Life Lately: Moving to Europe

6 months ago, on Sept 24th, I secured a one-way ticket to Europe, to England specifically. Although there have been a lot of hard work on my part before that flight happened for me, it still felt surreal and "kilig" when I finally boarded my flight. Yes, months of hard work, meaning: the out of this world hospital hours, the study hours for 2 exams I had to take in the Philippines before I even get a shot at a job interview, the not so convenient flights to Manila for the TB test, my intentional isolation from friends to make sure that I don't turn up positive for COVID on my flight date and the physical exam which was the most inconvenient of all by the way. 

I flew out of the Philippines as an OFW. For the little audience who I still constantly chat, they knew that I quit my corporate job at Lexmark when COVID started and applied as a nurse in one of the private hospitals in Cebu. I worked as a respiratory nurse and have had the first hand experience in seeing people deteriorate and die from COVID prior to the vaccines being available. It's horrible, I know. During this time, nursing became an important profession again. After so many years, Filipino nurses became in demand..AGAIN. I graduated in 2011 at a time where I had to pay a hospital to secure an internship, after passing the boards, and after being registered. Ridic, I know! 

COVID, despite the havoc it brought, has become a blessing to me and to few other nurses who invested in passing the English exams and passing CBT. 

Here's a little timeline: 

August 2020 - I came across Nurse Even who vlogs about his UK experiences as a nurse. I started watching his journey and got totally inspired to do the same 

September 2020 - Enrolled me in an English review center for my IELTS (did not attend most of the classes because 12hr shifts drain me) 

October 2020 (1st - 2nd week) - reviewed like crazy. Since classes are made available online, I focused on attending the writing classes and booked one on one coaching sessions daily. This meant that I had to write sample articles for both Test 1 and 11 daily so the coach can comment and make correct. 

October 2020 (3rd week) - practised reading, listening, and speaking + I still write articles daily 

October 2020 (4th week) - took the computer-based exam in Cebu November 2020 (1st week) - results came out, PASSED! My lowest score was 7.5 which was writing. Not bad 

December 2020 - I never really did anything here. Maybe because I got busy with meeting friends before the holidays I had a slump beginning of the year, I did not really know what to do next. I thought, I wouldn't be too stressed because I was already past the hardest exam which was IELTS. 

In May 2021, I read in one of the groups I joined in Facebook that agencies and hospitals prioritise interviewing candidates with CBT or those who are OSCE ready in their NMC application so I studied for a week and took my CBT on the last week of May. I then processed my NMC (the governing body for nurses in the UK) application and handed out applications to several agencies. Initially, I really wanted a hospital which is in Central London because that's where I want to work and settle. But destiny has other plans. 

In June 2021, because of the scarcity of nurses manning the hospitals in the Philippines, the government has put out a ban for nurses going abroad. They capped outgoing nurses to 5000 in a year. This made me panic because, the timeline I set for myself was to get out of the Philippines on the same year. 

So despite wanting to be placed in a Central London hospital, I started looking for hospitals which are not too far from central (1 hr max by train) but are deploying as soon as possible. This is why I ended up in East Surrey Hospital. An acute facility located in Redhill, Surrey which is 30 mins by train to London. 

They interviewed me June 23rd. The next day, while I was at work, the agency called me saying that I passed. I waited for 2 weeks for my COS (certificate of sponsorship). By the end of July, my VISA was already available. It's true when they say that if it's meant for you, everything will fall right into place. All the other steps leading to my deployment went as smoothly as they possibly can.

Until now, the story of how I moved here in England still gives me a genuine smile I feel inside my soul. I am grateful daily of this life I get to live here in Europe. It's truly a dream come true. Just like in any part of the world, life isn't easy but because this is something I truly truly want, it makes things a lot more bearable and light and fun even.

Here are some random photos from the airport and quarantine hotel which both made or not made it to my FB/IG feed.

View from my quarantine hotel in Kensington (Central London)

Random Breakfast food while quarantining

Random supper food while quarantining

Another day, another breakfast

This was probably the hardest, enduring instant coffee! I am so used to Nespresso cups in Cebu 🥲

Online review class for OSCE! Meet my cohort!

Hello London!

My only luggage!

I wanna go out already at this point. I'm only on my 2nd day 😬

Cultural Tour: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

If there is one thing good about living abroad, it is being able to immerse in a totally different culture. It gives you a different set of eyes thus changing your perspective in a lot of things. Until now, I still feel lonely, and quite unadjusted yet to the expat life. There are days that I long to hop on that plane, sleep for nine and half hours, and wake up in Cebu. Truth is, it hasn't been easy and I know that most (if not all) expats feel the same way. 

So to ease the whole drama I've been feeling lately, I decided to take on a cultural tour.  After some research, I decided to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for 2 reasons: 1: it's free, 2: it's very pretty in the pictures I see on social media.

If you go there in the morning and at this time of year, you only need these: 

Sunblock for both the body and face (these are still from PI given by Carl who works in Belo, thanks C!). Camera of course (and tripod if you go alone). And Hafilat Card. Note that starting Oct 1, the buses here in AUH are not accepting coins anymore. You have to buy the Hafilat Card which is 10 dhs and load it up with credits. One bus ride within AUH is only 2 dhs.

