jealousy.  Thankfully I've been blessed with the most understanding man in the whole world!  He also has his low moments that require my patience and understanding.  Nobody's perfect and we both embrace that fact. 

We're both adjusting to a lot of things together and he's been really kind and considerate with me for the fact that this is the first time that I've lived away from my family, the first time that I left my comfort zone and the first time that I become totally dependent on someone yet there are those moments when both of us are just too stressed and are not able to keep our cool over certain things.  Simple things!  We are both working on our differences with respect towards each other, always!  I need to constantly remember that he has his side of the bed and if he's in the wrong side he won't be able to sleep correctly.  I always sleep under the sheets and he doesn't so he has to make sure he doesn't lie "all over" it otherwise I'd end up waking him while trying to pull it out in the middle of the night.  I cook rice in a way I used to do in the Philippines and he does it like he's cooking pasta (and there's nothing wrong with that, just never thought it's even possible)hehe...  He eats medium rare to rare beef, I don't!  The blood disgusts me so much.  I like eating pork, he doesn't like it as much (unless they are some barbecued ribs).  These are just examples, the list is pretty long.  I'm just trying to say that we're both different and yet we're perfect together! 

There are times when jokes don't come out right and they cause tension, a raised voice or an emotional breakdown (for me).  We react to stress very differently and sometimes I'm very negative that it gets to him which always ruins the day.  Sometimes he becomes so impatient over certain things and he'd bang the door and me being "over-sensitive" I'd always feel like he did it against me which of course is not true, yet he will really have to give me a hug to console me for that because I hate door slamming.  I have a tendency not to speak when I'm upset and it drives him crazy when I'm acting like that which just makes the situation worst so I'm little by little trying to stop this bad habit.  As I've mentioned my jealousy can be an issue that he has to deal with as well and as days go by he's getting better with that.  I can't help it, I've always been jealous as far as I could remember and he knew it since the beginning.

My husband fascinates me everyday.  Every little detail about him makes me fall in love even more over and over again.  We might have raised our voices against each other but there was never a time that we didn't say our apologies shortly.  Thankfully I've been blessed with a very kind, sensitive, loving and respectful husband.  All our petty arguments are actually helping us know each other better and love each other even more. 

In our couple we recognize the importance of open and honest communication and it is one of the things that's keeping us happy everyday.  Knowing that at the end of the day, no matter how simple or complicated an argument or issue is, if we talk about it then we'll both feel better.  Respect on the other hand plays a very important role too for without respect the "open and honest communication" can turn out to be just nagging.  I respect my husband and let him take his time when he's upset, I don't approach him like a hungry lioness just to have an open and honest talk, it doesn't work like that.  If you do it that way then good luck!  I am most certain that it will make the situation worse, of course!  My husband does respect my space too and waits until he feels that I'm ready to talk.  Everyday I feel like I owe him the world for loving me the way he does.  I have never felt this completely happy!  I love him and I will continue to love him more and more despite all our differences because our differences are our strengths too like he always said!

ᴛʜᴇ FIRST ʏᴇᴀʀ

I'm going to talk about more than one topic in this post: our first wedding anniversary and our first year as a married couple.  On the fourth of October we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  It was funny because as early as the third we were already starting to exchange our greetings because we got married in the Philippines which is twelve hours ahead of Martinique, where we are at now.  Weeks before this special day my husband already had plans, he offered me a romantic dinner date at one of the best restaurants in the island.  He indeed made the reservation and we were so excitedly looking forward to it. 

 

On the other hand, as this important day was coming I was so stuck in an awful situation of not knowing what gift could I possibly give to my husband.  I'm in France and I've just been here for a few months, I don't really speak their language yet and they don't have an accessible public transportation system (I mean here in Martinique) so how could I possibly find something for my husband without him knowing it?  Whenever we go to the mall or department stores we're always together and I didn't want to order something online too, I've always been scared of internet fraud since I worked in a bank's fraud operation's department for many years.  So about four days before our anniversary I finally decided on what to do.  While my husband was at work I took the time to make my own hand-made anniversary card.  I had second thoughts about it because it's way too simple and I want to give him more but I had no other choice at the moment.  I finally knew what to do but then I got not so much art materials...it's not like in the Philippines that you can just go to the sari-sari store (a very small convenient store in the Philippines) next door to buy the basic art materials needed for a greeting card.  Anyhow, I got reminded of my art projects in my elementary years and the power of resourcefulness!  I cut and used a cereal box and I covered it with our stocked white scratch papers to conceal the writings of the box and then folded it to a greeting card.  Then I used a part of the red popcorn box and cut little hearts with it.  My longhand writing skills is not very beautiful but longhand writing is always more romantic so I went online and tried my best to follow the best font that I have found to scribble our names on a huge heart that I draw using my lipstick.  I was so happy seeing the almost finished product and then I draw one huge candle inside and wrote my anniversary message.  The folded greeting card already looked good but I thought it could be better to add more drama by using a ribbon.  I looked around again and found the handle of my paper bag which perfectly fits the purpose, et voilà!  I had to hide my simple little present until THE day will come. 

 

I was planning on giving him my little present at the restaurant but I was too excited I gave it to him in the afternoon.  I still feel it's not enough as a gift for such a husband that I have but he truly appreciated my effort and understood my situation.  One day I'll give him more than greeting cards for sure! 

 

While waiting for the time before our dinner date my amazing husband baked a very delicious pineapple cake, I helped a bit of course but he's the chef!  Then we prepared early for the dinner.  I decided to wear the red dress that he bought ten years before he found me.  It's one of the two dresses that he bought for the woman who will become his wife, the other one is the white dress that I wore for our wedding.  He wore his long sleeve polo shirt which is as red as my dress.  We were so dressed up for the night, it felt so special. 

