That was...
On the thirtieth day of December 1985, Monday that I left my beloved country Philippines, bound to Dubai carrying the reverie in my heart. I am an Overseas Filipino Worker, in short, OFW.
Manila International Airport, Departure Lounge, Philippines: "Calling all passengers bound for Dubai, you have twenty minutes left to board the plane, Thank you!" The announcement nailed my ears with excitement, hope, and fear.
The International Fast Food Chain of Restaurants hired us, as a group of 100 workers, to manage the stores in different places within Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quain, Al Ain, and Ras Al Khaimah. Everyone was assigned in the whole of the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai was for me...my dream city...the City of Dreams...