The alarm rings and, for a few seconds, I just stare at it like it personally offended me.
Monday.
Not just any Monday, but Monday abroad. The kind where your brain wakes up before your body does. Bills. Goals. Family. Responsibilities. The packed lunch waiting in the fridge. The scrubs or uniform. The badge. The commute. The coffee that feels less like a drink and more like life support. Grabe, Monday really knows how to introduce itself.
And if you are Filipino working far from home, you know this feeling. Monday is not only “back to work.” Sometimes, Monday feels like back to the reason you came here in the first place.
It looks simple from the outside. Wake up. Get ready. Clock in. Do your job. Go home.
But inside, there is a lot happening.
You are tying your shoelaces or fixing your ID badge, and somewhere in the background of your mind, you remember the applications, the exams, the paperwork, the waiting, the moving, the adjusting, the missing out. You remember the people back home. You remember why you said yes to a life that is better in many ways, but also heavier in quiet ways.
Monday abroad is not just a day. It is a reminder.
The Badge, the Lunch Bag, and the Quiet Weight We Carry
There is something very ordinary about a Monday morning routine, but also something deeply personal.
Coffee. Packed lunch. Scrubs. Uniform. Badge. Keys. Phone. Maybe one quick message to family before leaving, or after shift when the body is already tired but the heart still wants to check in.
And because of the time difference, your Monday morning may be their Monday night. You are starting your workweek while someone back home is already getting ready to sleep. Or you finish your shift and finally have time to message, but they are busy with their own day.
That is one of the strange parts of living abroad. You are connected to home, but not always in the same rhythm.
Sometimes it is just a short message. “Kumain na kayo?” “How are you?” “Ingat.” Nothing dramatic. No long emotional speech. Just small lines crossing time zones, carrying love in the most Filipino way possible.
And then you go to work.
If you are in healthcare, you know Mondays can have their own personality. The weekend has passed, clinics are open again, pending things wake up, phones ring, samples come in, and everyone is trying to look functional even if the coffee has not fully reached the bloodstream yet. Naku, even before any STAT anything, Monday itself already feels STAT.
But we show up.
That is the quiet strength of many Filipinos abroad. Not always loud. Not always posted online. Sometimes the strongest people are just the ones quietly clocking in while missing home.
Pride and Homesickness Can Sit in the Same Car
Working abroad can feel like two opposite things at the same time.
There is pride, because you made it. You found work. You adjusted. You learned new systems. You figured out the commute, the grocery prices, the accent, the weather, the rules, the documents, the workplace culture, and all the little adulting tasks that nobody included in the pre-departure orientation.
But there is also homesickness.
Not always the crying kind. Sometimes it is quieter. It shows up when there is a family gathering and you are only present through photos. When there is news back home and you are reading updates during a break. When you realize another birthday, fiesta, graduation, reunion, or simple Sunday lunch happened without you.
From the outside, people may see the job abroad and think, “Ang ganda ng buhay.” And yes, there are blessings. Very real ones. Opportunities. Stability. Growth. A chance to build something.
But they may not always see the trade-offs.
The applications that took so much energy. The exams. The documents. The waiting. The fear of starting again. The first few days of not knowing where things are. The adjustment to a new workplace. The moments when you miss a familiar face, familiar food, familiar noise, familiar everything.
Monday has a way of bringing all of that back. Not to make us sad, but to remind us: you have come far.
Sometimes we forget that because we are busy chasing the next goal. Next bill. Next remittance. Next savings target. Next paperwork. Next shift. Next schedule request. Next plan.
But pause for a moment.
The life you are now living may be something your younger self once prayed for. Maybe not perfectly. Maybe not exactly like you imagined. Maybe with more laundry and less sleep than expected. But still, there is something here that came from courage.
Monday Teaches Discipline, Even When Motivation Is Absent
Motivation is nice, but let’s be honest. It does not always wake up with us on Monday.
Some Mondays, motivation is still under the blanket. Discipline is the one brushing teeth, packing lunch, and showing up.