 

We arrived in the restaurant on time, we ordered two different cocktails.  Mine was a coco punch and his was a piña colada and both were so good!  Just a few minutes after finishing our cocktails the restaurant owner gave us some complimentary appetizers, a green curry of something...we don't really know what it was but it tasted good.  I ordered scallops and my husband ordered a seafood curry.  The scallops were so fucking good, they melt in your mouth, so soft and the tastes was so heavenly good!  I had fish too which was again so good.  Fabrice's plate was very good as well.  We both had a glass of white wine and lastly ordered a dessert which somehow disappointed us, they weren't as good as they were presented.  It was a very good dinner all in all and very romantic but the bill wasn't romantic unfortunately.  Anyway, we kept telling ourselves that "it's worth it, it's a very special occasion and we deserved it". 

More importantly I'd like to share a little about our first year of marriage.  Still the honeymoon stage as they say.  The most challenging part was the time when he had to come back to France without me after the wedding and we had to go through the agony of being apart for some months.  Normally we should have been together around five months after our wedding but due to some delays on the procedure in the french embassy he actually had to come back to see me again after six months and a few weeks of waiting, it's impossible not to see each other so he took an unexpected vacation.  Thankfully, by God's grace we were able to have a very good vacation, complete my papers and buy the tickets for me to be with him on his trip back to France (to Martinique to be exact).  It was by some kind of heavenly miracle that it all happened! 

Our life here in Martinique is different in a very good way.  We still miss each other but not more than the couple of days when he's at work.  We shared some tough moments, my health had not been so great but my husband has been very caring and loving thankfully, his health haven't been so impressive either yet we surpass our problems, there's nothing serious that happened anyway.  We've raised our voices a few times over some silly things, we both have to deal with some little adjustments in living together.  We talked a lot, watched movies and pictures a lot, went to many nice and interesting places, cooked and baked a lot, laughed, hugged and kissed a lot together!  The first year went by pretty fast!  I remember someone tried to talk my husband off the idea of marrying me just a month or weeks before our wedding saying "it's probably too early to get married"!  We prove these kinds of people wrong.  We've never been happier in our lives!  We share the gift of love every second of everyday and yet we still can't seem to get enough of each other.  If our lives will continue to be like this as years go by then most certainly we'll die happy but before the reality of death knock us off we would have enjoyed our lives together.  There's no doubt we were born for each other! 

 

ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ HOUSEWIFE

It's been a little over five months since I left my last job.  Many people have bad and negative notions about being a housewife but day after day I'm enjoying it.  It made me discover a lot of things about myself and it's making me grow in a different way.  Working is very good and rewarding, I totally agree with that but so as being a stay home wife.  Don't you think it's rewarding enough when your husband appreciates the new dish you just learned to cook?  how about the nice and clean smell of the house when he gets home? or even the laundry that's neatly pressed or the the closet that's well arranged?  and don't forget the shirt botton you found and fixed!  A simple smile and a kiss of gratitude is more than enough of a reward.

Yes I would admit that in the beginning I was a bit scared.  I know how to cook just a few Filipino dishes and I've never been in charged of the kitchen or the house for a long time.  Back in high school and college I was more independent.  I cook, do the laundry and look after the house myself.  But when I started working my mother decided to be the one to wash my clothes and everyone were looking after the house then my sister-in-law moved in with us so she was the one to always cook.  Due to my awful work schedule being always at the night shift, when I get home I just eat and sleep, get up and then get ready for work again....Later on I asked my mother or anyone not to touch my laundry but I still didn't work on them, I went ahead and send them to the laundry shop.  I've been off the house works for quite some time then I got married, eventually stopped working and moved in with my husband overseas.  Yes that's a lot of adjustments to make but I've been so blessed with a very understanding and supportive life partner.

I could not help but feel a little worried in the beginning but eventually things just fall into place.  I was able to get myself together with the house works.  Thankfully the place I moved to is also tropical so the food and vegetations are almost totally the same.  My husband showed me how to cook his country's typical foods then my friend suggested a cooking website which turned out to be so helpful.  Since then I've been able to prepare simple yet good meals for us.  The happiness in his eyes and the happiness I feel are priceless everytime he appreciates the little things I do at home. 

Career driven women might be so bored to do all these things but it's not really as bad as they think it is.  They should try it at least once in their lives and besides being a wife is a very rewarding career too!  I also recognize the fact though that the kind of man we choose to marry is a huge factor on our happiness with being a stay home wife.  I am so blessed to have married the best man for me and this made me the happiest.  I consider this as a great opportunity to just always be there looking after my husband and our love nest because things might change in the future, perhaps the necessity and opportunity to land a job will come again so I am taking advantage of this beautiful and stress-free life of being a wife.

To the rest of the women who are on the same situation as myself, cheers to us!  Be proud!  A part of the world may consider what we do as tiresome and boring but they just don't realise how fun, challenging and rewarding it really is!  I choose to be a happy housewife over being a desperate one ;)

it's poulet boucané for lunch ^^

ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ТШEИTУ-ЄЇбНT

I grew up in a family where birthdays are celebrated in the most simple way, no extravagant parties, no expensive gifts.  I remember Mama would grow a chick to share for my birthday or someone's birthday in the family and it's usually paired with her ever delicious bam-i then she'll take the birthday celebrant to church or just go to church and lit a candle by herself if the celebrant is not available.  The food is shared over lunch or dinner usually and it's been a tradition that the kids would always make birthday cards, I miss those a lot!  In our family we love making greeting cards for any occasion.  I also remember that when the clock strikes midnight the cellphone would be so busy with all the birthday greetings, it's like your family and friends are in some kind of race as to who greets you first which feels amazing! 

 

This year my birthday celebration was different since I'm already in France, my first birthday outside of the Philippines.  No I never had a fancy celebration in an expensive restaurant but it was more special than that.  My Fabrice, no matter how tired he was, got up from a short nap just to prepare my birthday dinner.  He would have wanted to take me out but I opted to stay at home, it's more special...just the two of us over a birthday dinner with a glass of wine (a very good wine mind you!).  So, since we were just at home he decided to cook a very special meal which is supposed to be for Christmas, a crayfish with a special very delicious sauce!  He never wanted me to help, he just asked me to stay foot and wait......spoiling me on my birthday = happy me!

