I haven’t written for a while now, my last post was June of 2018. Almost 4 years of blogging hiatus! Many things had happened since then but first and foremost, 2018 was the year that changed the course of my career. After 9 years of waiting, I finally got the email that we (me and my family) were scheduled for a visa interview at the US Embassy in the Philippines. The feeling was so surreal having your dream unfolding into reality. My American Dream within the grasp of my hands! December 2018 we had to do the medical and interview in Manila and by January 2019, we were on our way to New York- the city that never sleeps. It was a whole new feeling of excitement coming into a whole new world!

Winter Blues. Not much to our knowledge, January in New York is the height of Winter and I hate to admit, we came semi prepared. Hehe. Coming out of JFK we felt that the winter clothes (no offense to Uniqlo) we were wearing is not enough. We were so cold we were having chills! But still, the excitement doesn’t stop.

Starting here isn’t that easy too. Speaking the English language in front of a strangers and your hubby is intimidating at first and often frustrating as you won’t be able to find words to express it. haha. Housing in the city is expensive. For a family of three, we rented a room for 700 dollars , we had no friends or family near but with the help of our very kind land lady we were able to navigate New York with its intricate subway, got US mobile numbers with tmobile, bought thicker winter clothes for low prices. Help got in unexpectedly, a friend of a family sending us clothes, some meeting us for lunch and telling us tips, a high school classmate giving more clothes, meeting an aunt who I remember last seeing was in grade school. Help pouring in every direction. I call this, the new and modern BAYANIHAN. Soon, we were gaining more and more friends, and some we now consider our family here. Eventually we got used to the life here, me being able to adjust with the new work environment, hubby getting a job that he loves and our daughter being able to make new friends at school. We are still adjusting though as it has only been 3 years in a city we now call home. I’m writing this to let my readers (if I have any.lol) know that most of my travel blogs would be from here. 🙂

First timers at the Times Square 🙂