The long line out
The wait was not really long. It was even relaxing, or so I thought. I have resigned from work and I had all the time to invest with the kids before I leave, just waiting for the days to go by, patiently and get to Chiang Mai for my new job. Passport, check. Visa, in process. Flight, booked and paid for… until the travel agency asked me if I had an OEC. Huh? Overseas Employment Certificate. What? Where? I asked around and lo and behold, one cannot get away without an OEC if one is going to work abroad, lest one wants to get held up at the immigration shamefully. And so shit started. To get this certificate, you have to spend a minimum three days at the Philippine Oversease Employment Administration (POEA), waste your time to fall in line from one window to another, bearing heat, sweat dripping on your back like rain and the smell of other people’s sweat. The first day you go to the second floor, window 6 for professional/skilled workers and get assed or rather assessed whether you have...