 

Then he told me to call Mama and who ever I want in the Philippines which is another very special gift.  He simply knows how to make me happy, like always!  So I phoned Mama, we talked for some fifteen minutes and now I'm scared to think about the telephone bill and I also called one of my best friends, Lorin, it was quick but enough to make me happy.  I was smiling when Fabrice thanked Mama for baring the labor pains twenty-eight years ago and for Papa too because it took both of them to make a baby...hehe... 

 

Back to the dinner, it was perfectly ready on time.  Fabrice set up a candle light dinner at our balcony which is super duper romantic!  We had a bottle of Sauternes for the aperitif, the crayfish as the main dish with a bottle of Reisling white wine and my favorite ever fondant au chocolat!  Everything was perfect!  When I was talking to Mama she said something that I totally agree and which is totally true "the best birthday gift Pangga is the good health and a very good husband"!  What more can I ask for? 

 

I thank God for all the blessings, the love and care I receive from family and good friends even if most of them are so far.  I still received some text messages from my loved once too, it just feels so nice when people remember and most importantly, I thank God for giving me such a wonderful and loving husband!  It was indeed a happy birthday!!!!

 

 

 

ᴛʜɪs sᴀᴍᴇ ᴅᴀʏ THREE YEARS AGO

I was one of the women who wished on falling stars to find the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor, her prince in disguise.......and I never would have imagined that such wishes will ever be answered.  On this same day some three years ago a man told me "je t'aime" (I love you in french) and promised to always tell me the same thing everyday.  He is a man of his words indeed, since then he never missed a day in telling me how much he loves me with the exception of those days when he's on his flights (four times from Martinique to Cebu) to be in my arms.  It is amazing how loving and being loved back by someone makes us feel so good, happy, grateful and more than anything else BLESSED!

 

I thank God with all my heart for giving me such a blessing.  Any woman can find a husband but not a lot of women are blessed with such a loving, caring, protective, supportive, romantic, kind, understanding, sweet, patient, responsible and respectful husband.  These are just the very few things that I can say about my husband, the list is never ending but to some it all up I can say "I simply have the best, THE ONE I've been praying for and the only and last one in the world to ever make me feel the way I do". 

 

It is but a living miracle to have found you my love.  Thank you for always keeping up with me even if I can be a little too much to handle at times.  Thank you for always making me your top priority.  Thank you for making me feel so beautiful and thank you for not getting tired of saying "I love you, je t'aime or even gi higugma ko ikaw".......you still make me giggle, you still make me blush, you still flatter me after all these years and I hope and pray that you will never cease to do it. 

 

I love you so much and I always will.  Life is never easy as we know but like we always said, we are stronger together.  I could not ask for more, thank you so much for loving me the way you do! 

 

 

 

Lᴀ Mᴀʀᴛɪɴɪǫᴜᴇ

I often get questions from my family and friends how life is like in this part of the world.  A lot of them actually don't really have a clear idea where this place is located.  We see it in movies, yes! But this is not a common destination of a Filipino unless he or she is working in a cruise ship.  So just to give a little clarification on this matter I'd say "use google"...LOL...  No, seriously:  the Caribbean is full of islands which are overseas territories or departments of some European countries or the Great Britain.  However, these islands are actually closer to America than they are to Europe or GB. 

Martinique is a departement outre-mer (overseas department) of France.  It's like a province of France (for better understanding) though it is eight hours away from its metropolis. Everything here is french; the language (but they have their native language called Creole), the currency, the system etc..

I'm gonna share my observations about the way of life here.

Grocery Shopping:

After my arrival, the first thing I and my husband did was grocery shopping.  They don't have huge malls here like we have in Cebu.  What they have is just a simple supermarket and it's okay but what made me smile is that right beside the huge parking lot of the supermarket there's a ranch with lots of cows in it.  Pollution is not an issue at where we are because we're not living in the capital.  I have some observations too at the grocery.  They don't have a lot of employees, they just have "enough" to keep the business going.  It means no one will likely be near you if you need some help about a particular product, you gotta find it yourself or look "hard" for someone to help.  Whereas in Cebu we always have someone a few steps away.  And at the counter, after the cashier did his or her job no one's gonna be packing your goodies, again you have to do it yourself and they don't really use a lot of plastic bags here (which is a very good thing) so each shopper brings his or her own grocery bag.  At the exit, there's no security guard who's gonna check your receipts and I forgot to mention, no one checks you or your bag when you get in either.

The prices of things are so different too of course, so different in an awfully "expensive" way that's why life isn't really all paradise here.  The value of the salary is big but it will only equate to the cost of living unless you're running a rum distillery! (LOL).  Otherwise, you're gonna have to really do your best to save up if you want to have something for the rainy days and that's what we're doing.  Thankfully I'm blessed with a very responsible husband.

Means of Transportation:

There are a few buses in Fort-de-France (the capital city of the island) and some really expensive taxis too.  The primary means of transportation is a private vehicle and people in this island seriously like 'em wheels!  In some households you'll see more than one vehicle and you often see abandoned vehicles practically anywhere.  They change their vehicles a little too often so it has become a real problem as to where they're gonna throw these abandoned ones.  Like in the Philippines some of them are riding the motorbikes without a helmet and speeding up like they're some kinda invulnerable.  My last job in Cebu was in a bank's auto-loan department so I'm kind of familiar with a lot of car makes commonly used in America but not here, they have some makes that I don't know (French cars).  But I do see a lot of Mini Coopers, BMWs, Volkswagens, Fords and Hyundais and Toyotas just to name a few. 

The Houses:

Eighty-five to ninety percent of the houses here are very strong and concretely built.  In the neighbourhood where we live a lot of people have their own swimming pools and whenever we go driving to discover the island, the huge houses always amuse me.  Imagine you go trekking and out of the blue you see a house at the top of the hill in the middle of the forest (not made of candy like in Hansel and Grethel) I mean real houses!  It's a beautiful sight and often it makes me dream that Adlaon (the place in Cebu where I come from) will look like this.  If this will happen everyone will be safe from the strong typhoons.  How I wish! 

