My year started out in an interesting relationship with an amazing man named Julius who lives in the Philippines. After many long conversations via the computer (web cameras & instant messaging), phone calls (.20 cents a minute), e-mails, letters, and text messages, we fell in love. It’s easy, when communicating so much, to really get to know a person spiritually, emotionally and cognitively. We also knew we were very attracted to each other, but computer cameras leave a lot to be desired! We wanted to meet in person to know if there was a future in our relationship.
Our first meeting was something like a movie. In March my good friend, Martha traveled to the Philippines with me. We got very little sleep on the nearly 24-hour trip. By the time we got to Cebu it was nearly 2:00 am. We came out of the airport having no idea what to expect. Overwhelmed, overtired, and very nervous we looked through a sea of Filipino faces. Julius came to me, a bit unsure of his greeting. First a handshake, then a hug and then…my world stopped as we kissed for the first time. We received applause as our kiss ended and it was at that moment when we knew we were truly in love.
That trip was a whirlwind of meeting family and friends, sight seeing and getting to know each other. The Philippines is such a beautiful country, I felt like I had a honeymoon in Paradise before the wedding! I loved meeting everyone, especially his family: Mama, Papa Eddie, Jerry, Fannie, Faje, BJ, CJ, Genevive, Dondon, Ella, Aldrin, Lolo, Lola, Herra, Glaiza Mae, Cocoy…the list goes on and on. Everyone was so kind and accepting of me. On April 14, Julius proposed to me on a family vacation to a hot springs. I came back from the trip and submitted our fiancé visa petition.
In August I went back to visit Julius. We needed some time together and Julius was having some doubts about the whole petition process. We enjoyed our time together and learned a lot more about each other. Julius learned that I am sometimes “sapoton“ a Cebuano word for someone who gets angry easily! I learned Julius is an amazing man but can’t quite understand why I don’t like sleeping with rats and roaches!
