Last October 2018, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh held its Diplomatic Reception at the Cultural Palace, Diplomatic Quarter, in celebration of the 120th Declaration of Philippine Independence and the 49th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was the first reception under the leadership of Ambassador Adnan V. Alonto, and our first reception here since we arrived in 2017. The guests included members of the Diplomatic corps, Saudi royalty and businessmen, Filipino community leaders, and all Embassy personnel and their spouses. Being a photobook enthusiast, I couldn't pass up the chance to create a memorabilia of this occasion. My husband was equally supportive of the idea and agreed to donate a copy of the photobook to the Embassy. Talk about a supportive (stage) husband. I must say it was great seeing everyone dressed up in their Filipiniana's finest. Even our friends from other embassies complimented our nice gowns.
After the formal program, high school students of the International Philippine School in Riyadh rendered a singkil dance - to the guests' delight and amazement. Finally, for dinner, everyone enjoyed sumptuous traditional Filipino and Maranao food, catered by Holiday Inn - Meydan, and Ms. Norhanie Dimakuta, respectively. In keeping with the festive atmosphere of the occasion, the Ambassador's Choir continued to entertain the guests during dinner with their lively Filipino songs and some kundiman. As a bonus, the guests also got to enjoy traditional sorbetes! So Pinoy! Having attended a number of receptions since our arrival here, I must say that our reception was one to be remembered. It's the little touches like the dance, the sorbetes ice cream, the lively singing, so characteristic of our own fiestas, that make us very unique and very Pinoy.
A big congratulations to everyone for pulling off this successful event, Embassy personnel and sponsors alike, but most especially to Ambassador and Madam Alonto. Looking forward to and so excited for the diplomatic reception this year when the Embassy shall be celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between our country and the Kingdom. Photos by Ms. Heidee Urbano and Mr. Normal Casil * * * Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: Gorgeous and Modern: Princess Nourah Universty Beyond Malls: Exploring Riyadh... with Kids! Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Also, do check out our Saudi Arabia Gallery for more pictures from around Riyadh. Thanks!
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To continue the top five things I love about this wonderful city: 3. French Quarter (Vieux Carré) On our second day, we got up early to grab some more - ehem - beignets at Café Du Monde and ended up just walking around the French Quarter after breakfast. I loved this time of the day as there were relatively fewer tourists on the streets and we got to explore the many interesting sights, shops, and architecture around the area. I don't know what it is about the French Quarter that entices people. It's not the cleanest. At night, it can be full of drunk people. Some streets have a funky smell. And yet, I find it so beautiful, and quaint, and interesting. 4. Mississippi River Cruise We try to take a cruise in every city we go to as a way to relax and see the city from a different perspective. In NOLA, we took the Daytime Jazz Cruise aboard the Steamboat Natchez. In true steamboat style, we cruised down the mighty Mississippi River and enjoyed the afternoon relaxing and having a few drinks onboard. And because we're in New Orleans - the home of Louis Armstrong - what's a daytime cruise without some live jazz music playing. And finally...
Where else in the world can you take the time off to eat some awesome beignet and drink iced coffee while listening to a live music?
* * * Read: First part of our New Orleans trip. For more pictures from our trip, do check out our US Gallery. Enjoy!