The Farms:

This is a place that really looks like home "except" their farmers are actually owners of a huge house and a Land Rover!  Well, it's France after all!  The vegetation, the fruits and the animals are just like the ones from home.  This is a very good thing for me because it makes me feel not so far from home, it helps me a lot with my adjustment period.  It's even funny at times because I know the plants more than my husband, I often say "ah, we have the same in Cebu and we call it..." make us both smile all the time. :)

The Locals:

Coming from a place where people smile easily and are friendly it is a bit strange for me being here sometimes.  People here are of African descent, they have a long and very sad history of slavery which most likely is the reason why they are not the most friendly people.  I can understand but it's not easy sometimes.  A lot of times I see myself initiating a smile and they just plainly ignore it but some of them are kind and very polite too (mostly the old ones).  According to my husband they rarely give compliments but I have received compliments from two strangers in two separate occasions.  It flattered me so much that my face turned as red as a cooked lobster!hahaha...  They are very polite here though, they always say their greetings.  The moment you enter in a shop everyone inside, even the customers like you, will say hello and if someone leaves he or she says goodbye to everybody.  I need to practice this more because I'm not used to saying hello and goodbye to everybody everywhere.  They give their greetings but they rarely give it with a smile so they are polite but not friendly which is okay, with all due respect let them be!

The Food:

They like flavorful foods here.  You can find a lot of herbs and spices in the market.  They're very famous with rums too.  Honestly, I have never appreciated a rum so much until I came here.  They have a lot of flavors for their punch but my favourites are coffee and coconut and my husband made me some really delicious cocktails!  On Sundays they like to eat "un poulet boucane".  It's a chicken cooked in an improvised oven and with lots of herbs and spices stuffed inside.  It's very close to our "lechon manok" but a bit more flavorful.

The Health Care:
Since I got here I've lost track how many times we've seen a doctor.  Perhaps due to the "adjustment period" but there are no big issues thankfully.  We've seen doctors due to a very bad mouth ulcer, a lot of awful insect bites, skin irritations and a few other things....just really small things but irritable enough not to mind.  If you are french and you have a health problem then there's no big deal, call the doctor for an appointment or call the emergency and the doctor will come to see you at home, present your "government health insurance cards", go to the pharmacy and present the same cards again and most of the time the medicines will be given for free.  You're gonna have to pay for the doctor ranging between €17 to €35 and then the government will refund you a huge percentage of the doctor's fee.

However, doctor's appointments are not as easy as in the Philippines especially if you are looking for a specialist.  For example if you want to see an opthalmologist you're gonna have to wait about six months before the doctor can see you and about one to two months for a dentist.  They encourage you to see your family doctor first and he or she will determine if you need a specialist, if you go to see the specialist directly then you're most likely not gonna be given a refund even if you use your health insurance cards. 

In the Philippines if we don't have a private insurance then we're gonna have to shoulder all the doctor's fees plus the medication.  Our government health insurance can only be used when we're confined in a hospital and we have to pray that the hospital bill won't be so much more than the ten thousand pesos covered by our government health insurance.  On a positive note, if we need to see a doctor, even a specialist there's most likely no problem...we have a lot of doctors who are available in many hospital clinics or health clinics.

Yet if you are a foreigner in France and you don't have their health insurance benefits then you're not likely gonna smile unless you have lots of extra euros. You would prefer paying the doctors and medicines in pesos rather than in euros.  This made me long for Cebu many times because we have to pay for my health care as of the moment while we are waiting for the process to be completed on availing their social health insurance benefits.

I have a lot of other observations which I'm gonna share in the next posts.  These are the basic things about living here.  I hope you now have a clearer idea about the place.  C'est un endroit très agréable ici!

I'ᴍ ᴀ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇʀ

Religion is undoubtedly one of the most controversial topics to talk about among many others.  I grew up in a very catholic family but as early as my childhood I was already exposed to different types of "believers" in our household.  I remember seeing my grandparents kneeling in front of the altar praying night after night but my grandfather despised priests and the fact of confession because for him they are just ordinary men in robes.  Then here's the rest of the family who goes to church on birthdays or even ordinary Sundays despite the fact that we had to walk a very long way to reach the nearest church.  It could consume almost the entire day if you walk on regular pace, it is that far but for faith we did it. 

My father had a motorcycle accident in 1992, I was just seven years old back then and that event made us cling on to our faith even more.  I remember praying the rosary every six o'clock in the evening with my younger brother praying for Papa's recovery.  I also remember participating in a "dawn rosary" and literally it's done at dawn.  We had to pass around the statue of the Virgin Mary from one house to another.  I grew up in a countryside where houses are not very close so it means walking a long way together with some neighbors everytime we do it.  I was just a girl and I was with a group of some adults who have really strong faiths.

Then I was sent to a catholic school in the city for high school which made me read the bible every-so-often.  It helped me a lot to stay focused and fearful.  I thought all these years that my faith was very strong.  God knows how many spiritual gatherings I participated with.  It's okay, as a young adult it helped me to be fearful and to try to do good.

In college I still kept my religious practices, going to church with some friends, attending early massess for Christmas and such and I continued to believe that my faith was very intact.  However, as I was growing up I learned little by little that it was weak and I saw and hear the news about controversies involving the church and it made me feel so bad.  I kind of slowed down then.  I didn't stop believing in God but started doubting about some things.  During debates I often stand on points against the church with regard to issues like merci killing or death penalties and the likes.  I realized I was not the believer that I was.

As years passed there were events in my life which had really shaken my faith to the extent that I stopped going to church or praying.  It continued for a year or two but it didn't help me either.  At the end of the day I would still prefer believing in God than not believing in something at all.  I'm not a fanatic, I am more like my grand father now but I really am a believer.  I don't want to argue about religion and let someone have the same belief like mine.  We all have our own choices and whatever makes us happy, contented and comfortable then we should go for it.  I am comfortable knowing that I have a God.  It makes me feel safe and secured!  We shouldn't be judged by our belief anyway.

ᴇɴᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ ғʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ FRENCH SPOUSE VISA (ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜɪʟɪᴘᴘɪɴᴇs)

This same day two months ago I arrived here in Martinique island (Antilles Francaises) yet I haven't blogged about my whole experience in getting here yet because I admit, I don't know where to start.

