We are Family

The San Juans (Xtian's side) The Ruedas (Mavis' side)

The Big Grin

The big grin

Food!

We love eating! While in the Philippines, we tried to our best to go to local restaurants that serve local delicacies and foreign dishes not typically found in Qatar. We've also had our share of cookouts and barbeques so you can imagine all the poundage that we've added since. Here's a sampler of tasty and yummy food we've partaken in...

Arabiatta Pork Steak Mussels with Garlic and Butter Grilled Fish Mocchacinno Grilled Pork Lumpia/Fresh Spring Roll Grilled Chicken Adobo Pizza Green Mangoes and Shrimp Fry Paste Breakfast Cereals

GMA 7 and GMA Pinoy TV

There is a vast growing number of Filipinos all over the world. Here in the Middle East alone, the Filipino community is ever growing. Furthermore they do not come just as individual overseas workers but more importantly they come and bring their families along. Hence there is a great demand for an entertainment that is truly Filipino. A little birdie has informed me that the Philippine-based GMA 7 would be able to launch its satellite programming in the Middle East on the first week of February. Last year, Orbit launched a Pinoy package which showed several syndicated shows from GMA 7. However, a lot of people complained that they thought they'd get the whole GMA 7 channel only to find out that it was not the case. This time around, it is the real deal. Filipinos would get the 24 hour programming of GMA 7 as what they get the Philippines, live and real-time. This time around, Filipinos would have an option. Are you a "Kapuso" or a "Kapamilya"?

Jetlagged

Jetlagged Function: noun: a condition that is characterized by various psychological and physiological effects (as fatigue and irritability), occurs following long flight through several time zones, and probably results from disruption of circadian rhythms in the human body - jet-lagged /'jet-"lagd/ adjective The 3 of us have been waking up early at since we arrived. I myself have been waking up at 3 in the morning and finding it difficult to get back to sleep. Xiane and Mavis wake up at about 4:30 or 5 am. Since the time difference between Qatar and the Philippines is 5 hours, 3 AM here is equivalent to 8 AM there. While in the Philippines, we would start our busy day at about 7 AM or even much earlier if we have made plans to go to the park or if we need to take long travels. Usually, we would get sleep at about 1 or 2 AM the following day only to wake up at 7 AM. A friend tells me that your body recovers and adjusts 30 minutes of each day from the time difference between two places. Say, if the time difference between 2 countries is 5 hours, it would roughly take your system to fully adjust. Hopefully, everything would get back to "normal" by next week.

We're Back!

We're back! After all the hassle of taking such a long trip, placing all luggages in and out of conveyer belts and xray machines, we got home to Qatar at 8:00 PM last night. It's 11 AM in the Philippines right now so all of us are awake but still wanting to sleep though not that sleepy. Jetlag! Hopefully, we could get to updating this again soon! We have lots and lots of photos to show you guys! More to come!

The Flight and Arrival

My flight to the Philippines was at 11:15 PM. Kutch, who was sharing the same flight with me, wanted to check-in early to avoid any problems we were sure that a lot of people booked for this day. He picked me up at 7:30 PM. For employees in Qatar, one has to have his office fill out a document, Exit Permit, which you had to have stamped by the immigration office at the airport. Before, the office was located right before you enter the airport which was easy enough for you to have the paper stamped. I found out that they already moved offices and I had to walk half a kilometer (to and fro) to get my stamp. Kutch already had his stamped by his office. We checked-in without any hassle by 9 although the queues were getting longer and longer by the second. We decided it was too early to wait for our fill once aboard the plane so we ate at the canteen on the second floor after going round the Duty Free Shop. By 10:30, we were already lining up for the buses to take us to the designated plane. Most, if not all, of the people taking the plane were Filipinos wanting to spend Christmas in the Philippines. I’m sure everyone was excited. I was even able to meet another acquaintance from Saudi who rode the bus to Bahrain, took the flight from Bahrain to Qatar and now seating behind my seat to the Philippines. Our problem started right after we got seated on the plane. After 30 more minutes waiting, the pilot announced that we have to wait for some passengers that were still not onboard. We waited for 15 more minutes till 4 passengers came. Again, the pilot announced that we had to wait for some more time before take off. By now, people inside the plane were almost ready to curse at the pilot and crew for the delay. Another 15 minutes came and the last set of passengers took their seats. The late passengers were actually coming from other connecting flights that were delayed. We were hoping that the pilot would make up for the time lost and fly faster. But that was not the case. A day later (Dec. 23), we landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at about 2:30 PM. Mavis, my sister and Xiane were expecting our plane to arrive at 1:30. By 3:15, I was standing on the arrival area when I heard someone say “There’s Daddy!”. I turned and saw Xiane running towards me. I knelt down to greet her with a hug and carried her. Ahhhhh, after all the delay, nothing can beat the feeling of being home.