My Saudi sojourn (Part 3)

They say the last few months will be the hardest, when you’re about to end your stay in a foreign land and go back home. Overall, my stay in Saudi Arabia was uneventful. Sure, I’ve been to a number of interesting places, met a few interesting people, gained some friends, and immersed in a foreign culture.

I really felt I belonged to this close circle of friends I learned to trust. In return, I have been a loyal and helping friend to them. In the grand scheme of things, it is my hope that I will remembered as a good friend to those I’ll be leaving behind.

A few weeks before I decided to approach the office manager to give my resignation letter, I harbored mixed feelings. I am happy to be just a few weeks away from going back home to family and friends. At the same time, I felt a bit nostalgic knowing that many Filipinos in Saudi Arabia do not have the luxury of making decisions or choices given me. Many Filipinos do not have the luxury of choosing jobs, and many still are literally stuck in a foreign country to toil until better days come for them. And many of these Filipinos are my friends.

The economics are really simple. A Filipino worker is better off working in a foreign land where there are many job choices, if one is not too picky. And this does not apply only to Filipinos with menial jobs. Professionals in Saudi Arabia will have a difficult time leaving their jobs, knowing fully-well that high-paying jobs are too few in their homeland.

Some even had to bring their families to Saudi Arabia, resigned to the fact that they will be staying there for a really long time. As for me, I guess I am fortunate to have friends and colleagues who are eager to work with me again. I do not call it luck, but rather choice. I chose to work back in my home country knowing that I will be leaving behind a lucrative job.

The night I was about to leave, I bid a happy, but sad, goodbye to my friends. It will be an image that I will remember for the rest of my life. There they were, waving, some shaking my hand, some heckling, some laughing, as I boarded the company car to take me to the airport.

After a few more hours of anxiety, I boarded the plane to take me back to Manila. Unlike the first time, the hours whizzed past and before I know it, the plane was touching down. I was back in the Philippines, back home, at last.

The Dupinga River

Dupinga River is located in Gabaldon, one of the more remote towns in the vast province of Nueva Ecija.

According to accounts, the river was merely a source of water from the scattered communities around Gabaldon. Traditionally, locals, most often penitents during Holy Week troop to the river after traversing the numerous churches and chapels along the way.

But the river, with its clear and clean water, begun attracting a slew of visitors.
Soon after, locals eventually erected a few nipa huts and started renting them out to visitors. A sari-sari store followed, a
nd more nipa huts eventually mushroomed around the edges of the river.
Today, Dupinga River is a favored location of picnic goers, mostly out-of-town visitors.

For a modest fee, one can rent a hut near the edge of the river and take a dip in the cold water.

The river is still one of the best kept secrets of Gabaldon town. Seeing its rugged beauty, one can’t help but wish that it remains a secret.