As soon as we arrived in NOLA, honestly, I had doubts. Definitely the city underwent major changes post-Katrina. Have I built it up so much in my head for all these years only to be disappointed? Will Von enjoy it as much as I did 15 years ago? As soon as we started walking around the French Quarter, all the wonderful memories from my 21st birthday came back to me and soon found myself in love with the same city, and with the man that I love to boot. 5 things to love about NOLA: While there are too many things to love about the city, I will try to list down my top 5: 1. Glorious, glorious food! As soon as we had checked-in at our hotel, our first order of business was Café Du Monde along Decatur Street. I waited 15 years to try their Beignets and Café Au Lait again, and I couldn’t wait for another hour. What can I say. Extreme happiness. We arrived there just before lunch and naturally, had to wait in line for no more than 30 minutes. Many people say it’s a tourist trap because of the long lines, but for good reason. Counting all the beignets we ate throughout the duration of our trip, including Café Du Monde's competitor, Cafe Beignet, we had a grand total of 18. Seriously, I thought we ate too much beignets that time. But as soon as we left, I regretted not eating more. Hmm... I wonder if there’s any place in NOLA that sells bad beignets. NOLA is also the home of world-famous Creole cuisine and although I’m not a fan of Gumbo and spicy foods, I did enjoy other NOLA favourites like po'boys and awesome seafood dishes. We decided to try Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant, just across our hotel Courtyard Inn by Marriott at Iberville in the French Quarter, and everything we ate was yummy! Softshell Crab Po'Boy and Barbecue Seafood Pasta - yummy! If you're a fan of the movie Chef, you would know that NOLA is one of the cities mentioned in the movie with a great food scene. It really is! 2. Ghost Tours Being an old city in the US, New Orleans has seen its fair share of tragedies such as massive fires, Yellow fever epidemic in the 1800s, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Along with its history of being populated with convicts and pirates upon its establishment, no wonder it is considered the most Haunted City in America. But this is also the reason why tourists flock to this charming city. The thrill of joining Ghost tours, visiting old cemeteries, and staying in haunted hotels. Eek! While we passed up on visiting a cemetery, and we're too scared to stay in a haunted hotel (I had to cancel a couple of hotel reservations after reading reviews about ghostly sightings!), we couldn't pass up on joining a Nightly Ghost Tour. I joined a Ghost Tour during my first visit but it was still thrilling to join one this time as it was also Von's first time. Some of the stories were also new to me and definitely gave us the creeps! The most famous haunted house in the French Quarter - the LaLaurie Mansion, the home of some of the most atrocious stories about slavery and torture; The house of Jacques St. Germain - the legendary New Orleans vampire - the house that inspired Anne Rice to write about Lestat. To add to the city's charm, we also visited a few days before Halloween so the spooky decorations were in hyper mode. * * * Read: Last part of our New Orleans trip. For more pictures from our trip, do check out our US Gallery. Enjoy! What an interesting time to live in Saudi. In the less than two years we've lived here, we've personally witnessed and experienced the major transformations the country is going through: from the not-so-good such as the Saudization (depends on your point of view) and the imposition of expat levies, to the wonderful such as the lifting of the ban on cinemas and the much-anticipated women driving. MOVIE DATES ARE BACK, BABY! One of my and my husband's favorite bonding activities in Manila is watching movies. That's why we felt so anxious when we learned Von would be posted in Riyadh, where there are no cinemas. Gah! But last April, the government finally lifted its 35-year ban on cinemas. Whereas before, Saudis and expats usually would have to drive to Bahrain during the weekend, Saudis can now enjoy watching movies in the cinema with the opening of two major theatres in Riyadh. "Black Panther" had the honor of being the first Hollywood film to be screened in Riyadh after 35 years. Unfortunately, we were in the Philippines for our vacation then so we weren't able to catch it. Nevertheless, when Avengers Infinity War came out, we finally experienced watching a movie in Riyadh in the beautiful AMC Cinema Theatre located in the King Abdullah Financial District. A few observations:
Overall, our first cinema experience was great. Since the lifting of the ban, another cinema, VoX Cinemas has also opened. We have yet to try their iMax cinema. Can't wait for more cinemas to open within the city for more options on screening times and movies. #SaudiWomenCanDrive September 26 last year, King Salman issued the royal decree to lift the driving ban on women. On June 24 this year, Saudi women were finally allowed to hit the road. Initially, the issuance of licenses were opened only to Saudi nationals and working women (or those with sponsored visas). A great source of annoyance for me as I fall into the category of expat dependents and their registration system has not been designed yet to accommodate us. The first time I went to the muroor (similar to our LTO), the chief of police told me to come back in a few days' time when they have fixed the system. (I was so depressed that night, Von took me to TGIFriday's to stress-eat, hehe.) But after a couple of weeks of chilling, last July 30, the same day as Mira's 1st