So I left my job as a bank advisor in mid April and spent my free days changing my last name (from single to married) in different government offices. My husband arrived on the first day of May for our quick vacation since I wasn't able to follow him yet as we planned.

We spent a great vacation in Cebu. It didn't feel so quick because in a short span of time we were able to spend days in Bantayan, days with the family and days in Manila for the paper works. As previously noted in my blog, we've been waiting for our "livret de famille"...without this document I couldn't get a visa and the wait has been longer than what we were told so we weren't smiling anymore. We've been keeping in contact with the embassy and we've set appointments to meet them during our vacation. We were told to call back again and again and again until we got fed up and decided to see them.

At the beginning of the vacation we were in the hopes of going back to France together but as days go by and we still didn't have any good news for our papers then we just sort of "dropped the thought" already, it couldn't be possible anymore and we were very sad about the possibility of being apart for maybe months again. It's very frustrating.

So we went to the embassy and met the man who received our files. We thought we were seeing a new staff but he said he's still the one who handles our case (it's a good sign). Fingers crossed, we followed him to his office and he explained why the process had been delayed but normally "it should be ready, it just lacks one more signature". My hands were so cold, we were very stressed as he called some people and after a few minutes he left to check if it's done and voila!!! We got the "livret de famille" after five months and ten days of waiting instead of two to three months or even four! Imagine that! After receiving the "livret de famille" the releasing officer told us that we can process the long-stay visa application that same day as well even without the air tickets yet. We were a bit doubtful but since we were already there I went ahead and filled out the visa application form that they gave us. Thankfully we brought all our documents with us so we had all the requirements for the visa application.

Here's a list of the required documents:

• Valid passport with photocopy on the identity and validity page
• A recent passport size photo
• Filled-out long-stay visa application form (available at the embassy)
• Filled-out OFII form (available at the embassy)
• Livret de Famille + photocopy
• French marriage certificate issued by the embassy (acte de mariage) of less than 2 months + photocopy
• Proof of French nationality of spouse (National ID card or Passport)

We then went to see the visa issuing officer and my husband explained our situation. The officer confirmed we indeed could apply for the visa that day (seven days before my husband's departure back to France) and that it'll be released in five business days instead of ten and it was free because we're married. IT WAS A LOT OF GREAT SURPRISES IN A DAY! Great things really come to those who wait, indeed!!!

Though we almost got everything ready for my departure we're still thinking it's not possible to leave Cebu together anymore, we didn't have that much time left. But the more we think about it the more we consider the possibility again. We had a lot of stressful nights and days just trying to figure out what is the best thing to do. Then we decided to check if there were still tickets available same with my husband's flight schedules and indeed there were, which was very unlikely because he bought his tickets two months ago. We felt a miracle happening but we were still very afraid of making the wrong decision. However, we head on and trusted our gut feeling and decided to buy my tickets Cebu-Paris, Paris-Fort de France having my departure right after the day of the issuance of my visa. We couldn't take any delays due to anything at that!!! It was not an easy decision, we were very very stressed about it but then again we gave it a shot (that was six days before my husband's departure). We then went to Cathay Pacific's office and changed my husband's flight to the next day (thankfully he had one more day before his authorised entry to the Philippines expires). It costed us one-hundred and fifty euros but there's no price for love, is there? With that new sched we could be on the same flights from Cebu to Martinique, a dream in the making...we were holding our breaths.

A day before "our" departure for France we had to claim my visa so we got up so early and took the second plane to Manila, went directly to the embassy, thankfully we got the visa without any issues and then we went back to the airport right away. We had to be in Cebu before offices close because I needed to have a CFO (Commission on Filipino Overseas) sticker on my passport. We couldn't do it any sooner because they won't give the sticker unless you have the visa. In God's grace we arrived in Cebu on time and thankfully got at the CFO office at around four in the afternoon. I thought it'll only take about ten minutes to get that sticker (like they told me) but they surprised me again with additional requirements and thankfully I always have my papers with me as usual so everything went well and the next few things we needed that day were a long shower, a good dinner and a long sigh of relief!

Then the day came. My brothers and my sister-in-law sent us to the airport. We intended to keep it like that, we didn't want to say goodbye to a lot of them at the airport, it could've been twice as hard.

It was a very long trip, twenty-three hours in the sky plus the airport wait times and airport transfers! Yet, my husband did it four times to be with me, only a few good men can do it and I am one helluva proud wife!

Arriving in Martinique together was indeed a miracle. Sometimes things don't happen the way we want them because Someone up there Knows better. We thank the Almighty for these priceless blessings. Life is beautiful!

                                      The first flight.

The nine-hour stop over in Hong Kong 

Arrival in Paris. 

Bibliotheque Schoelcher in Martinique.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! The French embassy is now directing all visa applications to a third party company.  They no longer accepts direct visa applications at the embassy.  For more information click HERE

I ʟᴇғᴛ ᴍʏ J̶o̶b̶ (again)

Tell me, is there something one can't do for love?  I don't think so.  A couple of years ago I asked for an impossible long vacation even if it could mean losing my job just so I could spend time with the love of my life.  Then I eventually left the company for the same reason the next year.  We needed and decided to spend about two months together and it's too much to ask to my previous employer, they've been considerate enough already.  I didn't try, I could have but no, it wouldn't be fair to my colleagues who had to battle even just for a couple of days' vacation. I had to do it because in a relationship time is a huge contributor and in a long distance relationship time together is more than anything else in the world. 

So after the long vacation I had to go for a job hunt and I got the BEST!  I got hired in one of the best firms -not just in Cebu- but in the world.  I enjoyed my job, I met a lot of good, intelligent, kind, very professional and interesting people.  Again, I've been so blessed with considerate bosses and was authorised a long vacation while on probation -FOR MY WEDDING- (a job in the Philippines can't get any better than that).  Then I had on-and-off health issues, thankfully not serious ones but they're enough to destruct me from my job and it's very unfortunate because due to these things my one year stay of the company was even shortened.  I felt like I didn't know everyone as much as I wanted to but it's the life. 

