Finding Opportunity in Adversity: A Journey of Trust

Excerpt from Pawn to Queen: Life's Chess and Quest

Chapter 5: Trust the Process

https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Queen-Lifes-Chess-Quest-ebook/dp/B08F5DKV6T

I've been working for four years in the Philippines, but our lives haven't changed yet. My mom was still in massive debt with her co-teachers.?

The thought of my colleagues applying for work in Dubai and the endless reminders from Ate Emily about Bermuda Island's opportunities got me thinking.??

Since then, there were no days that I wouldn't check?www.royalgazette.com/jobs. I prepared myself for whatever might happen to me. My mindset at that time was to get my mother out of that seemingly bottomless debt hole. Every day, I would apply for jobs abroad. I will elaborate on this in a later chapter.

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BERMUDA IS ANOTHER WORLD

In September 2007, I moved to Bermuda as a Fund Accountant at one of the leading financial services firms. There were about 25 employees in our office in Hamilton, Bermuda, and at least 10 different nationalities, including American, Canadian, Irish, South African, Bermudian, Australian, English, Indian, Vietnamese, and, of course, Filipino.??

I missed my time as an employee in the Philippines as it's different abroad.??

As I'm writing this, I remember Robin and how she patiently trained me and made me feel that I'm part of a diverse group. She was my first mentor abroad. She would talk to me and ask me questions about the TV shows and movies I had watched to engage me, but I would always shut her down out of my lack of confidence in speaking?English.

I almost rejected happy hour invitations. How dare they call an event with too much communication in the English language a happy hour? I dreaded it! It's not good to escape company events, though, so even if I wanted to say no, I couldn't. Needless to say, my experiences talking in groups were always awful. I would still be composing in my mind what to say, but they were already discussing another topic. So much for happy hour.??

I could do the things I needed to do; it's just that I couldn't handle small talks. Not to mention, I couldn't handle calls from clients, too! I was so scared whenever my telephone would ring. It's always a piece of cake explaining technical things or any questions about work, but I start to lose my train of thought when they start asking me about my weekend.??

2008 ECONOMIC CRISIS

That's why when an economic crisis hit in 2008, many of my officemates who have international accounting qualifications and can speak English well got job offers from our other offices (e.g., Boston, Massachusetts, Cincinnati, Ohio, Dublin, South Africa). As for me, what would you expect other than a separation letter? I was only waiting for my last day in the office in Bermuda. I was sending my CVs to different companies but to no avail. The reasons were the same. I was missing an international accounting title, and they couldn't understand my English.?

One day, the Transfer Agency Team needed help in filing subscription documents. They asked me to check the piles of paper, then scan them and store them in the steel cabinet. In Accounting, we account for every centavo, so I found it easy to do this task since it was natural for me to be detailed, as my job requires me to. After I did my duty, I talked with my colleague. "Hey Louise, I noticed that the checklist was incomplete, the document didn't have a copy of the passport, the pages were not complete, etc. Let me know how you want me to proceed."

Two days later, our office director offered me to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio. I couldn't believe it was happening. I got a job in the USA because I was good at filing documents. I was so thankful to God and Louise as she relayed my performance to our boss. The saying, "If your task is photocopying, be the best copier in the world, and the rewards will come later" worked for me.

That was the beginning of my Transfer Agency journey and the ending of my Fund Accounting career. I proved once again that if God wills it, He'll make a way.??

I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in September 2009. Goodbye, Bermuda!??

THE CINCY LIFE

Bermuda is a tiny island, but there were many Filipinos there compared to Cincinnati. To survive in the USA, one must know how to drive. But I don't! We didn't have a car; we only had?tuk-tuks. To survive, I rented a studio apartment a block away from the office.

I looked for Filipino groups and Filipinos on Facebook; I was almost left with no results until I found Kuya John on the social media site. His surname is also Cancino, so I contacted him. We agreed to meet. Before I got to see him, I reminded myself of the #1 advice given to me when I left for Bermuda: Do not trust others easily.

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In Bermuda, together with my friends, I spent most of my weekends at birthday parties.

In Cincinnati, I spent my non-working hours studying for the Certified Management Accountant qualification. I was traumatized by my sudden job loss, so I made it my goal to get an international accounting qualification.

JUST DO IT

One day, my friend invited me to a happy hour in the office. Knowing that she's there to talk with me, I said yes. I'm glad I did, as I found out from my colleague that their Fund Accounting Department Head, Russell, is moving to Hong Kong. I couldn't sleep that night and I'm pretty sure it's not because of the drink I had. Fruit mocktail doesn't have a kick. Ever since I left the Philippines, I avoided alcoholic drinks because of others' advice to not trust anyone and not drink any beverage strangers offer you!

I couldn't sleep because I was thinking of my dream of going back to Asia. My dream is to be closer to my family. I also knew that working for Russell would allow me to return to my comfort zone, Fund Accounting. My mind was saying I didn't know Russell enough to approach him, but my heart and gut were telling me to just do it.

I thought I had nothing to lose, so I went to Russell's office the following day and introduced myself, "Hi, Russell, pleased to meet you. My name is Shiela, originally from the Philippines. I was a Fund Accountant in Bermuda and just moved here to the Transfer Agency Department. It's my dream to go back to Asia, so I hope I can work for you in Hong Kong someday."

He was so impressed by my boldness. He didn't sense that I was so scared of approaching him. He decided to help me until an excellent opportunity in Hong Kong came up after a year. Let me repeat that: a year! And the opportunity was for Transfer Agency, a new department under Russell. It was like the universe seemingly planned that I learn Transfer Agency as this would be my key to going back to Asia.??

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SUMMARY

Sometimes, roadblocks or challenges will be presented in our lives to push us towards a bigger and better opportunity. We just have to trust the process...

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REFLECTION

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1. What are your dreams?

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2. What are the moments in your life where you feel like nothing's going right, but it led you to something greater?