[Bio] Apparently Marketable in Norway

I was aimlessly scrolling my Gmail account a couple of weeks ago when I noticed a suspicious notification from LinkedIn. I usually don’t check the LinkedIn emails because they are mostly spams and/or one of those seemingly AI-like posts that are quite absurd and rather stupid. But this one email really caught my attention. I read it, raised my eyebrow, and then immediately looked up whether it was a scam. And when it was clear that the message I received was not from a pretend-company and that the person who sent me the message through LinkedIn was a legitimate person, working for a legitimate company and representing their Norwegian subsidiary, I lost my mind.

It is not a stretch that I just stared at my laptop screen for quite some time, with my mouth agape and sometimes whispering, ‘What the f*ck’, to myself, totally disbelieving what I just read. I wanted to scream to the world and to tell everyone I know who would care to listen that my bachelor’s degree and my work experience are plausibly transferable in Norway. And even though the former was already recognized by HK-Dir as equivalent to a Norwegian bachelor’s degree, an ‘invite’ from an actual Norwegian employer from the mining sector ultimately sealed the deal for me.

And yep, this was big for me. I have been really insecure about my job prospects in Norway ever since I got married to my husband. I have no Master’s degree and I know how difficult it is to get a job in my sector without having one here in the West where everyone has one. In my head, I already accepted the fact that I needed that master’s degree to matter in the job market here. I was already imagining how I have to take on odd or non-related jobs, not that they’re menial or below me, in order to earn money here. That the absolute rule was Master’s first and then I can practice. But I actually forgot one thing. I seemingly disregarded the fact that I am not some new undergraduate that doesn’t have any experience in my field at all. I have some actual real life skills and practices that make me marketable here in Norway too.

I told my husband immediately and he was actually very much ecstatic about it. Being ‘headhunted’ in Norway felt like a fever dream and I told him over and over again that although this is actually ‘something’, we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. It is not a done deal after all because I have to do the application and the interviews too. And so I opened the hiring page of the company and saw for the first time the qualifications for the job. I immediately panicked.

The thing is, I absolutely can do the job with a workable learning curve. Everything is transferable if you already have prior experience with something. But then there was the required amount of experience. And then I saw the Norwegian proficiency that they require. On top of that, they need someone with a valid driver’s license. I also have a personal but temporary caveat that I have to disclose to the employers first and foremost. It was one after another and it really made me doubt myself if I even had to bother submitting my application for this position.

I did the crazy thing and messaged the recruiter to ask if she was sure I am actually qualified for the position and if I should really apply. She messaged that I should and that she was excited to go through my application once submitted. And so, I painstakingly curated a CV and application letter for this position and sent them.

It has been two weeks since the day I received that email that led me to that message on LinkedIn. A lot of things have already transpired since then. Aside from the two screening interviews that I did with the recruiter, I also got one informal call with the ‘chief’. That latter call woke me up from my slumber and was an introductory welcome to how recruitment is done here in Norway (and apparently in some parts of the EU as per one of my friends). I found out more about the job, the current situation in the location, the pay and all the perks that come with it.

The opportunity on its own is very exciting. It’s one of those ‘critical’ projects that a young professional aspires to partake in because they can gain a lot of experience from it that will probably set them up for life. The location is very exciting and I am always down to move places and explore more while I don’t have children yet. Aside from all that, I have been thinking how nice it would be to earn more than what my husband is making. This is not going to be an easy feat in the long run because he’s a psychologist here in Norway who is already working on his specialization. At the moment, he’s already earning more than the average annual salary here.

But yeah, nothing is set in stone yet. It feels like a Schrödinger's cat moment for me to be honest. I am always finding myself imagining two lives simultaneously: one with me staying in Bergen and going through my original plans for myself and the other one where my husband and I uproot our lives and start a whole new adventure somewhere else. Both seem to be net neutral and only time would tell what the outcomes are.

[Bio] Another Season

 Lately, I have struggled to shed tears.

I will admit that there were nights when crying had been my pastime. But for some reason, it just won’t come. There could be a lot of factors, now that I am thinking about it. I guess I have just been going through the motions of day-to-day living, going out left and right and connecting with people that I have missed for quite some time. Being up and about didn’t give me any room for heavy emotions.

