The reason why Paul Pruel decided to work abroad is the same as most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); to give a better future for his children and extended family.

Paul is lucky though because he did not experience much difficulty in acquiring an overseas job. His uncle-in-law who at that time was a chief accountant of the company Kawasaki Helicopter Saudi Arabia - Finance Department helped him get his current job by recommending him to the administrator of the company. A Philippine based recruitment agency, FB Allan processed his papers and he was able to go out of the country as a documented OFW.

When Paul arrived in his current location on March 23, 1994, he was first employed as a janitor/laborer. That will be Paul’s work position for two years and nine months. The management must have noticed his hard work because he was promoted to be a Facility Records Clerk. After some time he was again promoted to be an Analyst/Bookkeeper and this would be his job for nine years and thee months.

The promotion did not stop there. On May 8, 2006, Paul was assigned as Secretary to the Vice President, then later as an Analyst. At present, the company Paul is working for assigned him to be the manager of a new showroom that sells home decors. From being a mere janitor, Paul has indeed gone a long way and one can say that things just get better and better for him.

Aside from working, Paul also devotes some time for his other interests. While employed, Paul took up a creative writing course via email with the Writer’s Bureau in Manchester London from year 1999-2000. In 2001, he took up Journalism and short story writing course with the ICS, PA, USA. He also joined community groups on the net such as OFWGuide.com Forum, Botomo@yahoogroups.com, OFWSaudi@yahoogroups.com, KapihanRUH@yahoogroups.com and FilipinoWorldwideAlliance Network. Paul considers himself a poet and a blogger. You can visit his blog at http://pruelpo.wordpress.com. He is also a regular contributor of Pinoy Xtra, Arab News.

Paul’s experience of Saudi life can be described as pleasant. He said that he finds the Arabs to be friendly and accommodating people. He also enjoys his new environment and was fascinated to see some of Riyadh's treks. Every weekend he goes out with his peers for a trek. They had visited Riyadh’s National Museum, the red sand dunes, the hidden valley, the historic kingdom of the first king Saud of Saudi Arabia the Al-Diriyadh; Haer - the only place in Riyadh to experience the nice ambience of water lake and man-made-river, the dates plantation, the olaya which is the business center of Riyadh where the two landmarks the Al-Faisaliah and Kingdom tower are standing robustly, and the Al-Batha market which is known to be the Filipino market - a market for anything and everything.

Even if Paul seems to be having the time of his life in Saudi, he still cannot deny that the Philippines is his true home. Among other things, he misses Filipino foods such as lechon, bibingka and sapin-sapin. He also longs to celebrate special occasion such as Christmas, New Years, fiestas, etc, with his family and loved ones.

This is Paul’s message to all OFWs around the world? Alam natin kung bakit tayo ay nangibang bansa - iyon ay di lamang para sa atin mga sarili kungdi para sa ating mga minamahal na naiwan sa Pinas, ang mabigyan sila ng magandang buhay at kinabukasan, huwag hayaan na madaig tayo ng homesickness at panghinaan ng loob. Maraming tukso sa ating paligid, pero labanan natin sila. laging magdasal. Higit sa lahat mahalin natin kung anuman ang trabaho ang mayroon tayo ngayon.