What’s your name ? just call me Pitri. For some of my expatriate friends they say Priti. It Sounds nice to me because Priti sounds like Pretty meaning it’s attractive.
What do you do? I said Wraiter. It means waiter or writer. The first one is my main job while the second one is just a side job. The first can create money while the second gives a self-satisfaction. The first has been supporting to the second to be the first and be independent. That’s the time I would leave the first at all.
Well, that’s all just an intermezzo. Once I met Puspa. She’s Nepalese working as a janitor. She’s pretty. She works 12 hours a day without day off. A simple mobile phone with radio is a consolation during her duty time. I saw she’s the only one lady amongst the male staffs right now. While other ladies work just temporarily, she’s one of the two ladies who survives. Her srilankan colleague Priyanka is on vacation after 2 years working without off. Unlike Puspa who is still single Priyanka has got a daughter in Srilanka. With their limited English I try to get the point what they talk. Puspa and Priyanka seems don’t like their job.
Besides that, I know Haseem, an Egyptian guy who works as a staff in a valet parking, He works out door. Due to heat of the summer season, every an hour he and his colleague do shifting. He will stay at the back side of my store. I and my colleagues usually stay there during the break time. He loves reading. He always reads a newspaper. The political issues are his interest. He admires of the president Anwar Sadat because of his stand to make Israelis troops stay away from Egypt. He’s a graduate from Cairo University majoring in Education. He comes to Dubai to find a better job. He’s hardworking even though sometimes he seems dislike his job.
Currently, I’m working in an elite district in The walk Jumeira. It’s one of the major tourist destinations in Dubai. I’m sometimes assigned as a hostess to welcome the guests in the front side. During the busy time, I see so many people walk and pass by in front of me as if I watch the fashion show. Mostly they wear fashionable outfits. The number lines of luxurious cars park nearby. I remember my parents who live far away in a small town with the modest lifestyle. They might not know until their death what Jumeira is and where it is located. They’re just the lay-ordinary men who even never across the nearby island. While they earn money by having small shop in our house, mostly visitors have got the prestigious jobs with high salary. The average price for one dish of main course is my meal budget for 2 or 3 days. It means it’s the meal budget for 2 weeks for my family in my country, converting Dirham into Rupiah as my currency.
In the last few weeks, I was looking for a pair of shoes. I went to Dubai Mall. It’s a very big Mall. It’s not just big. It’s giant. I visited some of the outlets. I changed my mind and left. The price is a quarter of my salary per month. That must be the high quality one. Suddenly, I was thinking of the labors behind the scene. The products are so sophisticated. However, I wondered if it’s compatible with the prosperity of their labors.
Two days ago, Some people in my country committed suicide. The main reasons are financial matter or poverty issue beside the suffering of having ill for long time. All these scenes of the people lives’ state are mixed up in my mind. There are always the big questions in my mind. Why are people in one place so abundant while those in another place are dying due to lack of food stock not even afford to pay for education or any other seconadary needs. What went wrong ? every day we throw the left over food in the store. We are strictly not allowed to eat. It is said that it’s a common rule in any food industry. Some customers asked to me where we usually put the left over food they wonder whether we throw them away or give to disadvantage ones.
Since I “was reborn” –read “it’s just a metamorphose” at the older post-- and decided to have a journey just to be solitude with my self, I recall my childhood and adolescent moments I’ve got in my life. I loved singing, painting, reading and writing. While I was in high school I joint some school competitions for all those categories. I won. Sometimes the first or the second and the third. But I won. Now I remember I am talented. Basically I have a lot of potentials and could have multi talent. I never nurture those talents. My parents are too modest to understand this. They are busy with earning money. They are busy with their routine tasks. I don’t blame them. When I was in the university, I was “busy with my self”. There are always contradicted values indoctrinating my mind one by one. I aspired to be a good Muslim in one side but I love singing in another side. It seems that I started to think that I have to stop it because of my age. I’m getting older and surrounded by the conservative Muslim friends who disagreed with my decision to join singing group. They opinionated it’s not reflected of being a good Muslim. Instead, they suggested me to join the Koran reader group. No body I knew helped me to unravel the clutter in my mind. Between to join the singing group or the Koran group is just a little part of contradicted examples I got (we need another special pages about the contradicted issues in my life).
In Dubai, I’m familiar with Sarah Geronimo and Regine. The first one is the most talented young singer from the Philippines. And Regine is as senior one. Both of them are very popular in here in which there are so many numbers of Filipina population. Sarah was born surrounded by educated family. Her brother is one of the famous entertainer as well. Meanwhile Regine was from family with low economic status. However, as a Christian which their worship is oftentimes by singing activity, it’s easier for them to nurture their talent. In my country, Sarah is like Agnes Monica and Regine is like Krisdayanti.
As a waiter I feel that I have more potentials to do more than as a waiter job, working for long time in the same position with the same job to me seems not challenging. Hence, It’s honestly hard to be a waiter especially in the country which the culture still discredits people like us. Unfortunately, many waiters seems they don’t like to think beyond what they can do. They take it all for granted. There’s such a willing to enhance the waiter status by having waiter community. We share and build more capacity to challenge the market need more than ever. Most of my colleagues are university graduate from hotel and tourism management. Literally they are all educated. They expect to not just earn more money but experience as well as upgrade more their skill in hospitality and tourism industry. According to that, to me, waiter is not as simple as just taking an order and delivering it. They must have an intelligence to communicate with the customer and business counterpart primarily if we are in the level management. Nowadays, people come to the restaurant or coffee shop not just because they need meal or beverages. More than that, they need comfort, companion to talk to, peace, etc. It means all become commodity.
Since I’ve been having this journey, I record my journey by creating blog to share with people who have same interest. Slowly but sure by nurturing my writing passion I might be a writer one day as a profession. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than earning money by doing hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with our natural talent either you are passionate in singing, painting, music, Koran, etc. We like what we do, we enjoy it, at the same time, we earn money with it.
To be continued.
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