Philippine Schools in Riyadh

School is over. It’s summer time. My kids are staying at home. Either they’re watching TV, eating, sleeping or are busy with facebook, ipod and iphone. Yup, social networking sites and gaming gadgets are the new recreation activities for the new generation. Nice but not so nice.

Gone are the days when children rush to the streets and play habulan, patintero, langit-lupa, sipa, jack and stone, taguan and tumbang-preso. The street is now not a friendly place to bum around. Not in the kingdom.

Classes will resume after two months and to prepare (yes, as early as now) I have been thinking about sending them to a new school. There used to be only one Philippine school in the city; so, there was no choice. Kids in school used to know each other very well. Now, I think there are about 10 schools and children have become estranged.

I asked around and listed all the Philippine schools. I’ve been hearing a lot of stories which I have to consider as I deliberate the fees, quality of teaching, expertise of the faculty, the policies, as well as the academic and extra-curricular activities.

1. Al Danah International School
2. Al Taj International School in Riyadh
3. Elite International School
4. Fawaq International Science School of the Philippines
5. Future Generation Philippine International School
6. International Philippine School in Riyadh
7. Millenium International School
8. Palm Crest International School
9. Riyadh International School
10. Second Philippine International School

Come to think of it, with approximately or maybe more than 2 million OFWs in KSA and with 10 Philipine schools in Riyadh alone, are Filipinos subtly migrating, not just working but establishing their families in the kingdom? It must be nice to live in the kingdom. Is it?

Anyhow, I must go back to mulling.

Oh, should you wish to get the school's contact information, please visit the Inter-Agency Committee on Philippine Schools Overseas website.

Ok, back to mulling again.

The Soundtrack

On that early Saturday morning, I was still in bed when I grabbed the phone to check the time. 5:12 AM. Yes, it's still early. And I was still very sleepy. But I know by the time I put my phone down, I will drift off again; then I will be late at work by the time I wake up again. So, I logged on and checked what’s going on in the world while I was dreaming.

On Facebook, I saw this posted video of the song When you believe with a thumbnail of Mariah Carey’s picture and a caption saying “She’s too young to die.” Interesting and moving but not enough to wake me up. I scrolled for more and found a friend’s post saying “Rest in peace, my favorite singer of I Will Always Love You. Because of you, I’m still trying to reach the high notes unsuccessfully.” Then, I suddenly got on my feet and thought of who really died. That one really woke up my senses.

So, it’s Whitney. That’s sad. How come they’re taking away such good talents?

Well, Whitney has been a great companion. To me. Uh-huh, she was there during my first days in the kingdom. When there were only two TV channels – Arabic and French – and one FM radio station which I wasn’t aware of at that time. I could still remember my eagerness to buy the soundtrack album of The Bodyguard which (again, at that time) was hard to find since there were no malls back in 1993. Oh well, there was this one place, Euromarche, we used to think of as a mall because it was the only huge place that has almost everything people need. That’s where I bought the cassette tape and I somberly listened to her every song every day of my first month in Riyadh. The soundtrack was a relief.

I was only 13 then. Just imagine going to new place, new culture, no friends, nothing to do but bum around. We didn’t even have a land phone back then. Anyhow, there was no one to talk to. I was a complete stranger but Whitney was with me. And Francis Magalona, too. Oh shucks! They’re both gone. Oh my. I was about to add another name but I’d rather let the guy live his life. LOL.

Well, she’s at somewhere else; so, we just let her at peace.

Thank you, Whitney, for keeping me company. You can't just be forgotten.