It’s not like I have lost the ability to feel deeply. Seething inside is still my go-to response whenever I see injustice and wrongdoing. I guess, at the same time, I am quite lost and content in my thoughts. For the first time in a long time after mental anguish, I may just be at peace. There seems to be no longer any room for doubts and anxieties, unless otherwise brought about by myself. Everything seems to be falling into place, without even any personal intervention. It was as if my sparingness done in the past is ripe for the picking. It is now time to withdraw, apparently. Even when I feel things aren’t enough or curated yet to my liking, the universe is pushing me to let things be. I admit, I am not ready.

But I am not the one in charge here. There is only so much that I can actually control in life, and I have done so earnestly. And with that, I will tell you a story.

When I first moved to Norway, their migration department (UDI) contacted me about submitting my Swedish personbevis. A personbevis is my personal identification registered with the Swedish Tax Agency. It bears my name, identification number in the system, previous address, and everything that is relevant during my stay in Sweden. It was a common request, since I was moving from another Scandinavian country. Since I had it with me, I immediately submitted it. There were other people in the same situation as myself who told me that it was not important to do so, that it was just a courtesy request, but to my better judgment (and as a stickler for rules), I followed UDI’s instruction. Besides, some of these people didn’t have it because they either didn’t register or had no intention of paying taxes, so it was a moot point for them.

And then I lived my life in Norway for two years. I like to believe that I left some relevant footprints during my stay. I volunteered at festivals, regardless of whether they were minor or major ones, and in a library to host language learning for those interested. I joined a hiking group with other foreigners who were interested in learning the Norwegian language (hosted by DNT, of course, Til Topps), attended free and paid language courses all around Bergen, and volunteered at Salem Nærmiljøsenter to, again, improve my Norwegian. Through Salem, I picked up food a couple of times at Frelsesarmeen’s office in Sandvik and delivered it to an old woman living in a sykehjem. I was quite active at Caritas Bergen when it was still represented by people who shared the same values as I did. I also met and stayed in circles of two legendary figures in Bergen. One of them actually introduced me to the other. I even discussed Norway’s greenwashing attempts in its oil exploitation and the au pair program’s evils with one of these legends. And the last thing I want to mention is this: I was there with the oldies when the King and Queen of Norway graced us with their presence during the 2023 Festspillene i Bergen. Despite people telling us that they might not appear due to the King’s poor health, I waited in the rain to have a glimpse of them (with friends I forced to join me). The latter, I believe, was the ultimate proof: I had been trying to integrate into Norwegian society even before I realized it.

With the King and Queen in the background

Joining cultural events

¨

Volunteer things

Nattjazz stint (my fave!)

volunteer party after Festspillene

duty!

more duty!

Avslutten of Norskkurs with Caritas Bergen

Meeting at Caritas Bergen

Back then, I was doing things because I wanted to make the best of my stay in my host country. I have always been adventurous and curious, but the overarching emotion then was that I was grateful for the opportunity to experience the country. I wanted to get as much as I could, to learn as much as I could absorb, and to see as much as I could explore. I understood my privilege, and so I tried to be fruitful where I was and not be a burden. I would have never imagined living and traveling in Europe before my 30s. When I read books back then set in Europe, I kind of accepted the fact that I wouldn’t set foot there maybe until I was 60. There was no way I could afford it in my youth, I said to myself. But I was lucky and fated to live the life I am living. The best thing to do with whatever comes my way is to make the most out of it.

stint at Feelings Festival

Språkkafe

UiB things

Cafe mix

with my DNT Til Topps folks

my homie at climbs with Til Topps

May 17 gallivanting haha

1st May 17 outfit haha

Brann match! SUPPORT haha

Mr. Henning Mermell (84) and still doing the seven mountain hike (had to take a selfie with him)

And then, when I moved out in 2025, I registered my Flytte Ut with Skattetaten. I left before my permit expired and informed the Norwegian Tax Authority that I lawfully left the country when my time there was up. I gave them my new address, my new phone number, and the new country that is hosting me. Again, other people told me that it wasn’t important, but I had read the fine print. One should do it.

