Ritchel Caguicla: Learning From the Challenges Abroad

Ritchel Caguicla of Sariaya Quezon is thinking of her family’s welfare when she decided to work overseas. Her life in the Philippines cannot be said affluent and she saw working abroad as the only possible way to give her family a better and more comfortable life. Aside from the fact that working abroad would be beneficial to her own personal growth because she will be exposed to a new environment and be able to work with people of different cultures; she is attracted with the huge salary that she can earn.

She got her current job through the help of a friend who are knowledgeable about several websites that post overseas job openings for teachers. Her friend informed her about the job openings and submitted her resume. It wasn’t long before she is already greetings phone calls and emails requesting for a job interview. She was immediately accepted to work as an English teacher in China and arrived in her current location on March 15, 2007.

Her experience as an OFW can be considered nice and pleasant because lady luck seems to have stayed with her since she started working abroad. She started out as an ordinary ESL teacher but her excellent work performance was immediately noticed and she got promoted right away. She was promoted in the middle of the school year during her first year of teaching in China.

Her good fortune can be credited to her exemplary dedication to her profession. Her job is not that easy because she had to compete with other teachers who are all native English speakers. It seems like she has to prove her worth and competence everyday. It is indeed a very challenging job, but Ritchell sees it in a positive light, citing that she welcomes the challenges because she is learning them.

According to Richell, “Every single day is a time of giving the best performance that I could give. Because I am working with an international language institution whose teachers are all native speakers, I have to compete with them proving that I am qualified for my job.

This is her message to all OFWs around the world: To all my co-OFWs - as we continuously trek our paths and look to the brighter side of the world, let’s always remember that we are bringing our country's identity. Thus, let's do the best that we can do. Whatever we achieve is also our country's achievement. Treat each day as if it is our last day. Live decently! Im proud to be a Filipino!