Transferring to a new company sure do presents tons of challenges. And one of them is to mingle with officemates. I admit I got scared but excited about being in a multi-cultural work environment. And multi-cultural it is. I have officemates who are Singapore locals, some are from China, Myanmar, France, and not surprisingly, Filipinos. I wondered if I could easily cope up with it. But one thing is certain: at least everyone speaks English.

There are lots of people who closely resemble Filipinos, so on my first day, I did not dare to approach them to find out if they were. So, during lunch break, I went out with teammates. I was very much relieved that they are all very nice. But there were times when they get tired of speaking English and use their native tongue. (I am also guilty of this) I felt really left out. In Japan, I’ve had enough of those awkward moments when you don’t have a clue what people around you are talking about. I don’t want to experience that again. Thankfully, the next day, a Filipina approached me and asked if I would like to join them for lunch. Without a second thought, I said yes. They have been my lunch buddies since then.