I want to thank for~~

listening and learning from the bright and challenging ideas in the fora..
meeting the fine, intelligent, warm and cheerful Saudi ladies..
being able to see the very beautiful Riyadh..
experiencing the amazing and admirable Arab culture..
tasting some authentic Arabian food..
having the phone company of my brothers from Dubai and Qassim..
the nice Filipino "kabayans" whom I've talked to..
the generosity of the NCeL and the Min of Higher Educ..
Masha Allah, thank you for all the graces..

My Riyadh Trip

Mar. 2. I received an e-mail from the KSA conference organizers that they will be sponsoring my participation.
Mar. 4. I received the documents required in processing my Saudi visa.
Mar. 10. I got my Saudi visa.
Mar. 12. I was sick and had an upset stomach. But I was able to finish my KSA presentation of about 32 slides.
Mar. 13. It was late in the evening when I received my e-ticket.
Mar. 15, 12.15 mla time. I left Manila for a straight flight to Riyadh via Saudia airlines.

Mar. 15, 20.30 ksa time. I checked in at the Al Khozama Hotel.
Mar. 16. I had the chance to see the Al Faisalaiah Mall, spent an hour at the Al Faisaliah Tower to see the highly urbanized layout of Riyadh. In the afternoon, made a 500meters walk going to the Panda supermarket. The Olaya roads are wide, clean and the sidewalks are very spacious. I saw a good number of very nice chocolate stores.

That night, I slept early around 8.30pm and woke up at 12.30am ksa time, to study and prepare for my lecture.
Mar 17. I felt good that day. I went to the grandballroom of the Al Faisaliah for the conference and heard very excellent plenary lectures. I also met and talked to some lady professors from the KSU and KAU of Jeddah. The Saudi ladies I met were very kind, warm, cheerful. One invited me to Jeddah and another one invited me to Medina.

In the afternoon, I delivered my lecture at Hall 3. I was the third speaker. I was very happy to have received questions and compliments from other academic colleagues. Mashallah! :)

I finished all the sessions in the afternoon, got a Starbucks frappucino and head back to the hotel.

Mar. 18. After listening to another set of very fine speakers, I had a nice lunch. I decided to take a short walk and found Dr. Kim, my mentor from Korea and Mr. Lee, a good academic friend from Korea too, having lunch. I had the chance to talk to them.

In the afternoon, we had a tour at the National Museum, so far the biggest museum I have visited.

Mar. 19. We were brought to the dates store and the small market near another museum.
23.15 ksa time, i left for Manila.

The Pains of Doing Research

Doing research is a vocation. Why? While she is teaching (maybe with a full workload), she wants to do research. After data gathering and analysis, she writes the paper. Then she has to polish the paper. Then she submits the paper for possible participation in a conference. After which, the paper will be subject to two or three reviews and/or revisions.

Then she has to find a financial support to be able to evangelize her ideas.

In my university, a faculty member can avail of research funding to the amount of Php15k (or USD300) + payment for the travel tax (Php1,620) and Phil airport terminal fee (Php750) and a a maximum of USD250 for conference registration. All of these if you want to participate and present a research paper in an international conference.

Based on experience, this is a very modest budget. It may allow her to join a conference within southeast Asia but she will have to be in a very tight budget.

Then she has to prepare her trip. She has to plan in advance, this means advance hotel and airlines booking to get affordable rates (if possible). She also has to check the location of the conference area so that the means of transport becomes accessible to her. She also has to plan what she's supposed to wear, not forget the calling cards, the camera (although most of the time nobody is available to take her picture during the conference)and maybe bring small, native souvenirs for new acquaintances. And of course, she has to prepare her presentation and anticipate possible questions that will be asked.

After the conference, she has to submit a report and a proof of her participation.

Hence I say research is a vocation. Not everyone in the university will be interested with what she's doing. For the others it is easier to avail of a package tour if you just want to visit a neighboring country, try new dishes and go shopping.

And what is ironic, international people are eager to hear her ideas while the people in her university could not care.

Resourcefulness and Resiliency

It took more than two months before I heard about the two abstracts I submitted in the first e-Learning conference of KSA. With God's help I was able to finish a 15-page paper about the e-Learning Best Practices of South Korea and Thailand. It took again another month to learn of the results. My paper was accepted. The paper after acceptance was submitted again to the conference' scientific jurisdiction, and finally after two weeks, my paper was approved for participation in the conference.

Still I couldn't be excited, I cannot find any financial support. I tried to be resourceful~~I am presently seeking the support of my supervisor, my college dean, our research director, my mentor in South Korea and even alliances from the Dept of Foreign Affairs. I am in search of countries or embassies who have extra funds and will be willing to support a zealous lecturer from Manila. Maybe I should also try to seek help from Thailand. The conference is 18 days away and I still don't have funding..

As my resourcefulness becomes futile, I have to become resilient to accept that the fruits of sacrifices will have different faces. I have to be resilient to continue writing and do research, not just for myself but for my teaching, my family, my university and my country. I have to be resilient to realize that there's a plan or a way to any endeavor. My timing right now is not just right..