WHY NORWAY?
Hey! Was thinking of sharing the story behind "WHY AM I HERE IN NORWAY?" It is actually a dream come true to land my two feet in one of the richest nations in the world and considering it is in Europe, and WOAH cmon are you kidding? Its EUROPE baby! ;) Most of the time, I am very fortunate that I got one of my biggest dreams, which is to stay in Europe. It is a childhood dreams, even riding in a long haul flight in an airplane. ;) It all started with my dreams, which I thought its impossible to achieve.
But anyway, I will go back to the question why am I here in Norway. It was last year November that my friend informed me about Norway, she told me about the Resident Permit to Learn the Norwegian Language and a greener pasteur that awaits for nurses in Norway. I was amazed, but the thing that made me drop my jaw was the amount of money to pay for the consultancy firm. Aside from that, the amount of money I need to prepare for my allowance while studying the language considering that I will be having a jobless status, that is a pain in the ass. So I deleted the idea of considering Norway.
I was in my first step in processing my papers as an Intensive Care Unit Nurse in Libya, oh, I heard this opportunity when some of my batch mates in FEU IN were hired as an ICU nurse in Tripoli Libya. But the day of submission of my credentials in the recruitment agency---- most of us were rejected because they need 2 years experience in the critical unit. Where actually, they told us before during inquiry that they just need a 1 year experience in the critical unit. So okey, I need to go back to scratch again.
I phoned my friend and made my own research about Norway. We, together with my friend, went to another consultancy firm(which is cheaper than the one that my friend told me). I scrutinized how they are doing the application process and concluded that I can do it by myself without asking for any help from a consultancy firm. You just need to go to the application portal of Norway, secure all the necessary documents, attend the interview and wait for the decision. As easy as that. (But securing the documents is the hardest part of all, but its manageable)
I talked to my dad after getting all the important information in applying for a resident permit to learn the norwegian language. I was actually given an opportunity to become as a Staff Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit of Cardinal Santos Medical Center but the mere fact that the salary is very low plus the heavy loads of work as an ICU nurse, that made me decide that I couldnt stand that kind of work. And that was the reason I told to my dad, "dad, think, if Im going to stay here in the Philippines and pursue the employment in Cardinal Santos Medical Center, you still ought to give me allowance every month since my salary there is very low, it is like PHP10,000 every month". Then after a month, that was December 2012, he called me up and told me that I need to secure all the documents and they will help me to come here in Norway. (I WAS VERY HAPPY AT THAT TIME LOL)
Proof of housing is one of the documents that I need to submit. Thank God that a family friend in dad's side gave me one! So I lodged in my documents last February 26,2013. I was thinking that the interview was like a hell of a ride where in my bones and muscles would be trembling because of the idea that one answer to the visa officer's question might lead to rejection of my application. In reality, it was the opposite. It was a smooth sailing day. I just handed in all my documents to the officer and she checked if I am registered in the Professional list of nurses in Professional Regulatory Commission. She throwed simple questions and after 10 minutes, it was done! I went out of the embassy with a hope that after a week or 2, the decision would be made.
The next day after lodging the documents in the embassy, the feeling of waiting for the board exam results before was actually coming back. PARANOIA. Paranoid that my application would be rejected. I kept on calling the embassy and asking for the status of my application. Also, I kept on sending emails in UDI(Government office responsible for the decision). I was always getting an answer "No decision yet, case processing time for your resident permit is 2 months" OKEY! 2 months! I had no choice but to wait and just pray. (Paranoia is something that is very difficult to overcome)
April 8, 2013 11:30PM. I went online on my phone and checked my email inbox. Still, no email from the embassy. And the moment that I checked the spam folder. OM! I saw an email saying WE ARE PLEASE TO INFORM YOU ............ At long last! I was granted a visa!! Because of excitement, the very next day, April 9,2013 11AM I went to the embassy to have my passport stamped with an entry visa. I was feeling energized even if I didnt have a sleep. LOL! The night of April 9, I went home in Isabela and told my family that I would be leaving soon.
April 11,2013 9PM I went back in Manila to buy all the stuff that I would be needing in Norway.
April 12,2013 SHOPPING! ;)) After buying clothes, etc, I arrived in the condominium so tired. Went to the deck and had all the clothes washed. Thanks to automatic machine where you can just put it inside and hang it after. Power of technology! LOL
April 13 2013, wrapped all my stuff and forcefully put it inside my luggages. It was actually bursting cause of many things that I wanted to bring with me.
April 14 2013, still preparing. I went in the airport around 8PM because my flight was around 1215am of April 15, 2013. LOL! I survived! It was like an amazing race! ;) FINALLY! HAHA! I took Qatar Airlines because of the convenience of the trip. Half trip going to Qatar and half trip going to Norway. As much as possible I do not like flights from Asia going directly to Europe. That is very stressful.
AHA! That is the story why I am now here in Norway. And as months pass by, I am unfolding the reasons why God pulled me up in this place. ;)
