Dubai's fluent Arabic speaking Filipina secretary

Maricar Gonzales, Dubai resident

When Maricar Gonzales, 23, first arrived in Dubai in 2015, all the way from the Philippines, she was determined to get into an IT company. Being a computer graduate, she was and still is very passionate about the field, and never dreamt of anything apart from it. "But when I applied, the IT houses in the UAE were looking for somebody with more experience than I have as for now. So, I guess I will just have to wait and try to learn more about software before I can apply to again," she says.
Back home Maricar worked in the IT field and was always confined to her work cube, never mingling much than she was forced to. "'Reserved', is the kind of person I am. So when I got a job as a receptionist and a secretary, in a real estate company, I had to try my best to be more of an extrovert. And that was difficult. My job involves being chirpy and a lot of greeting, which I never imagined would be something I had to become like, " she adds. Maricar feels that this was meant to happen, and that it is an opportunity for her to become more outgoing. Overcoming her shyness naturally occurred, as she started building confidence and more self-esteem.
"My employers here talk mostly in Arabic, so I found it difficult to communicate, and that prompted me to learn Arabic. During my free time I would try and learn Arabic from YouTube, and it has helped me because I am kind of fluent with the language now," Maricar says. She enjoys talking in Arabic and finds the language classy and fun.
Working six days a week, she only has her breaks on Fridays, but she makes the best use of them by chilling at clubs, going for movies, shopping and sometimes window shopping, when she runs out of cash.
Being away from family was not easy in the beginning for the young lady, but her friends have always been supportive. She loves Dubai and cannot imagine a place better than this, mainly because she got to interact with people of different nationalities and also from different walks of life. According to her, variety is amazing. Though she enjoys her present job she still has hopes for getting back to the IT platform in some years. She is working towards it, she says. The determination continues because the computer graduate believes that "timing is everything. The things you are praying for will show up when you are most ready for them."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com