birthday, I got an exciting gift as well. Finally, I received my Saudi license! So many words to describe how I felt when I finally received my license: Relief. Freedom. Convenience. Empowerment. All the wonderful things I can think of. Left: With Madame Jo Alonto, spouse of Ambassador Alonto, as we got our driver's licenses; Right: No escape. That's me taking the driver's license test. My diplomatic status did not exempt me from taking the test. Hehe. In the five years that I drove in Pinas, I only parallel parked about two times, so I was a bit nervous doing it here. But hey, I passed! Happy that now I can relieve my husband from having to fetch Elise from school during his lunch break. Happy that I will be sharing in his stress. Happy that on days when he's on travel or business trip, the girls and I don't have to confine ourselves in the house. Happy to be doing *some* things on my own now, like grocery-shopping, which I used to do before in Manila. I absolutely love driving and happy to be back to my old self. As for the Saudi way of driving, oh my. Let me just say I'm thankful I learned how to be a defensive driver in Manila! Can't wait to explore the country more, especially during wintertime when I can bring the kids to the parks even while the husband is at work. This issue on Saudi women being allowed to drive remains highly political thus I would like to refrain from posting any more comments on this. For now, let me say I am grateful to the Kingdom, and to those who paved the way, for making this happen. >wink< * * * Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: Gorgeous and Modern: Princess Nourah University Pinoy Fiesta in the Kingdom Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Also, do check out our Saudi Arabia Gallery for more pictures from around the country. Thank you! Hello, we're back and we have loads of stories to tell! The past three months were crazy hectic - some good, some not so much. To recap the highlights: * We went on a two-week vacation to the Philippines. * We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary at Plantation Bay, Mactan, Cebu. * Baby Mira is finally baptized. * I was diagnosed with Acute Vestibular Neuritis on my left ear and spent a good amount of time at the hospital. * The Embassy welcomed Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano (and tons of other hectic activities). * Elise started with (summer) school - yey! * Started planning baby Mira's first birthday - yey again! So yeah, given all those happenings, I didn't have the chance to update our blog since January. Please bear with me as I'm excited and eager to share all our stories. :) * * * Let me begin by telling you about my recent tour of the gorgeous Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh. During SFA Cayetano's visit, the Embassy spouses handled the parallel program for the SFA's wife, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, who visited with him. One of the activities included a tour of the Princess Nourah University, arranged by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Being a women's university, not everyone is able to visit this university, our spouses included, so I was thankful to have joined this tour. This University is magnificent and the tour a definite eye-opener. We only had a couple of hours for the tour so our visit was limited only to the Central Library, Medical Sciences Building, and the University Gymnasium. Such a shame that we were only able to visit these three buildings as Princess Nourah spans 800 HECTARES! (In comparison, the total land area of my Alma Mater UP Diliman is 493 hectares so picture double UP.) I read somewhere that Princess Nourah is the largest women's university in the world. First stop, the Central Libray - what can I say, it's a researcher's dream! Upon entering the building, one is greeted with this stunning lobby. No words to describe it, just this: I thought it was a simple tour of a beautiful library, but truly the most impressive part about the tour was the demo on the automated book circulation. From any floor of the 8-storey library, a student can just summon a book with some computer clicks - and voila! And returning it is just as high-tech - with the conveyor belts and all. Throughout the demo, I can't help but compare the library to the "door warehouse" in Monsters, Inc. This library is only one of three libraries in the world with this system. The library can also hold 5 million books and currently has 2 million. Everyone from our group was utterly impressed.
In the University Gymnasium, we saw their Olympic-size swimming pool and indoor track. Interestingly, the lady who conducted the tour of the gymnasium was probably no more around 5'3", and introduced herself as the team captain of their women's basketball team. We even saw them as they were practicing. Honestly, I was amazed to see Saudi women dressed in sporty clothes playing basketball. I would have never pictured them this sporty. While traveling between the buildings, I can't help but admire the sheer size of the university and the beautiful Arabian architecture. Princess Nourah also has an 11-kilometer, driverless monorail inside the campus - whut?! (And there I was, reminiscing my UP Ikot/Toki days.) Due to the limited schedule, we were not able to visit the monorail stations, but I'm sure it must be impressive as well. Driving around the university, I couldn't help but feel jealous that these facilities are available to Saudis only. To make my pangs of jealousy worse, I learned that studying here is free as well. I long for the day when Filipino students can have access to ultra-modern facilities like Hanako and the fully automated Library, among others.