Working abroad teaches that very quickly. You cannot rely only on feelings. There are responsibilities waiting. Rent does not care if you are homesick. Bills do not pause because you are tired. Goals do not build themselves. And family back home may be depending on you in ways that are not always said out loud.
That is why Monday teaches discipline.
Not the harsh, punishing kind. More like the steady kind. The kind that says, “Get up. Do what you can today. One step.”
It also teaches patience. Because building a life abroad is not instant. There are seasons when progress feels slow. Savings may go up and down. Plans get delayed. You may feel like you are working so hard and still waiting for things to feel lighter.
But every Monday you show up, you are adding something. Experience. Strength. Stability. Wisdom. A little more confidence. A little more proof that you can survive hard seasons.
And Monday teaches gratitude too.
Not the fake kind where we pretend everything is okay. Real gratitude can exist even when we are tired. It is the kind that says, “Lord, thank You for work, even if I am sleepy. Thank You for provision, even if I miss home. Thank You for this chance, even if it is not easy.”
That kind of gratitude feels honest to me.
But We Did Not Come Here to Become Machines
Here is the part I need to remind myself too: working hard should not mean forgetting yourself.
Many Filipinos abroad are very good at enduring. We are trained by life, culture, family, and necessity to keep going. Tiis muna. Kayod muna. Send muna. Save muna. Rest later.
But “later” can become a dangerous place. Later becomes next week. Then next month. Then after this bill. Then after this goal. Then after this overtime. Then after this season.
Before we know it, we are functioning, but not really living.
Monday can remind us why we work, yes. But it can also remind us to protect the person doing the work.
We came here to build a better life, not to lose ourselves in the process.
Rest is not laziness. Peace is not weakness. A quiet morning, a short prayer, a proper meal, a message to someone you love, a walk outside, drinking water like a responsible adult for once — these things matter. They are small, but they help us stay human.
Especially in healthcare, where we are often focused on other people’s needs, results, deadlines, specimens, patients, coworkers, and the never-ending “Can you just check this?” moments. Hay nako. Sometimes we can handle complicated procedures but forget to eat properly. Very professional, very questionable.
So maybe Monday should not only be a productivity test. Maybe it can also be a check-in.
A Small Grounding Habit Before the Week Runs Away
I don’t think every Monday needs a grand routine. Most of us do not have time for a cinematic sunrise, journaling with aesthetic pens, and a breakfast that looks like it belongs on a menu. Sometimes Monday is just reheated food, messy hair, and trying not to forget your badge.
But one small grounding habit can help.
Nothing complicated. Just one thing that tells your body and soul, “We are here. We will take this day one step at a time.”
- Say a short prayer before leaving or before starting your shift.
- Drink water before coffee, if you can. Adulting points agad.
- Send one message home, even if it is short.
- Take three deep breaths before entering work mode.
- Pack something decent to eat, because surviving on caffeine and vibes is not a long-term plan.
- Name one thing you are grateful for, even if the week feels heavy.
It may not change the whole day. But it can change how you enter it.
And sometimes, that is enough.
One Monday at a Time
If today feels heavy, I hope you remember that you are not weak for feeling it.
Monday abroad carries more than a schedule. It carries memory. Sacrifice. Hope. Responsibility. Love. It carries the faces of people we miss and the dreams we are still working for.
It reminds us of how far we have come from the days of applications, exams, paperwork, waiting, and wondering if this life abroad would really happen. It reminds us that we are still here, still trying, still learning how to balance ambition with peace.
So if you are reading this before a shift, during a break, after a long commute, or while preparing another packed lunch for another workday, please take this as a gentle reminder:
You are not just surviving abroad. You are building a life.
Not all at once. Not perfectly. Not without missing home.
But one Monday at a time, you are building something your younger self once prayed for.
Ingat this week. Work hard, yes. But don’t forget to breathe, eat, pray, laugh a little, and come home to yourself too.
