Couple's Corner - The First 365 Days

The following month after the wedding was a busy one. We spent our honey moon at Puerto Princesa, Palawan. We climbed Mt. Makiling in Los Banos Laguna. We went for Butanding (whaleshark) Interaction at Donsol, Sorsogon. We visited the Cagsawa ruins in Albay...and had a perfect shot of Mayon Volcano.

Dinner at Ka Lui Restaurant with fellow tourists. Earlier that day, we visited the famous Underground River


Enjoying the grounds of UP Los Banos -- a day before we trekked the enchanted Mt. Makiling. If you look closer, you will see the blue shoes with a bow that i wore to our wedding :)

Albay after swimming with whalesharks in Donsol, Sorsogon

Three weeks of love, laughter, and physical pain (oh yes Ceasar was THE FIRST *wink wink* call me old fashioned), the honeymooners had to part. Ceasar had to leave for Dubai. I tearfully dropped him off the NAIA. I was crying and sobbing and cursing the republic (sorry po!) why they cannot provide enough work for the Filipinos.....why husbands and Fathers had to leave their families behind.

For the next four months, we had again the entire Indian Ocean between us. Many nights, i would cry to sleep because i missed him soo much! For somebody who had been separated with her parents and siblings, I was pretty much used to the idea of loving from afar. But with Ceasar, being away from him was like half of my life gone.

The month of October put me out of misery. All our legal documents were ready and so i was able to leave the Philippines earlier than we anticipated. Seeing him again at Dubai airport was a most lovely sight :)

And that officially started our married life. I am sharing the details below so when my son is old enough to read this, he will know we did not always have that swimming pool on the rooftop.

Starting a married life in one of the most expensive cities in the world, was very hard. Though the city shouts luxury, we lived simply. Simple in ways beyond you can imagine. We stayed at a three-bedroom villa in Deira. We share the villa with 30 other people. Our room, was the maid's quarter so it has its own bathroom (just a shower, no tub). Back then, it was a luxury for a couple to have their own private bathroom. Yes, people here are used to making pila when taking a bath :). and they take turns cleaning the bathroom as well. Yes, the kitchen was common for everybody as well. We had like 20 rice cookers in there.

The monthly room rent was 2,500 AED (P32,000.00) plus water and electricity bill. We had no bed. Our single mattress was laid directly on the floor. We had a breakfast tray as table. We had a non-frost fridge. That and our laptop were the only expensive items in our room. If the human rights accused Dubai of exploiting the workers and laborers, there could be some truth in there.

March 2007, we moved to Al Satwa. Before, it would take more than two hours for hubby to reach work. Now his travel time to Al Quoz is 30 to 45 minutes. Our new room had its own bathroom and kitchen (though unfurnished). The kind Indian landlord gave the room for 2,400 AED/month including the electricity and water (we had to provide our own AC). The only problem was the room had no window :)

We lived frugally so we were able to save money to buy a window type AC. Then we bought our first gas stove and cylinder. Next we bought our front loading washing machine. I was living every housewive's dream teehee.

When we thought we couldn't be happier, my ob-gyne confirmed I was pregnant exactly the day we were to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, April 26, 2007!