The Awesome Greenery

Last Friday, we had our lunch at the Sharjah Carlton Hotel [posted above is the hotel‘s façade, thanks to Yahoo! for the download]. The said lunch was arranged by my parents’ employers for their entire clan and that had been a chance for me to meet some of them for the first time since I came back. Everybody was surprised and happy to see me again. Everyone kept exclaiming “Masha Allah”. I think its one of their expressions to denote a feeling of surprise from seeing someone they haven’t met for a long time. And MEYN, I too felt a lot of shock seeing the kids I played with before. They sure grew! I mean, yeah, they all outgrew me. [L sad face from someone disappointed of his own height]. My favourite playmate before was ABDUL AZIZ, my parents’ employers‘ eldest grandson. He’s actually 5 years younger than me and now you’d be surprise to see him with a lot of facial hair and about 5” inches taller than I am. Even his sister YASMIN outgrew me! She’s just 12 but I think she’s a inch taller than I am. And when I left she could barely pronounce well, now she’s typically talkative for her age.

Man, that afternoon became really busy for me from all that smiling, which slightly strained my entire face. I also did a lot of shaking hands with all the people I was introduced with. It was really awesome because I felt a bit like a celebrity that day. Heheh! J Not to mention the FOOD. Yep, they were all Arabic food, but the were all delicious! Especially the dessert! Yumm. I can’t wait for another one of those parties coz my mom only makes Arabic desserts occasionally. Sigh.

And for all of those who are curious, YEP my parents work domestically. My mom’s their maid and my dad’s their driver. Would you believe me if I say that my mom has been with them for the last 28 years already?! Yup. That’s so true. Furthermore, my dad started working here when he and my mom got married. He used to work here as a mechanic when they haven’t met yet. You see, my mom came here when she was just 19 years old and lucky for her (and even for us) to have found really kind and generous employers. She went abroad at an early age when her father became incapable of sending her to college because life was really hard for them back then. That’s why my mom opted to fly abroad instead to help my grandpa. And that’s the story. My dad naman, he was able to come here through the help of his mother who also used to work here as a maid. Coincidentally, my grandmother’s and my mom’s employers are relatives, so that’s how my parents met. Then they got married and had me as a baby after two years. They couldn’t quit their jobs just to take care of me so my grandparents from my father’s side took the responsibility of looking after me while my parents resumed their jobs here abroad. When I got a little older, I think I was five when they took me here for the first time where I stayed until my 7th grade and then I went back to the Philippines to resume my education. Now that I’m all done with studying, I came back to pursue a career. I hope I really do find a decent job amidst this obnoxious financial turmoil going about the entire world.

Oh well, thanks for reading. Till next post!