Would you believe that I got to spend only 4 dhs on this tour? Yes, and that's all for bus fare. #Winning Anyway, the bus numbers I know that goes to the Grand Mosque are 54 and 44. You can just do your research if these buses does not pass your area. The mosque is a bit far from the city and it will take approximately an hour to get there. The bus station nearest the mosque is about 10-15 mins walk. Not bad actually considering that I've been walking a lot lately. But if you do not want to walk that long, you can go there by taxi which will cost about 40-50 dhs from the city or hire a private car. 

Also, make sure that you wear comfortable shoes because there will be more walking inside. I suggest that you wear sneakers or workout shoes for that matter so that you won't hurt your feet. I made the terrible mistake of wearing ballet flats and ended with blisters on both feet. But I did not mind really, this place was too beautiful to think about those little nuisances. 

Another thing to take note of, make sure you eat a full meal before visiting. There is only one cafe inside the mosque which is expensive and the nearest baqala is beside the bus station. 

Outside the mosque, I walked this blue pavement all the way to the entrance in a scorching 33-35 degrees Celsius. I'm almost there, no time to back out now.

As mentioned earlier, there is no entrance fee collected for going inside. This mosque receives more than a million visitors per year. And as much as a lot of people see this place as a tourist spot, let us not forget that a mosque is a temple for the Muslims. This place is sacred thus, rules should be followed to adhere to the moral codes of Islam. 

I personally think that it's kind of them to share this mosque to everyone from all over the world, it should not be too hard for us visitors to follow. 

For women, the abaya and shela are a must in entering the mosque. It's great that they let you borrow those for free. You just have to go to the basement, present an ID (not a passport or Emirates card), and you will be ready to go.

For men, if you wear pants and shirt, you can get in with no problem. For those who are wearing shorts, they also let you borrow white robes. 

Excuse me for the selfie, this wasn't in the church yet ok? This was in the basement parking lot where the changing room is located.

It is notable to mention that they have prepared umbrellas ready for use, drinking fountains in almost all corners, and wheelchairs for anyone's disposal. 

The mosque is open to the public daily (Sunday-Thursday) from 9am - 10pm. On Fridays, it's only open for worshipers since it is their day of rest.  If you want to have the full cultural experience, you can check the guided tour schedules down below. I realized that the best time to visit the mosque is in the afternoon, around 4-5pm. It's when the sun is not too hot already but still visible. This makes your photos look vibrant still and, you will be able to see the mosque at night when all the lights are turned on. I'll definitely be going back for that experience. 

I was not able to go with the tour because I arrived around 12nn so I just walked around and followed all the other tourists.

You will find a lot of these paintings on the walls of the mosque.

This reminds me of my adult coloring book I left at home. 

Here are some facts I learned about the Grand Mosque:

• 3rd largest mosque in the world (after Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia)
• Named after it's founder who is the 1st President of UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
• Took almost 12 years to finish with 3,500 workers helping to make this mosque a reality
• Can accommodate about 40,000 worshipers all together
• This also the final resting place of the late President who died in 2004

Do you see those holes on that tower-looking structure? Those are actually lights. I can just imagine how beautiful the place would look like at night. (I must definitely go back)

These are just some of the domes which constitute the total of 82 domes for the whole mosque.

More domes. 

The mosque is surrounded with reflective pools which intensifies the beauty of this place.

The courtyard has a total of 1,048 columns. 

After so many attempts, I kinda got it right. I should bring a tripod next time. I just put my camera on tables and chairs to have a photo like this one.

Note: Remember that this is a temple. Do not bring your inner Tyra Banks in front of the camera. No jumping shots also. Also the guards and the personnel manning the mosque are not allowed to take your photos. 

The outside of the mosque is really beautiful and picturesque but the inside is another story. Just before you get in, you have to take off your shoes.

This is in one of those areas where you remove your shoes. The shelves you see behind me is where you put it.

More facts about the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque:

• Home to the largest hand-knotted carpet
• Has one of the world's largest chandelier
• Has chandeliers gilded with 24-karat gold

The entrance to the main hall. 

This was just a part of the 5700 square meter carpet which was created for a span of 2 years with about 1,200 artisans who worked on it. This carpet is made of 70% wool, 30% cotton. 

Inside the main hall, my neck got sore from all the looking up I did. The ceiling and chandelier were intricately beautiful. I haven't seen anything like it before. 

The carpet is predominantly green in color, a favorite of the late Sheikh.

If you go hungry, there's a cafe inside the compound, it has coffee, sandwiches, soda and juices.

Just beside the cafe is a souvenir shop where you can buy trinkets of cute stuff you can bring home.

Visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was totally amazing. I couldn't think of an even better way that I could have spent my day. Whether you're an expat or a local or just a tourist, this place should be on your list. Truly commendable. The architecture, both the exterior and interior design is enthralling. It delights your senses and most importantly, it excites both intellectual and emotional admiration. Truly a masterpiece.  

Bye Beautiful, see you again soon!



xo,

jas