It was 2015 when I first met Chester. He was an OFW working for a car hire company in Doha , Qatar, and he offered to show me around. He sent me a superb itinerary, made recommendations of places to eat and even a cost analysis of as series of taxis or hiring a driver for the day. On paper, excellent, but like many guys you meet on line the reality was very different. When I arrived and scanned the boards of waiting drivers "Mr. Porter, Ezdan hotel" was no where to be seen. The information desk refused to allow me to use their phone to call a mobile number and when I persuaded a Pinoy waitress to lend me her mobile he did not answer.
Finally he ran through the airport door an hour later apologising profusely and looking like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards. It got worse though as the driver didn't know where he was going and Chester had left his phone with GPS at home in his rush to get to the airport after oversleeping . He could not find the restaurant he had recommended or any of the other places on the lavish beautifully presented itinerary he had sent me.
at Sunrise" according to his itinerary!
To cut a long story short we decided we would make better business partners than lovers, in spite of me catching him practicing his signature as Chester Delos- Santos Porter, and for the last 6 years we have worked together on a series of Graphic design projects such as Best of the Blogs 2015
The reason I have included him in this blog series is that he has many of the skills of the earlier Kabayan- the ability to be flexible and adapt to the ever changing situations that OFW face around the world. He graduated in Marketing and Design and when he was unable to find work in Manila he was tempted to join his mother who was already an OFW in Bahrain.
He did not get a job in Bahrain but was offered one in a car hire company in Qatar ( where my good friend Gus from Australia was, spookily, one of his customers). The spook does not end there as when Patrick and I went to deliver a Christmas gift from Chester to his mum on Bahrain a few years ago she recognised Patrick as one of her former dance partners!
Chester's first love was design work at which he excels and soon he was earning extra money designing ILM handouts, Birthday Cards and so on for the Oil & Gas Academy. By then he had realised he had no future as a Tour guide ! Then he moved on to my eBooks ( which he produced 10 such as Travels in Asia and 4 calendars and no end of Birthday and Christmas cards.
An earlier photo (shop) of Chester
Eventually his contract finished in Qatar, which was then blockaded by KSA, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE. The blockade meant that I could no longer visit him and my other friends there so he headed back to Manila and eventually found a job in his chosen field. However the stress of having to get up early ( Chester just does not do mornings ) and the commute caused him to leave. Later when COV 19 started he started home schooling some kids for a friend . He earned the nickname Teacher Teng and from all the pics of smiling kids faces he sent me he excelled at this.
Teacher Teng's art class
While I was off sick after my hip operation we managed to set a new world record by getting the Christmas packs and 2021 Calendar designed and printed before even the Philippines started celebrating Christmas on 1 SeptemBER.
Having done the design work on my first Blog in Bahrain and produced two "Best of Neil's blogs" eBooks ( this is the second Best of the Blogs 2019 ) he happily rose to the challenge of creating a new look Blog and Vlog for my move to the Philippines, and so the "British Kabayan, The amazing travels and endless tales of a British expat with a Pinoy heart" was born.
Three Wise men!
I was telling someone the other day that Chester's greatest talent is intuition and memory. I can sketch a black and white layout which I have in my mind and email him and he will produce it, as it was in my mind, but in full colour and with bells on.
He even produced a special Christmas card for John Jaworski
Well John hates "mini me" and kept joking how I was "Mr. July "on his
calendar
Over the years Chester accumulated hundreds of my photos and selected the best for my 86th Birthday video , which he created ( in 2018 the numbers 5 and 8 got transposed accidentally on a polystyrene banner created by Ate Hazel and Ate Sheryl and so we had a Neil is 85 eBook) . It was beautiful and one of the few times he did anything for me for free!
It has been my pleasure and honour to work with such a talented and hard working OFW, and like all those before you I look forward to welcoming you and your family to my new home in Palawan! Thanks for helping me become the .....
Sadly his father died in August 2021 which was a major blow to him ( and his mum) and we send him our condolences.
Until we meet again Chester, Salamat Kuya, Mahal Kita Palagi....
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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