The Things We Do | 2011

My family and I have been living in a foreign land for more than 2 years now. For some people, that's reasonably long, yet to some people, it's barely enough. We all have our own reasons for leaving our homeland, and I am not one to judge whether our reasons are right or wrong. What I do know is that I am happy and satisfied where I stand today.


When I decided to live and work in Singapore, I knew that I would be bringing my family along. No ifs, no buts. It's either Judy and Jakjak are with me, or we stick with the odds back home. While that meant a larger amount of overhead expenses overall, them being with me did not even require effort in thinking.

I have heard of stories of parents or a parent being away from their families for one reason or another. I even know some of them personally. While some of them can bear to live apart for a period of time, I don't think I can. It cannot be just love, because we have to bear in mind that we are living in the real world. For me, it is a mixture of things. There is the thought of being away from them that is unbearable for me. Then there is the emotional responsibility that I feel I must provide for them. The multitude of fatherhood roles also come into play. Then there are little bits and pieces of other things. 

It is a fact, that one of the reasons I decided to leave my home country was for financial stability, something that is tricky and difficult to achieve there. Then there's also the concern of growth, safety and wellness. The future holds a lot of uncertainties, but here, right now, I believe that we are giving Jakjak a good chance in achieving bigger dreams. My reasons may be the same with others, or may have some slight variations. But for me, along with my family, we chose to live here because we believe that we have a better future here. A future that we are looking forward to. Besides, Jakjak seems to can't get enough of Bandung.