Ironically, it's true that while I was working with this last great company I look forward to leaving as well, not because I don't like it there (of course!) but because leaving the company means being with my husband for good.  To be with the one you love is priceless. 

I've always looked forward to taking care of my husband, looking after the house, missing him a few hours while he's at work and wishing he'd be back right away....and here I am, doing all these and then some!  Life is beautiful!  I'm enjoying a lot being a very loved housewife.  I'm learning a lot of things and it gives me so much joy to be able to take care of him, the love of my life.  The first, the last and the only one in the world.

I don't care how many jobs I have to leave and how many salaries I have to miss.  I don't mind staying at home while waiting for him to get back from work because my love for him and the love that he gives me every second of the day is more than everything else in the world.

Sɪɴɢʟᴇ ✘ Mᴀʀʀɪᴇᴅ ✔

I wish changing my name after getting married was just as easy as doing it on Facebook...lol.. Apparently it takes so long and it requires so much time, effort and patience to do it.  Here's my experience in changing my status and my name in different offices or government agencies.

First: My PASSPORT was already expiring so I didn't go to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to renew it until after my wedding, that way I'd be able to renew it and change my status/name at the same time..hitting two birds with one stone as they say :)  Here are the requirements that I forwarded to them:

• The old passport and photocopy of pages 1,2,3 (amendment) and last page.
• Marriage Contract (MC) in Security Paper issued by NSO and Certified True Copy issued by the Local Civil Registrar if MC secpa is unreadable.
• Certificate of Attendance (color green) from CFO (Commission of Filipino Overseas) if married to a foreigner.
• Digitized SSS-ID with photocopy

NOTE:  The requirements may vary for each applicant.  Please click HERE  to visit the DFA website.


Second: I was supposed to change my name at the company where I was working right after we received our marriage documents but I was advised it's gonna take about two months to do it and by then I'd already be leaving my job so there's no point in doing it then.

Third: At the last quarter of the year we're asked by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR, the government agency for taxes) to inform them if there's a need for us to update our information so I forwarded all the required documents:

• Copy of NSO issued Marriage Contract
• Filled out BIR form which you can secure from your HR's office

I coordinated with someone from our company who was assigned to process it with the BIR.  It was done but not completely.  They changed my status but they didn't change my name and someone told me that it could be because my company didn't change my name.  Anyway, they already know I'm married so about my name I'll deal with it later.  It's important that they know if you're married or single, with a dependent or not (for the tax exemptions of course!)

Fourth: I wanted to renew my expired Driver's License and change my status/name at the same time so I went to their office at a huge mall here in Cebu but I was told I couldn't do it there.  They only renew licenses but not change the name or status so I had to do it at the main office which is ALWAYS crowded and which is also far.  So I decided not to do it, I'm not driving anyway, I would have just wanted to use the DL for identification purposes.

Fifth: I then went to the Social Security System office (SSS) which is also ALWAYS flooded with people.  I had to present them the following:

• The original Marriage Certificate issued by NSO with one photocopy 
• A photocopy of a valid ID with my married name already so I used my passport, I didn't have anything else.  

They accepted my documents and told me I had to go back to their office after one month so they could "capture" my photo for the ID card.  Sure thing, I went back after a month but was told to come back again because their system is "offline" for the ID capture and this didn't happen just once.  I went there about three times and was advised of the same thing.  Then I got sick so I wasn't able to go back until yesterday and thankfully it was DONE but it consumed my ENTIRE day!  I missed my french class because of it and I decided to just have it done once and for all.  They asked for the following additional documents again:

• Photocopy of two valid IDs but I only have my passport and thankfully they just accepted it.
• A filled out request form which will be given to you when you get there.
• ₱300.00 for the new ID which I don't understand.  Paying because I lost my ID and I need I new  one then I'd understand BUT paying because I need a new one due to changing my name after marriage?!  I don't think it's fair...

They captured my photo BUT told me that I shouldn't expect the ID card until by the 10th of August.  VERY long I know but just imagine those people who's photos were captured in 2009 to 2011...would you believe that their IDs weren't ready until this year?!!  Anyway, it's just a question of time for me now..just a few months then they will mail it so I'll just wait.


Sixth: Due to the fact that I don't have any other identification with my married name on it aside from my passport I decided to get a "Postal ID".  It's an identification card that you can secure at your local post office as proof that you are a resident of whichever address you have.  They required the following:

• Copy of your NSO issued marriage certificate
• Copy of your NSO issued birth certificate
• Barangay clearance (original) must be specifically mentioned "for the purpose of getting a Postal ID"
• Copy of your community tax (Cedula) claimed the same year you applied for the Postal ID
• Two 2x2 pictures (recent)
• Postal ID form signed by any of your Barangay officials.  (Some barangays have this form or you can get it from your local post office, have it signed by any of your Brgy. officials then forward it back to the post office)
• ₱645.00 and you'll have it in three days (the price may change of course, i won't be able to track the price changes and update it here)

Seventh: Last thing I did was to change my status and name with the Philippine national health insurance office (PhilHealth) and I was really happy and amazed with how efficient they worked.  I only waited a few minutes for everything to be done.  They just asked for the following:

• Copy of your  NSO issued marriage certificate
• Copy of your community tax (Cedula) claimed the same year you applied for the change of status.
• One 1x1 photo
• A filled out request form which will be given to you when you get to their office.

Dealing with government offices really requires so much patience.  There was an instance at the SSS (where I waited forever for my turn)..My priority number was called and I saw the woman at the counter (counter number 5) who was supposed to assist me talking to someone else, I thought it was the one prior to me so I waited until she'd leave then the number next to mine was called so I went to that next counter to notify them that I wasn't assisted yet then the woman at counter number 5 said I wasn't assisted coz I didn't go to her.  I reasoned out and told her that i didn't come over coz she was still assisting someone and then she said "No, even if I was talking to someone you should have came to me coz I called you"....I was like, wow! Okay...(so, what is this?  shall we just forget about our manners and values if we go to these f****ing public offices?)!!!  Anyway, I'm glad it's done...Thank God!!

