Ana Marie “Annie” Ramos had never lived in a city taller than a church steeple until she arrived in Singapore. The moment she stepped out of Changi Airport, the skyline of glass towers and the hum of a city that never seemed to pause left her both awestruck and nervous.
Back in Iloilo, Annie’s life revolved around her small wooden house by the rice fields. She had been a seamstress, sewing uniforms for schools and office workers, but the income was never enough to send her two children to a good school. When her childhood friend messaged her about a housekeeping job in Singapore, she hesitated leaving her children behind felt like tearing her heart apart. But the thought of giving them a brighter future pushed her to take the leap.
Her new workplace was a high-rise condominium in Orchard Road, home to the Tan family a couple with two teenage children. The unit had floor to ceiling windows that framed the city’s endless skyline, and it was Annie’s job to keep every corner immaculate. She handled cleaning, laundry, ironing, grocery runs, and sometimes helped with cooking.
The first few weeks were overwhelming. The pace in Singapore was dizzying MRT trains zoomed like clockwork, people walked briskly with eyes fixed on their phones, and the heat was relentless. Inside the Tan household, expectations were high. Mrs. Tan liked her laundry folded in precise thirds; Mr. Tan wanted his shoes arranged by color and style. Annie took mental notes of every preference, determined to get it right.
One challenge was grocery shopping. Annie had to learn how to navigate local wet markets and supermarkets, remembering where to buy the freshest seafood, which auntie sold the sweetest mangoes, and how to haggle politely without offending. Slowly, she became familiar with Singlish phrases “lah” “can” and “auntie” that made her feel less like an outsider.
On her days off, Annie met other Filipinas at Lucky Plaza. They would eat halo-halo, share stories, and video call their families back home. Those Sundays were her lifeline. Seeing her children’s faces, even through a phone screen, gave her strength to endure the long hours.
Her employers, while strict, recognized her dedication. During Chinese New Year, they gave her a red envelope with a bonus inside. Annie didn’t spend it on herself instead, she sent it straight home for her daughter’s school fees. She had one goal: to save enough in five years to build a small tailoring shop back in Iloilo.
As months turned into years, Annie found a rhythm in her work. She moved through the condo like a quiet guardian, making sure the Tan family came home to a spotless, welcoming space. Her hands were often tired, her back ached at night, but her heart stayed strong.
One evening, as she stood by the window after finishing her chores, Annie looked at the city lights glittering like stars on the ground. Singapore was far from home, but every polished floor and every folded sheet brought her closer to her dream. She wasn’t just a housekeeper in a foreign land she was a mother building a future, one high-rise horizon at a time.
