A Not-So Desperate HOUSEWIFE

My hubby is my hobby!

Lo and behold -- the wandering couch surfer is now a housewife. Who would have thought that after climbing the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, biting on the big apple of New York, hostel hopping in Orange County, surfing the waves of Hawaii, and drowning on pints of Guinness in Dublin, that I will suddenly be doing laundry, vacuuming the carpet, and ordering water in a remote city in China.

To be honest, being a housewife is not as bad I thought it would be. Of course the two Masters degree in Mathematics and one year of abruptly ended PhD seemed like a total waste, but then my interest in the discipling has continuously waned through the years. It is just that I wasn't into it anymore, and I know that I am also not being fair if I pursue a doctorate all for the wrong reasons. Getting a post-grad degree should be fueled by passion not by the lack of other worthwhile endeavors.

Besides, when I was a student of UP, I lived with the phrase"Huwag ninyong hayaang hadlangan ng pag-aaral ang inyong education!" (Don't let studies hinder real learning.) So, just because I quit my PhD, it doesn't mean that I have stopped the function of my brain cells. For instance, I have 24 hour access to the internet. Everyday, I make it a point to read something interesting, be it world news, sports, human interest story, science and medical breakthroughs, or join post on forums of various discourse.

Every afternoon, I study Chinese (Mandarin) through the helpful podcast ChinesePod and learn not just the fundamentals of the language but also the cultural insights of living in Shanghai. When I wanted to relax, I watch a marathon of JDORAMA (Japanese drama) with the cheap yet high quality DVD from the streets. The best thing about buying them from China is that most of them have no English subtitles and so I am forced to improve and refresh my Japanese ability.

Other than that, I am also quite busy applying for jobs online, because M and I have plans of migrating somewhere else in the future. Of course, no one can get a PR to live in China for a long time, so we have to think of a place where we can settle down and raise a family.

Anyway, I guess my transition from being a world traveler to a housewife is made easy by my loving husband who supports me and comforts me whenever I feel depressed. He never gets angry with me no matter how much I whine or complain that my situation is hopeless. Instead, he encourage me to do whatever I want to do, like studying Chinese in the university for instance, or meeting people online for study.

So, in the end even if sometimes I feel otherwise, I still think that I made the right decision to give up my career and be with M. I love him, after all, and that is what really matters.