That being said, I still think Filipino students kick ass and are top-notch and can compete in any arena outside the country despite what we are given. Just imagine the possibilities when we have all these at the tip of our fingers! * * * Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: Beyond Malls: Exploring Riyadh... with Kids! Pinoy Fiesta in the Kingdom Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Also, do check out our Saudi Arabia Gallery for more pictures of Princess Nourah University and from around Riyadh. Thanks! Given the cooler weather and that Mira is now a bit older and easier to bring along, we're finally going out of the house and exploring Riyadh more. The challenge is to find interesting places where we can also bring the kids, aside from malls. So far, here are a few we have visited:
Wadi Hanifah The Wadi Hanifa (Hanifa Valley) in the Nejd Region, runs for a length of 120 kilometers, cutting through the city of Riyadh from northwest and southeast. From what I gathered, it used to be a wasteland until the Ar Riyadh Development Authority turned it into a nature reserve. We visited on a weekend and really didn't know where to start our sightseeing or what to do. There were many families plopped down on the ground having a picnic, but since we have not yet grown accustomed to this culture, we just walked around. We saw a park with some inflatable balloons, but there were A LOT of families there, we were not really in the mood to join the crowd. Maybe we can visit next time when there are less people and we can also try crossing the bridge (of the dam?). Red Sand Dunes, Thumama I really enjoyed this one! After the New Year's, we joined some colleagues from the Embassy for a morning trip to the Red Sand Dunes. We decided not to bring Mira anymore since we didn't know if there was anywhere we could leave her with Ate Vangie. We left our meeting place at around 630AM. The sand dunes were only about thirty minutes away from our town of Irqah, but it was still necessary to arrive there early to take advantage of the cool morning air. The trip was a great breather from the city. During the drive, I enjoyed the scenic desert views and rock formations. Again, I was reminded that we were in the Middle East. Upon arriving in the area, I was a bit disappointed there was litter everywhere. Pretty sad that it is not well-maintained. However, once you drive farther out and up, the sand dunes become cleaner and you are left with these magnificent desert views. Pretty surreal. We rented two bikes for 30SAR per hour each, with Elise riding with Von. The drive was fun alright, but I was still very cautious as I didn't wanna end up tumbling down the sand dunes. And yes, in case you haven't noticed, too: no abaya! Yey!
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Oftentimes, I see comments describing Riyadh as a boring city. Yes, I do miss the cinemas and the nightlife... occasionally. But I find that the city has also a lot to offer culture-wise. We have yet to visit the other big parks scattered around the city, the famous Edge of the World, the Saudi National Museum, the modern skyscrapers with amazing views such as the Kingdom Tower, the heritage villages, the horse and camel races... the list goes on. Given that the country remains closed to tourists, I remain grateful we were given the chance to live here, and experience the very unique Saudi culture. * * * Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: Pinoy Fiesta in the Kingdom House-Hunting in Riyadh: Fantasies and Realities Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Also, do check out pictures from around Riyadh in our Saudi Arabia Gallery. Thanks! One cool thing about being parents is having an excuse to throw parties all the time - parties celebrating our children's milestones. I know for a fact that Von and I have thrown more parties in the last four years than during the first thirty years of our lives combined. As for me, I live for the planning. I love choosing a menu, I love picking out a theme, I love doing DIYs. If money were not an issue, I would probably throw Elise a party just because. (Now the stress on the other hand… that's something else.) For Elise's fourth birthday, we weren't initially planning to hold a party for her since she just had a Jollibee party last year. A month before her birthday, we decided to hold one anyway seeing that this was our first year in Riyadh, our first time to gather our friends here. We chose to have a party at home for three reasons: 1) because we thought we had a big enough place (and while we have not that many furniture yet); 2) also as a housewarming party; and 3) frankly, I have no idea what venue to book if we were to hold it outside. Now considering we chose to have the party at home, I didn't think I would get stressed. But I did. In Pinas, I had a set list of trustworthy suppliers I could have easily booked. Booking a caterer, photographer, photo booth supplier, easy. I have a super talented sorority sister who makes amazing custom cakes. I knew where to go to have invites printed, where to buy loot bags and small toys for giveaways, where to look for little pails for the table centerpiece. Here, nada. I had to start from scratch. I had to research A LOT, ask some mommy friends from the Embassy for recommended suppliers, message suppliers who never bothered replying back. It stressed me a bit. Our theme, Super Mario, was also not very popular here and so we had a hard time shopping for decorations - I had to ask my sister living in the US to buy Elise's Princess Peach costume and send it here via postal service. She was super kind enough to also buy wall decals and hangings which I used for the decors. And to think we didn't even throw a full-scale birthday party. (Note: start planning Mira's first birthday party this early!!!) (Sorry, if you haven't noticed by now, I become a momzilla whenever I plan my kids' parties. Hehe.) In the end, everything worked out well. We had the best time entertaining our friends from the Embassy and also the few friends we've made outside. The best part was seeing Elise so happy. When we moved here, it really broke my heart to see her say goodbye to the friends she had made at Gymboree, and to her cousins from Bulacan and Cavite. Seeing her here having a good time with her new friends, really uplifted my spirits. I will try in a few days to come up with a review of our suppliers: Riyadh Marriott Hotel for our caterer, and Bueno Cakes for the custom cake. For now, let me just say that they were simply superb and we couldn't be any happier.
