Missing...

[Wanda and Amel 17]

How do you guys cope? Not being able to see Amel is driving me crazy. I miss him so much. I try to keep busy but he is forever on my mind. Also, the limitations placed on the politics of Cuba are also limiting. Phone calls are anywhere between seventy and ninety five cents per minute. No internet access for everyone in Cuba so we cannot Skype. I can text him but he cant text me. We can email through a friend who has internet access at work. We talk three to four times per week but you can imagine it is getting expensive. I feel so helpless. :-[ He just called me... we spoke for about 40 minutes, expensive. Also, the earningability is very low in Cuba. He earns around $320.00 Cuban pesos per month which equates to about $14.00 USD. I see this as a long process, especially for Cubans. Even when the petition is approved, the interview appointments are taking around 8 months. I have to pace myself. I was in Cuba for 10 days returning to the USA on 3/29 and I have lost 8 pounds since then. Its always good to lose weight but not like this. What do you guys do to avoid getting wrapped up in ths process?

[morocco_usa 4ever 0]

How do you guys cope? Not being able to see Amel is driving me crazy. I miss him so much. I try to keep busy but he is forever on my mind. Also, the limitations placed on the politics of Cuba are also limiting. Phone calls are anywhere between seventy and ninety five cents per minute. No internet access for everyone in Cuba so we cannot Skype. I can text him but he cant text me. We can email through a friend who has internet access at work. We talk three to four times per week but you can imagine it is getting expensive. I feel so helpless. :-[ He just called me... we spoke for about 40 minutes, expensive. Also, the earningability is very low in Cuba. He earns around $320.00 Cuban pesos per month which equates to about $14.00 USD. I see this as a long process, especially for Cubans. Even when the petition is approved, the interview appointments are taking around 8 months. I have to pace myself. I was in Cuba for 10 days returning to the USA on 3/29 and I have lost 8 pounds since then. Its always good to lose weight but not like this. What do you guys do to avoid getting wrapped up in ths process?

its very very hard being away from the one you love but the way i keep my self busy is work on the visa process. every night after work i come home and try to find the things he is going to need when his interview is scheduled. Ive found that keeps me busy most of the time.

[southcalhog 43]

How do you guys cope? Not being able to see Amel is driving me crazy. I miss him so much. I try to keep busy but he is forever on my mind. Also, the limitations placed on the politics of Cuba are also limiting. Phone calls are anywhere between seventy and ninety five cents per minute. No internet access for everyone in Cuba so we cannot Skype. I can text him but he cant text me. We can email through a friend who has internet access at work. We talk three to four times per week but you can imagine it is getting expensive. I feel so helpless. :-[ He just called me... we spoke for about 40 minutes, expensive. Also, the earningability is very low in Cuba. He earns around $320.00 Cuban pesos per month which equates to about $14.00 USD. I see this as a long process, especially for Cubans. Even when the petition is approved, the interview appointments are taking around 8 months. I have to pace myself. I was in Cuba for 10 days returning to the USA on 3/29 and I have lost 8 pounds since then. Its always good to lose weight but not like this. What do you guys do to avoid getting wrapped up in ths process?

YES...It is VERY HARD being away from the one you LOVE and this process is so slow.Although there are plenty of People ahead of you, you just have to have Patience! Its easy said than done.Keep urself busy with some Hobby(s).Make sure U concentrate on other things to get ur Mind on some other subject if possible? It is hard for ALL of us!Just "KEEP THE FAITH"!

[Tyeger87 10]

its very very hard - calling to comoros is very expensive so i limit my calls

i also keep myself busy with things not related to the process or marriage

i read books, listen to music, do school work, watch movies, or any other hobby that can pass the time

the key is to keep yourself from dwelling on the time and occupy your mind with other things

[hisprincess 2]

The anxiousness worsen after noa2 just when i thought that the waiting game is over.Keeping your mind off this thing by being busy with other stuff like a sport,hubby or even just paying more attention to the things you usually do,this is something we all have no control with and only us could make this less painful to us.i understand that its seperation anxiety that we are all experiencing right now.

i keep myself extra busy doing fun stuff with my 3 year old son,train harder in the boxing gym and preparing all the documents needed in the near future that includes a scrapbook of memories which will also serve as one of our evidence of our ongoing relationship

keep your faith guys..

[I+H 11]

How do you guys cope?