Last December 22, I submitted my FRV + D-Visa applications to be with my husband. That’s a family reunification visa with a request to join him in Norway (D-visa) before my FRV approval comes. I got my D-Visa approval on January 19, despite a lot of long holidays, prior logistics problems, approval timelines and statistics, and an unfortunate (and yet polite) email exchange with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for holding my passport longer than expected (I loaned it because I am working overseas). All in all, UDI checked our files within 15 days and came to the conclusion that our case was not risky, and that they had confidence our case would be approved (probably even beyond reasonable doubt).

Maybe you are wondering why I am telling you all this. To be honest, I just want to share how all the small and seemingly trivial things that I have done in the past affected my migration story today. I am proud of the fact that I have done things properly even when no one was checking, and it pays off. Or that’s what I gathered from the turn of events in my life. (I am not discounting my husband’s sponsor profile, by the way, because it is indeed strong. But there are people like him who waited for months, even years, for their wives to get even just the D-Visa. You get the gist.)

Pretty soon, I will be with my husband too. I am just biding my time and working as much as I can before my move. Literally waiting to move until the last minute before my entry visa expires! I want to save up some money so I can contribute to the household (haha). Also, in my heart, I am hoping that I will get an early FRV approval before April, if it’s not too much to ask of the universe. It is a great fear of mine to burden my husband, even if he can afford it and despite his countless reassurances that I will be taken care of. I am just not used to not having money of my own.

So yeah. Even though I wish tears would come to ease the pain of my dry eyes (lol), this is probably one of those seasons that I don’t mind at all. Life is peaceful even if it’s still hard. And maybe I should be aiming for tears of joy and not of misery.

[Ramblings] We are definitely not beating the allegations

I like setting the record straight and drawing boundaries firmly and resolutely.

Some people find it harsh and maybe a bit appalling. I think most of us were taught in our childhood to bow our heads and dim ourselves so as to not outshine the elders or our ‘betters’. It could also be the fact that most of us want to fit in and early on, we learned that any form of dissent from us will be received with backlash and worst, shunning. From that, most of us dare not stand up for what is right or what we believe in. We rather let evil and wrongdoings prevail if that meant no ruffling of feathers or disturbance of status quo. 

Whatever one does with their life, that is their own cross to bear. 

That being said and to make it extra clear, I pass no judgment. I don’t look down on people when they do bad things. I make sure that I stop at rebuking the abysmal things they commit. I do not let myself cross that threshold because how could I? I am not perfect. But two things can be true at once. I will call out bad and legally questionable actions when I see it happening right in front of me. People tend to mistake this as me looking down on them. Let me be clear: I always choose the hill that I would like to die on. If you are not affecting others or hurting opportunities for people who are doing honest work, you are not in my radar.

I do NOT want to be associated with fraudulent people and activities.

There is already a stigma about Asians marrying foreigners to alleviate their social standing and as much as it pains me to say it, this has been a source of great distress for myself. I take pride in who I am and what I did to be where I am today. It was an arduous road, filled with hardship and tears BUT never with dishonesty. I have always been a keen believer that there is another way, always–most certainly, other than selling your soul to survive. I sometimes wonder how one can look at themselves in the mirror when they know they cheated the system or used someone to get where they are or where they want to be. To just be lumped up with these people, just because of my nationality, is truly biting.

This is me refusing to dull my standards to make people around me comfortable.

I’m sorry, I just respect myself too much. I want to be credible and I like living my life with integrity. That is the plain and honest truth. I hate that because I am a Filipina, people immediately think that I am with my husband so that I can stay in Norway or in Europe. Even as a joke, I don’t like it. I left Norway when my contract ended and I looked for a legal job so I can stay legally in another country.

But you know why they say things like this? It is because of all the bullshit that fellow Filipinas and Filipina au pairs keep on doing abroad. Even in shows on Netflix, we are being portrayed as such: Filipina au pairs coming to Europe to look for European husbands so they can stay in Europe and run away from their miserable lives! 

These are real occurrences: (1) Au pairs that signed up on dating apps even before coming to their host countries so they can immediately snatch a husband before their contract ends, (2) making sure that they get pregnant so they can apply for a residence permit through their baby or their baby daddy, (3) guilt-tripping, forcing or conniving with their boyfriends to marry them so they can stay, (4) applying as the au pair of their single-dad boyfriend instead of going through proper channels, (5) paying for people to marry them so they can apply for a spousal visa, (6) sketchy Filipinas pushing other Filipinas to marry foreigners so they can have residency in their host country and (7) marrying someone, staying for 3 years with them and leaving them after getting their Permanent Residence. WTF, right?

