It’s funny how distance brought me closer to people back home. At first I thought I’d be extremely isolated from the people I care about but I wasn’t. Well, maybe not in the way I expected to be. With the current setup, I seek every opportunity to communicate with them be it through Chikka or through IM. I find myself calling home more often than I do in Manila. I find myself texting them more often (through Chikka of course)

Because of jetlag, I wake up at around 3am every day no matter how late I slept the night before. So imagine how dark the circles under my eyes have become and how puffy my eyebags are. When I can’t get back to sleep (which normally happens), I get up and go online and chat with Steve. Parang nasa Pinas lang. Then he sends me the link to the newest episodes of Maging Sino Ka Man. I watch it while waiting for the clock to strike 7am (a sign for me to start preparing for work). At work I operate like a zombie, doing all the tasks but really feeling that everything is surreal (since jetlag is still working its way through me). After office, I call home and talk about stuff here and there. Then when I get back home, I chat with Steve again. Someone even made a comment that it seems like I was just in Manila because everytime a message is sent to my mobile, I reply right away through Chikka.

Thank goodness for technology! I found a way to bridge the distance. Also, Steve’s hellish schedule this week (16 - 21 hours a day), and my jetlag (waking me up early each day) made it easier for me to cope with my first week in a foreign country. Funny how hellish things have become blessings in disguise.