I was an exchange student in 1994, sent from Melbourne, Australia to Colorado, USA. During the first few weeks, I met a guy called Mike - another exchange student, from the Philippines. I was just 15, and Mike 16, so we weren't all that well-versed in courting rituals. We attended his prom together, wrote letters, talked on the phone. In August, he returned to the Phils. As this was prior to email, we wrote a few letters to each other, but this quickly died out as he started college and I completed my year in the States. After 10 years, a few things had prompted me to look for his address, and in 2004 I wrote to his parents, supplying them with my Gmail address. Mike had actually just moved back into his parents' place again, and wrote right back. We started using Gmail to email and chat, mostly because it was the only net-based mail service not blocked by my school administrators! After a few years of what had become almost constant contact, I decided to visit the Phils to see if the guy that had been my first kiss all those years ago was still as special now. We knew it was the moment I walked out of the airport doors, and we married on July 7, 2007. Life is good! (Or, as they say in Tagalog; 'Sarap ng Buhay!')
Megan, Teacher
Manila, Philippines
Labels: keeping in touch