The rain, same as death, is a great equalizer. 

The action of many affects the fate of one so I want to set the record straight right here and right now. I am not like these people and I don’t ever want to be associated with them. 

If you are one of these people, it is nothing personal, I just don’t want to be seen and treated like you. I had a genuine relationship with my husband, we didn’t break any law by falsifying documents, our relationship and our marriage. We didn’t use the au pair scheme so I can come and stay in Norway (I am not even residing in Norway at the moment–which is documented through and by Skatteetaten). We did not marry under false pretenses and I never forced him to marry me. He genuinely asked for my hand after a considerable amount of time of us being in a relationship.

And, as a PSA for anyone who doesn’t know this:

One can get married if you have the necessary documents for it. Now, the application for the FRV is a different thing. That is where the questionnaire and interview comes in. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that they admit to something that they lied about on LEGAL FORMS before they were able to get married. Nothing of that sort happens. Do what you will with this information.

2023 Q1 Recap Part 1

Lately, for some reason, I've been troubled with scenarios from the past. It will all of a sudden blow on my face and I would cringe heavily inside. Conversations with past friends, past colleagues and superiors and with classmates that I no longer talk to just come back time and time again to haunt me. "What is happening?", I often ask myself. I am relatively happy in comparison to my previous life so where is this coming from? Am I just sabotaging the peaceful life I am having right now thinking I am not good enough for all of this? 

Three months of living in Norway changed a lot for me. Even the way I speak is slowly changing. I am now utterly confused with all the languages I am trying to learn all at the same time. My English and Filipino are suffering heavily since the Scandinavian languages started interferring. I am fearful that by the end, I will not be fluent with any language. On the other hand, I am starting to speak more and more German. I have to push myself after my boyfriend's uncle's words to me the last time I stayed in their place. Ah! To be an adult! What a complicated thing to be. We remember everything bad that has happened to us and when it comes to good things, we have a hard time just soaking it in and enjoying it. So, going back, yeah, I am trying to speak German more and more. It's bad to have a B1 level and yet you couldn't speak the language properly. From time to time, my boyfriend would help me. Although I get annoyed with him because of his constant corrections, I aim to push through. I know that the "annoyance" is just something innate to me. I shouldn't take it seriously or take it to heart since it's just a normal human reaction to correction (especially for adults). Adults think that they know everything and it takes a lot of guts to say otherwise.

As for my physical health, I DID gain some weight but now trying to loose all of it. I would like to blame people around me but then again, it has always been my choice to eat shitty food and drink soda almost daily for a month. Upon writing, I have not eaten rice nor drank soda for 5 days already. Self-control is crucial to every aspect of our lives and in here, I am truly tested. And just to make it clear, I am not trying to lose weight because of what I am seeing on social media. I've already accepted that I have a short torso and a boxy appearance. I mean, of course, from time to time I still feel bad about it but what can I do? This is the lot I've been given so I just have to accept and embrace it. 

The reason why I am trying to lose weight is because of all the hiking and trekking that I am doing here in Bergen. There are seven mountains surrounding the city and I want to hike all of them in just one day so I need to train AND train I will. I also want to look good in a swimsuit if my boyfriend and I would really end up going to Mallorca this summer around my birth month. I mean, I would also wear a swimsuit anyways if we go to the Carolus Thermen in Aachen but that is a hotspring. In Mallorca, that is a REAL beach. They said that it's warm to swim there and I've never been to a beach that is acceptably warm for me to swim here in Scandinavia. I am just really hoping that in Mallorca, it's truly warm, not just Europe warm. Coming from a tropical country sucks once you move here.

A problem for me since time immemorial is the dental care. It's not covered by any insurance here in Scandinavia for adults so it's expensive. That's what I am trying to deal with right now so let's see how I'll manage that. I'm looking at a 7.000 NOK bill or more for all the procedures that I need to have. Wish me luck.

So yeah, the recap will end here for now. There's gonna be a part two because I apparently can't write long anymore. I just write when the mood suits me. I am doing a lot of stuff lately and my checklist is bugging me to fulfill it.