♡ Aɴᴅ I Cᴏᴜʟᴅ Nᴏᴛ Asᴋ Fᴏʀ Mᴏʀᴇ ♡

I've never felt this blessed and happy.  Since I was a little girl I've always dreamed of meeting my knight in shining armor, my prince, my one true love like those in fairy tales.  I grew up and realized that it's not that simple.  You fall asleep more than one day and your parents won't wait for a prince to arrive, kiss you and wake you up, instead they'd take you to the emergency room to seek medical assistance and besides a stranger is not supposed to kiss you anyway (for me, i don't know for the rest coz it's a matter of "values" anyway).  Anyhow, the more I mature the more I found out that finding the right man is not as easy as I thought it was.  I've had some life-changing experiences when it comes to this love hunting until one fine day a miracle happened and  love found me in the most unexpected way.  

Like most (if not all) women, I've always dreamt of being treated like a princess, being loved, respected and valued. I've always wished to have a man who will make me feel like I'm the most beautiful woman on earth even if I just got off of bed and that's exactly what my husband is doing since he found me.  He is my miracle. He came to my life like a dream and he never fails to amaze me with his loving words, his loving thoughts and care even if at the moment we don't get the chance to be always together as much as we want.  

Everyday my heart is filled with gratefulness for having found my one true love.  The man who have crossed thousands of miles just to be with me many times and not even a volcano stopped him, for real!!  The man who never gets tired of telling me that he loves me.  The man who makes me his world, his everything and definitely his top priority.  The man who have chosen to love me in spite of our many differences.  The man who have chosen to be with me for the rest of our lives and who have chosen me to be the mother if his child.  The man who makes me happy every second of my life and who never fails to understand me no matter how complicated I sometimes can be.  He's more than just a husband to me, he's my best friend, my soul mate, my better-half, my world, my life...in a word, my everything!!!

"Baby, I can't thank you enough for loving me the way you do..it's immeasurable!  Everyday I spend with you is a Valentine's day.  I am looking forward to holding your hands again.  Je t'aime et je t'aimerai pour l'eternité mon amour, tu es le meilleur!!!"

Mme. S. Cadic

FʀɪᴇɴᴅsʜɪᴘS

In almost three decades I've had friends that had came and gone along with time.  It's not very easy to maintain a good friendship for years.  All these years I've got a few who stayed and there are some who are still reachable, I know where they are, they know where I am but there's not much of an effort to "meet-up" and catch the lost times.  

In the past, when cell phones and computers/social networking sites weren't present it was twice harder to keep a good relationship due to the communication restraint.  Everyone had to rely on land line phone calls or letters.  One of my sister's closest friend from high school lives in Mactan, the closest island to Cebu but I remember them writing each other in the past and sending post cards on special occasions.  In high school I studied three years in the city leaving some friends at the countryside whom I also exchanged with letters via my mother.  It was sweet.  There was a great effort.  Nowadays, almost everyone are just an sms away and yet not everybody are communicating effectively, as they say "if there's a will there's a way".  No matter how easy it is to communicate if there's no will to really meet each other to catch up the lost times then nothing will happen.  Like any relationships, somehow the friendship will also fade away with time.  In just a year a lot of things could happen, a lot of changes in each others' lives may occur and we may be able to constantly communicate about these changes but it's different if "friends" share these important changes, if "friends" share their ups and downs because that's what friendship is....to have someone with you through thick and thin.

Luckily, I have a few good friends all through these years.  These are the people who are like sisters to me.  We are three very different people who stayed with each other through it all.  We've shared a lot of battles together.  They've been with me as I was with them.  Words are not enough to describe how deep the friendship is.  There were some misunderstandings along the way of course but we surpassed it.  It is such a comfort knowing that at the end of the day you are sure that no matter what happens you always got someone  to count on aside from your family, that you always got someone who will laugh and cry with you.

We've all had our piece of cake with life, we've all had our share.  One almost got married but lost her beloved in an accident, the other shared a life with a man and they got a child and another one but the second one's life was eternally taken a few hours after birth and the last one almost got married but the supposed union was cancelled due to irreconcilable differences.  These experiences have taught the three of us a lot.  We've learned from our experiences and from the experiences of each other.  We've all had a rough ride but we always got the shoulder to lean on.  

Now, our lives have changed a lot...so far gone away from those tough times.  The memories, the nightmares are still there but we've all moved on.  Time have helped us a lot, maybe not all of us are healed but we're too far from our shattered selves.  We're all very happy with our loved ones.  One of us gets her strength from her lovely little boy, the other one have chosen to just be single and take her chances again (with her loving son in mind too since the child is staying with his father) and the last one recently married the man of her dreams.  

Life has a lot of surprises and not all are good surprises, some can be really puzzling and challenging and some are just awesomely great!  No matter what the future brings, if we got true friends by our sides burdens are lessen and joys are doubled☺ 

Mme. S. Cadic

Mʏ Tᴏɴsɪʟʟᴇᴄᴛᴏᴍʏ Exᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ

Back in 2010 I was confined at the hospital for three days due to chronic tonsillitis and by then I was already advised by my doctor to have my tonsils removed since it often swells and it might create a more serious problem but i just didn't really take that advise seriously since after that "confinement" incident it kind'a rested as well but in 2011 I had the same problem while travelling in Manila with my husband and I've gone through the same hell of a pain.  My husband urged me to have the operation asap and I told him i'll do it in Cebu.  I got busy with work and started doing my language studies so I forgot about it until the "illness" itself reminded me of its existence.  Like what my doctor said it'll keep on coming back until they're removed so I wasn't surprised but it made me decide to really do the operation.