I personally don't. My guy is the one that keeps me going. He is strong and I am not. He has his moments though and we have to change roles and I be the strong one, but without him I would lose it. Lean on one another, that is my advice. I the grande scheme of things this is a very short amount of time.

Another piece of advice, do what you're doing. Bond with your fellow VJer's. Vent that is what we are all here for, to answer questions and vent.

I wish you both the best and if you ever need anything, feel free to PM me. I know it gets hard.

[Ide & Sam 1]

I agree it important to find a way to take your mind off things. I like to read, work on a project, go to my dance class and gym or ride my bike. I know it sounds like small stuff. But sometimes if I can't communicate with my boyfriend for a while, even going for a walk can help out allot. I also talk to friends who have been through long distance relationships. Cuba is so hard to deal with sometimes. Right now my partner and I can only talk by phone and email, and the email is hard because he only has the government address so we talk by email the same as you 3 or 4 times per week. The phone calls are crazy expensive, but I call him once or twice a week for 10 or 20 minutes. We were trying to text but the text service we used was just cut off :/ Right now my boyfriend also has a job where he only makes $20.00 per month so I understand that too.

The first two years of our relationship were the hardest for me because I could only think about going back to Cuba to see him. Now I know that there is an "end" in sight. I would keep my eye on that, think about all the good times you will have once he gets here.

[KemalTuanaYalcin 16]

How do you guys cope? Not being able to see Amel is driving me crazy. I miss him so much. I try to keep busy but he is forever on my mind. Also, the limitations placed on the politics of Cuba are also limiting. Phone calls are anywhere between seventy and ninety five cents per minute. No internet access for everyone in Cuba so we cannot Skype. I can text him but he cant text me. We can email through a friend who has internet access at work. We talk three to four times per week but you can imagine it is getting expensive. I feel so helpless. :-[ He just called me... we spoke for about 40 minutes, expensive. Also, the earningability is very low in Cuba. He earns around $320.00 Cuban pesos per month which equates to about $14.00 USD. I see this as a long process, especially for Cubans. Even when the petition is approved, the interview appointments are taking around 8 months. I have to pace myself. I was in Cuba for 10 days returning to the USA on 3/29 and I have lost 8 pounds since then. Its always good to lose weight but not like this. What do you guys do to avoid getting wrapped up in ths process?

It is absolutely a long process and very hard wait. But one thing I did to keep myself busy is to start working on the various packages that you will need along the way to submit to the consulate etc. I would start getting a head start on those. Even though I knew where all the information was, just filling out forms, getting the information that they request from the bank, getting evidence of employment etc etc took quite a while. Plus begining to work on this stuff now will give you a sense of accomplishment.

[Meskal 0]

Wanda, you can load money to Skype at this end and use it to call his landline or his cell and it may be cheaper for you. That is what I have done with my husband as he cannot access Skype either. Although it still adds up moneywise too.

Yes, being apart for a year with limited means of communication is a tortorous process, expecially when cost of travel that far is also a factor. And getting travel visas granted this way almost unheard of. Believe me, I know. Now - I really wish I had just moved there...

[Ide & Sam 1]

You may already know about this, but google voice is a good deal at 98cents/minute. Skype is $1.15/minute. Comwave is the best service, they link to your cell and charge 89cents/minute. Ipipi.com can set up a text service cheaply but your partner in cuba will still be charged 1cuc for a text. So we don't text very often.

[TBoneTX 43,157]

Some good ideas here. Probably the best "medicine" for you will be to bond with the other Cuban VJ members, si man. You can also post in the Latin American regional subforum to find other new amigos/amigas.

As a footnote, I began by spending $1 (si, man) per minute when calling Ecuador. I got this down to 31 cents/min, but the bills still mounted. When I was ordered down for the Stokes interview, I was naturally somewhat angry (an understatement), and when they finally indicated that they would accept evidence, I shoved the phone bills at them under the Plexiglass and said, "These were a DOLLAR a minute!" That may have scored some points, si man.

[RumbaBumba 4]

Hey,

I started this proceso when we got married in july 2008, I had to wait because servicio had to be finished. It's been a long road. Our interview is on may 25. THe end is always in sight. Definitely organize trips to be there. Always be planning, print all your correos, have your phone calls ready. Wahtever you do, organize it now. Be ready for this process. WHEN YOU ARE THERE, it will be worth it best of luck