I will also try to post some of my Super Mario DIYs for some ideas when throwing your own Super Mario-themed birthday party. 'Til the next party! Photos by our talented photographer Norman Cunanan of Nhorms 143. Last October 16, Von, Elise, and I attended the launch of the Pinoy Fiesta 2017 at LuLu Hypermarket in its Murabba branch. Von attended as the representative of the Embassy, while I tagged along as I was curious about the event which ads I have seen in my Facebook feed. We also brought Elise along as we had an appointment with her pedia later in the evening. I was surprised with how big the event was. We thought Von was just attending a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony. To our surprise, we were given a red carpet treatment with all the executives of LuLu. There was also a big Filipino crowd waiting for the start of the program. There was a real fiesta vibe in the atmosphere.
After the tour and a short press briefing with LuLu executives, it was time for the much-awaited program. Students of different Philippine International schools paraded on stage wearing these absolutely lovely Filipino traditional costumes. The kids were adorable! Aftershock Dancers, an all-male Filipino dance group also rendered a dance performance to "Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas". Props to the LuLu Filipino staff who worked overtime to arrange the displays and organize the program. Overall, it was an awesome night spending time with the Filipino community. My only gripe? After the event, some of the executives and mall security escorted us directly to our car and didn't leave us until we have left the building (the diplomatic way of life, I guess? For security reasons?). So we didn't get to buy those Philippine mangoes which I was dying to get my greedy hands on and the ube cake which Elise tasted and loved. By the time we returned to LuLu last Oct. 21, most of the stocks were gone, including the mangoes. Huhu. I guess our other kababayans didn't waste time and made sure to also stock up on those Pinoy goodies. Hehe. Anyway, I am definitely looking forward to next year's festival and would know what to do next time. :) * * *
Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: House-Hunting in Riyadh: Fantasies and Realities Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Having breastfed my eldest for two years, I was also determined to breastfeed Mira for as long as I can. Of course, since we now reside in Saudi, the expectations are quite different. For one, I'm not aware if Saudi has laws similar to the Philippines' Milk Code and various DOH regulations, which provide for the essentials in newborn care, two of which are skin-to-skin contact and non-separation of mother and baby to initiate breastfeeding. The Milk Code also prohibits the introduction of formula to newborns while still inside the hospital. Thus, mothers are forced if not encouraged to breastfeed their newborns. In the Philippines, the "Unang Yakap" protocol is observed to allow the baby to latch to the mother as soon as the baby is born, as what happened when I gave birth to Elise (although she didn't learn to latch right away). Here, the minute I gave birth to Mira, I told the nurse I would like to breastfeed her, but she told me, "No", followed by some explanation which I didn't quite get. I didn't want to argue anymore due to the language barrier and I was also exhausted. After a minute or so, they gave me Mira already cleaned and swaddled in a blanket so we didn't get to experience that first skin-to-skin contact, which saddened me a bit. After that, she was whisked away to the nursery, and I never got to see her again until 12 hours later. Which led me to believe she was given formula while she was at the nursery. Four years ago, I might have stressed to the max over this thought, but this time, I just let it go. While I believe in the benefits of breastfeeding and still plan to breastfeed her exclusively for the first 6 months, I've also opened up to the "Fed is Best" advocacy. Honestly, I also had no strength left to question the hospital policies of a different country. I just waited for the pedia nurse to bring Mira to the room and began breastfeeding her until we left the hospital. We've been exclusively breastfeeding since. At the hospital, I also got a lot of promotional freebies and goodies from different companies including a newborn kit from the hospital, which includes tadaan... two bottles of pre-mixed Similac formula. This is a big no-no in the Philippines. Another challenge for us is that we haven't found a Filipino pedia here yet who is also a breastfeeding advocate. I got amazing support from Elise's pedia in Capitol Med, Dra. Pia Mendiola, who taught me patiently how to properly make Elise latch and encouraged me all throughout my breastfeeding journey. Ah, now comes the fun part, breastfeeding in public... in the Middle East! I guess it's safe to say that breastfeeding in public here does not exist. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
I'm also not aware whether there are dedicated breastfeeding stations here in malls and establishments. To be fair to the big malls in Pinas like SM and Ayala malls, they have nice, clean breastfeeding stations. Here, I guess I can breastfeed inside toilets, which I don't really wanna do. I guess I can also breastfeed inside the enclosed family booths inside restaurants, one of the perks of segregation.