On the 25th of January I admitted myself at the Cebu Doctor's University Hospital as advised by my doctor for the tonsillectomy scheduled early morning the next day.  The operation was done at 07:00 and it lasted about an hour.  I stayed at the recovery room for two hours without any grave pain but first thing I did when I gained consciousness was "coughing" and it alarmed the nurses at the recovery room coz I might bleed.  Coughing is a common after-effect of the operation since while on the process the throat created a lot of mucus.  I was able to stop my coughing quickly when the nurses warned me about the bleeding.  I got back in my room at about 10:30 and I felt so hungry so I asked Mama to get me some ice cream.  I tried to eat but it made me want to throw-up so I stopped, stayed calm and just tried to relax.  My throat felt so dry, Mama couldn't find any "cold" water so i tried to drink a bottled water with normal temp and God if felt like hundreds of needles were scratching my wounds!  

On the first day I couldn't talk, I was afraid to but the pain wasn't really very important yet since the anesthetics were still in effect but the next day when I woke up I started to feel miserable.  I couldn't eat anything other than ice cream, yogurt and jelly and this lasted for about three to four days.  Everything I take-in must be really cold otherwise it'll be very painful.  In other countries after a tonsillectomy procedure the patient goes home right away but here in the Philippines the patient stays in the hospital for about three to four days but in my case I stayed for six f****ng days coz I had to wait for some papers from my job as required by "Intellicare" my HMO, otherwise I'm gonna have to pay some ₱10,000+ which of course I'm not willing to pay since I got full coverage of my insurance, so I just waited though I felt like I was in prison.

Oh thank God for family and good friends!!  I'm an attention seeker when I'm sick, I've always been like that since I was little.  I want to be pampered, to be taken-care-of and to be looked-after when i'm not feeling well.  If we're close and I don't get your attention when I'm not feeling well then I'd be upset, some would say it's immature but it's just really me...i'm just really like that.  All my loved ones know that and they've never failed to support me.  On my recovery days I was often short of patience, so irritable coz i couldn't explain the pain and thankfully everyone had been so understanding.  

I've never spent a penny for the operation but I've spent a lot for my food.  There must be ice cream everyday.  Here are the foods that helped me get through it:  Vanilla flavored ice cream, Yogurt, Jelly, Food supplement (Ensure - vanilla flavored too), Porridge and Choco Frappe.  Then when I was already able take some a bit harder food I started it with pasta: spaghetti, macaroni, pancit-canton and lomi.  My brother also bought me some fruits, I was able to take mango and water melon, both refrigerated.  

Everyday of the healing process had been a challenge.  At one moment I got so afraid to eat, I wasn't able to eat enough food to support my medication and I ended up vomiting which caused me to bleed.  My coughing was also a constant issue, on the 11th day of my recovery I wasn't able to hold my cough and I bled even more than the first bleeding incident which got me a bit scared.  The next day I went to see my doctor and he asked me to take my pain relievers again and another medicine to help me soften the scar so the healing will be smoother as well.  If eating is a struggle so is sleeping, the pain really wakes me up in the middle of the night up to the 12th or 13th day of the recovery period.  On the first week after the operation the smell of my breath was not nice, it smelt like medicines and my taste was just awful.  I was eating ice cream everyday but it didn't really taste like ice cream at all.  Another thing is that a few days after the operation there were some sore gums near the wounds and on each side of my tongue which made it even harder for me to eat.

Apparently my recovery isn't as fast as expected according to my doctor so I'm not able to get back to work immediately.  Since I bled on the 11th day of my recovery, he had to extend my medical leave for a couple more days.  Thankfully I'm already at the end part of my recovery.  Today is my 14th day and I still have a little pain, still couldn't talk "straight" because I feel like something is holding my tongue and there's still a few left of the sore gums.

If it wasn't necessary I really wouldn't have done it.  It's like a torture everyday but it'll be worth it.  At least I won't have to worry about having tonsillitis ever again and I'm able to avoid buying and taking the strong antibiotics which might even damage my kidneys and liver.  

A day after the operation.

†нαт Ш@ṧ Åη Ѧωεṧøμε Уℯαґ

 

I have so much gratefulness in my heart.  A lot of important and great things happened to me in the year that just passed.  If I may recount the most important ones I'd start with the beginning of the year when I had the opportunity to be with the love of my life for fifty-two days.  We shared so many memories and important moments in that span of time.  We've seen the 8th wonder of the world (Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao), the mystical island of Siquijor and well, the buzzing Metro Manila.  We've had so many adventures in these places.  We've discovered the places and each other better and there's no perfect word to totally describe the feeling of being in the arms of the one you love most wherever you are.  →The next thing would still be related to the aforementioned fifty-two day vacation with my love which also made me totally QUIT my ugly habit of SMOKING.  It's a pretty long story but thanking the man of my life would tell it all.  Merci beaucoup mon amour!  →Then I was on a special trip with Mama and my brother.  →Then I joined a new company which had been really, totally, awesomely great!!!  →Then I got re-united with the love of my life again for another thirty-nine days of bliss and →we tied the knots, YES, WE DID after a long, tedious process but it's all worth it....we had the most beautiful wedding, just simple yet so meaningful!!!  Oh God! I am so proud of my man for everything that he did for us, the word BEST doesn't even describe him enough :)  Je t'aime passionement mon amour♥♥♥

I have learned more about patience, determination, hard-work and gratitude day by day.  For me, the past year is about spending time with the family and dearest friends.  I've rekindled some relationships that had its downfalls, within the family (to be particular).  Up to the last minute of 2011 a thought about "forgiving" had been echoing in my head.  

That year was very colorful to me, so much drama, laughter, blessings, tears of joy and of sorrow...it was so flavorful!  

I've seen a lot of my friends and acquaintances either got married or had their first baby or had another baby in their family...I saw a lot of changes not just in my life but in other people's lives as well.  We've all moved forward like what Dexter Morgan said on that year's season (if you're familiar with him and he's awesome by the way).  

The last part of the year was so filled with sorrow when the CDO-Iligan tragedy happened.  Most of us in the family got so affected we couldn't help but cry while watching the very sad news on TV which lasted about a week and we did what we could to give at least a little help.  My heart still bleeds whenever I think about it but it's the life, tragedies happen.

In 2011 things just simply fall into the right places plus a little bit of luck maybe, no I don't call it luck, I call it blessing!  Now comes 2012 and I'm keeping my positivity alive....let's rock on \m/

Mme. S. Cadic