My Seventh Month In America

Hello yawl (like how we say it here in the south)

I have been wanting to write about my journey here in the US and it took close to seventh month before I finally started to do it. This is my first blog and it summarizes my journey and a little of my life and there's more to come.

I'm now a "certified southern filipina country girl". We live in a smalltown with a population of about 2k and acres upon acres of land before us. The town of Robbins in North Carolina is the hometown where democratic presidential candidate John Edward was raised. He and my husband went school together at North Moore High School. Despite the fact that Robbins has a famous hometown boy, still this is an Elephant town (that's another interesting story).

Anyway, my nearest neighbors are my mother-in-law and my step daughter and so many trees in between us so I couldn't even see their houses from where we live and my stepson lives at the hill behind the woods from us. I need to drive to their place everytime I want to visit them. They are all good to me and I love them dearly.

It was a big adjustment for me. I used to work at the one of the big corporations back in Manila at one of the progressive business district and commute by FX or MRT everyday. When I got here six months ago I was in shocked. At night, and you're driving it is dark on the road not unless you're in the city but outside of city limits your car's light is the only thing that illuminates the road. There's no row of lamp posts in the street unlike back home.

Back in Manila, we have the convenience and easy access to a shopping mall and anytime you get bored you could just commute and window shop even if we don't have the money. Here if you don't know how to drive and husband is working you're useless and will be stucked at home. So for someone like me that only know jeepney, MRT, cabs or FX as a means of transportation, driving was one of my first few days order of business so to speak.


I've never drove back home and they say that country driving is easy but here our road is mostly hilly or curvy and I've cried bucket full of tears while my husband has been teaching me how to drive. It was a big challenge, my husband is the nicest person on earth but when it comes to my driving he's got zero tolerance and I understand him since his dad and his little brother we're both killed in a wrecked six mos apart. I used to tease him that my driving will be the cause of our divorce but now that I'm chauffering him anywhere we go and he has been complementing me, said I've improved alot getting a license for someone like me has been very empowering and liberating.

Also, I've now become adjusted with the southern food. I've learned how to cook beans, baked biscuits and cornbread from scratch, cajun, casserole but still I have my rice. I've been all by myself at night since my husband works third shift as Correctional Captain but the good thing is he only works 2 or 5x every other week. And he got me two beagle puppies for companion.

I'm loving it here, the people are so nice. It's very laidback and simple far cry from the very toxic life I've been living back in Manila. I used to spend almost 12hrs a day at work most times and at month end closing we stay overnight and sometimes work on sat and sun. I do get bored here many times, cried from missing my family but messenger is a big help and my wonderful husband has been so good to me.

We do so many things together tho' I still let him go out to see and talk to his buddies. We go to the gym together, we go out on dates every other friday that he's off from work, dine out, watch movie, church, going to the bookstore, car shows, harley davidson shop, ebay or me driving the country road stopping only for a little treat of ice cream or coffee or we just take off on his Harley and drive miles upon miles as I watch the world goes by.

I'm now starting to find work and got so many calls in the big city which I couldn't accept because it's all either an hr or two hrs away from our place. I think for now my only chance to find work here is at the county or community college which is 20 mins away from our place. I know it will still be a long journey but couldn't ask for anything more, life has been great and I'm so blessed... Goodluck to yawl!