Living and working almost my entire existence in the small city of Dumaguete situated in the Philippines, I never really imagined that at one point I would be going out of the country to work and actually live a life in Saudi Arabia.
History
First let’s talk about a brief history about the place. Saudi Arabia was formally established on September 23, 1932 when a royal decree was put into place since the 1972. Originally they were separated into two separate units namely Najd and Hejaz but was later unified under the name of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia was heavily reliant on its oil business not until Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman started making changes to its foreign policies, economic and financial initiatives. He then started diversifying its economy by making it more open to foreign investments. Furthermore, he pushed for more social reforms allowing tourists to come in by issuing tourist visas for entertainment and lifting the 35-Year ban on cinemas.
Being known for being a male-dominated country, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman also made historical decisions by lifting restrictions to women and giving them more freedom, opportunities and influence in the kingdom. More reforms were introduced to pushed for women empowerment since 2018 particularly the lifting of the driving ban on women.
Up to this day the kingdom is thriving even more and has been aggressively boosting its economy and global presence.
My journey and experience
It was around December in 2020, just few months before the pandemic struck the world, I was already contemplating on leaving the country and trying out how it feels to actually work abroad. I’ve always been told that it’s a difficult life but I never really understood it 100% until I get to experience it firsthand.
So I started looking around trying to find any information on how to go about applying for work outside the country. One day a friend of mine who just recently got back from Saudi Arabia referred me to a job. At first I was really hesitant when I knew that the location would be in Saudi Arabia, I’ve heard a lot of negative things about the country and going there never ever crossed my mind maybe due to ignorance, or probably fear?
After thoroughly thinking about it I finally decided to just grab the opportunity even though most if not all of the people around me didn’t really approve of the idea. Of me going to Saudi but I took the chance anyway. At that point I just really wanted to get out of the country and see how things unfold.
Right away I went to Cebu City, a city right across Dumaguete and submitted my application. Everything was so fast from the initial interview, submission of requirements, complete physical examination ( Yes, I had to be naked at some point, ) getting my visa and next thing I knew I was already flying to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to that I stayed for about a week in Quezon City, and thank you to my friend Mao who made me stay at their place for free, so If you are reading this, I just want to say thank you very much for all the help. It was February 11, 2020 when I finally went on board Saudia Airlines, I couldn’t explain how I felt really. I was having mixed emotions, the feeling of relief that I’m finally trying out something new and at the same time anxious because I don’t know anything about their language, culture and people. The 14-hour flight felt like forever, it was my first time riding a plane for 14 hours straight. I tried everything I could possibly think of to be able to sleep but I had no luck. Good thing the plane had individual monitor screens and earplugs where you can watch movies while on board. I though it was pretty awesome, they also had free meals and a purple blanket in case you feel cold which I placed inside my bag (I honestly don’t know if I were supposed to return it but decided to just bring it along with me anyway.)
Finally after a 14-hour flight we touched down King Khalid International Airport, and I felt estranged with signages I don’t understand because they were written in Arabic, men wearing white dress(thobes) and women dressed in black(abaya) I was afraid I would get lost because everything was new to me. Although I was assured that someone was waiting for me but still couldn’t help but worry. I want out of the arrival area and settled in a coffee shop nearby while trying to wait for the personnel to pick me up and bring me to the accommodation. I couldn’t recall exactly how many hours I was waiting but I think it was around 2 hours until they finally fetched me and brought me to the accommodation. It was winter by that time and good thing I brought a think jacket with me which I bought for 99 pesos (Yes, I know it’s cheap.)
Morning the next day, I headed out to the main office to have my contract signing and orientation regarding the work and the company. Day by day I get to learn something about Saudi and I was trying so hard to learn their language which by the way is really good and now I can speak a lot better. First week I was working in the main office and I was getting comfortable with it and didn’t want to be transferred but the company decided to deploy ,me at the vip lounge in King Khalid International Airport which by the way was just few meters away from where I arrived and had I known earlier I should have just walked and stayed there before. Anyways, things were running smooth with work for about 2 months until April came, airport shut down and the Saudi government issued a total lockdown because of the pandemic.
I’m sorry I’m gonna cut my story on this part for now, don’t worry I’m gonna write a separate blog post about it so please wait for that.
Conclusion
Fast-forward after more than 2 years of staying here in Saudi Arabia, I get to realize a lot of misconceptions about the place. In terms of the place, I honestly think Saudi is a beautiful country, I still have a lot of places to explore but basing from the experiences I’m hearing from other people I believe it’s a wonderful place to travel to. In terms of people, I personally think Suadis are one of the nicest and most respectful people although this might not be true for all but from my experience they are really nice people. In terms of culture, I think Saudi has one of the most interesting culture and heritage which they have consistently preserved and lived up to this day.
I feel like Saudi is my second home, something about this place feels strangely familiar to me and I love it. Alhamdulillah!
So what do you think about Saudi Arabia? Will you consider visiting the country? What are your expectations?