The solution: take chilled pumped milk with me wherever I go and warm them when necessary. You gotta do what you gotta do. Despite the challenges, the upside of it all is that breastfeeding the second time around has been so much more pleasant! With Elise, I cried almost everyday due to cracked and bleeding nipples, plugged ducts, that feeling as if my breasts were on fire, etc. I endured that for almost 8 weeks! This time around, I got to enjoy breastfeeding Mira. There's still the occasional plugged ducts, and my nipples still cracked during the first two weeks, but thankfully, I learned how to better handle the pain. Maybe I have also matured for the last four years and have accepted that all this inconvenience is temporary but the benefits will last her a lifetime. * * * Read: My other articles about mommyhood and our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: My Birthing Story Ala-Fear Factor What to Expect When Expecting in Saudi House-Hunting in Riyadh: Fantasies and Realities The Start of our Diplomatic Journey Someone had mentioned to me before that for every subsequent pregnancy, expect the hours of labor to be reduced by half. No kidding! It took me six hours to give birth to our eldest Elise, and so it was no surprise to me when at 38 weeks, I gave birth to our secondborn Elmira in only three hours. The hubby and I had planned to watch back-to-back episodes of Suits that Saturday night and we had barely gotten started when I felt as if the baby literally kicked my V from the inside. Before I could make a comment about it, I felt a gush of water and knew it had broken. The good thing about Riyadh is the lack of Manila-like traffic. We were in Sanad Hospital in just around 30 minutes even though the hospital is located about 15 kilometers away from our house. Even though I have done this before, I feel like nothing could really prepare me for the curveballs thrown at me during delivery. First, I expected that my regular OB, a Filipina, would be the one to deliver our baby. As it turns out, things work differently around here. You don't text your regular OB and tell her you're on your way to the hospital where you two would simply meet. In our case, we went straight to the hospital ER where I was prepped for delivery and when it was time, the on-call OB delivered the baby. I learned later on that you can make a private arrangement with your regular OB, but it required shelling out an additional SAR2,000 (Around PHP20K+++)---which we found too steep. It can be a bit disconcerting to have an OB whom you've never met before and have no rapport with deliver your baby. During my first pregnancy, we consulted with many OB's until we found someone we really liked. But what's one got to do but to make it work? My OB was Syrian, looked a bit young, and likable enough although she gave me tough love. When I wasn't pushing right, she taunted me that she would just send me home since "I didn't want to give birth to the baby". I knew she was just encouraging me to push better, but I wanted to tell her, "Hey! Cant' you see I'm in pain here???". Thankfully, the patient records of Sanad are centralized so that gave me some bit of comfort, that my Syrian OB can just pull up my records and check my consultation history, lab results, etc., to get acquainted with my case should there be any complications. I was also thrown off by the fact that although there are plenty of FIlipina nurses in Sanad, the main nurses who assisted me were not kababayans. Although they were friendly, I had some difficulty in both conveying my messages and understanding their instructions because of their foreign accents. It was also kind of awkward to relay my pains in English, like: "Please help me!" "I can't do it anymore!" "Ouch! It's so painful!" I felt so conyo, hahaha! The biggest curveball and definitely not part of my birth plan was giving birth without any medication - as in I gave birth naturally! Given my generally positive experience when I gave birth to Elise, I was set on also asking for epidural this time around. I know some women choose to forego the epidural for an organic labor experience, but I already knew my intolerance to pain and know myself well enough to ask for an epidural. Just an hour after admission, my OB told me my dilation had already progressed from 5 to 8cm very quickly that she could no longer administer epidural. When she told me I have to give birth naturally, I felt like I was a contestant in Fear Factor. I started to panic and told my OB, "NO! NO! I CAN'T DO IT!!!". To which my OB replied, "Yes, yes, you have to!". I felt so defeated, but at the same time, I felt so grown up, too, like I was confronted with fear, and I have no choice but to take it head-on. (I realize that for someone in labor, I was doing a lot of overthinking, haha.) In between the most painful contractions, I thought about all the movies I've seen where the pregnant women deliver their babies in the most unusual places like the car, or even in their house, and wonder how they can do it without the benefit of epidural or anesthesia to help ease the pain. Well, I was about to find out! To cut the long story short, I gave birth to our secondborn, in exactly three hours, without the assistance of medication, and without my husband by my side who was not allowed inside. I know it might not sound like a big deal to some, but I consider this experience a kind of a personal achievement. Read: My other articles about mommyhood and our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: What to Expect When Expecting in Saudi House-Hunting in Riyadh: Fantasies and Realities The Start of our Diplomatic Journey |