Before we met....
My last semester at university was disastrous. The guy i dated left me for one of my best friends at uni. Meanwhile, i took an accounting subject for the third time and i was about to take a final exam. That was my last shot to get out or be kicked out of the uni. I was devastated and most of all, I was disappointed at myself. After the last exam, I pack my bags and left to Africa. I applied for an internship for a division of UN in Mozambique, more like volunteering. However when I got there, my adventurous spirit vanished. I was told Maputo is a peaceful city but it is not as safe as it seemed. I felt scared and alone. I did not have that backpacker's spirit of meeting and hang out with strangers . It was as if I made an immature foolish decision just to run away from home. I was in deeper crisis and wanted to quit.
The day we met...
After one month, when I was planning to quit and go to Europe for more studying, I met a girl from my city, An. She invited me to visit her workplace and hang out with her friends. So on the first sunday of november, I went to see her at her office and expected that we will meet some awesome people and have wonderful time right away. It turned out she still needed to finished some big tasks before our island trip . By the afternoon, I was pretty sure we are not going anywhere, they were so busy. People were calling saying they couldn't make it so we decided to go back to her place. It was a big house that was used as home to the employees but soon it would be turned into office, she was pointing to a large room and said 'this will be the meeting room'. I turned and saw him, Henry, seating in the middle of the room.
It was like the wrong time to make the island trip. When we are supposed to leave and enjoy the rest of the day, An was called back to resolve some problem again. I waited long then decided to go look for her. I went to the meeting room and he was still there. Henry said he was going to the same island but to supervise a construction there which is far far from the tourists' area. We said goodbye to Henry and headed to the ferry.
We stand on the ferryboat and waited an hour not knowing why it wouldn't move. Then I saw Henry coming into the boat on a white dirty truck. He was surprised that we were still on this side of the city and told us to come with him to the construction site. The rest of the day was amazing. So different from what I imagined. We skip the beach and the bungalow restaurants, went far far inside the island where there a. Me, An and another guy on the 'nice' car, Henry and other two in the dirty white truck.
Suddenly, An saw a coconut tree. She told the driver to stop then she called Henry to check the tree out. He just jump off the truck and go to ask the bungalow's owner whether we could climb and catch coconuts. It was so much fun, the owner spoke local language and Henry was bargaining in English without help of his native staff. An was trying to speak local language that she learned before. Henry brought in a ladder and climb up the tree with a big knife.
We went to the site. Henry wanted to challenge himself to climb the cable tower but as he reached 1/6 of the tower, he admitted he couldn't continue and climb down ( 7 months later, he called me when I was in France saying 'Honey, I am on the 6th level of the tower, I miss you').
Three months together
We were very different. He wasn't 'my type' (actually I was stupid). I didn't like the way he dressed himself. I didn't like many things about him. But in the end, I was the shallow, silly one. He was honest, sincere, calm and loving. Later, a work colleague told me 'there is something about the country that makes people fall in love when they come here'. We walked on the beach at night then was caught in strong wind and sand hitting us. We were questioned by police and almost were caught because i forgot my passport. We got ourselves dirty and was rejected at fancy restaurant. Dates were canceled often because he was busy. I felt embarrassed every time he picked me up with the dirty white truck (but now I miss it so much, Henry knew I didn't like it but he never tried to please me too much). We made love on rooftop of buildings, in power houses, in his office, sneaking around together. He took me out on his bike to do horse riding, eating everywhere in the city, to see his game. Most importantly, he is always there for me, to make me feel safe and protected.
Eight months apart
Three months were quite short but I love him more when I am away from him. It is hard. I just went through a period of stress that affected my health significantly. The details are complicated but most importantly, we are still together and in love even more than before.
My last semester at university was disastrous. The guy i dated left me for one of my best friends at uni. Meanwhile, i took an accounting subject for the third time and i was about to take a final exam. That was my last shot to get out or be kicked out of the uni. I was devastated and most of all, I was disappointed at myself. After the last exam, I pack my bags and left to Africa. I applied for an internship for a division of UN in Mozambique, more like volunteering. However when I got there, my adventurous spirit vanished. I was told Maputo is a peaceful city but it is not as safe as it seemed. I felt scared and alone. I did not have that backpacker's spirit of meeting and hang out with strangers . It was as if I made an immature foolish decision just to run away from home. I was in deeper crisis and wanted to quit.
The day we met...
After one month, when I was planning to quit and go to Europe for more studying, I met a girl from my city, An. She invited me to visit her workplace and hang out with her friends. So on the first sunday of november, I went to see her at her office and expected that we will meet some awesome people and have wonderful time right away. It turned out she still needed to finished some big tasks before our island trip . By the afternoon, I was pretty sure we are not going anywhere, they were so busy. People were calling saying they couldn't make it so we decided to go back to her place. It was a big house that was used as home to the employees but soon it would be turned into office, she was pointing to a large room and said 'this will be the meeting room'. I turned and saw him, Henry, seating in the middle of the room.
It was like the wrong time to make the island trip. When we are supposed to leave and enjoy the rest of the day, An was called back to resolve some problem again. I waited long then decided to go look for her. I went to the meeting room and he was still there. Henry said he was going to the same island but to supervise a construction there which is far far from the tourists' area. We said goodbye to Henry and headed to the ferry.
We stand on the ferryboat and waited an hour not knowing why it wouldn't move. Then I saw Henry coming into the boat on a white dirty truck. He was surprised that we were still on this side of the city and told us to come with him to the construction site. The rest of the day was amazing. So different from what I imagined. We skip the beach and the bungalow restaurants, went far far inside the island where there a. Me, An and another guy on the 'nice' car, Henry and other two in the dirty white truck.
Suddenly, An saw a coconut tree. She told the driver to stop then she called Henry to check the tree out. He just jump off the truck and go to ask the bungalow's owner whether we could climb and catch coconuts. It was so much fun, the owner spoke local language and Henry was bargaining in English without help of his native staff. An was trying to speak local language that she learned before. Henry brought in a ladder and climb up the tree with a big knife.
We went to the site. Henry wanted to challenge himself to climb the cable tower but as he reached 1/6 of the tower, he admitted he couldn't continue and climb down ( 7 months later, he called me when I was in France saying 'Honey, I am on the 6th level of the tower, I miss you').
Three months together
We were very different. He wasn't 'my type' (actually I was stupid). I didn't like the way he dressed himself. I didn't like many things about him. But in the end, I was the shallow, silly one. He was honest, sincere, calm and loving. Later, a work colleague told me 'there is something about the country that makes people fall in love when they come here'. We walked on the beach at night then was caught in strong wind and sand hitting us. We were questioned by police and almost were caught because i forgot my passport. We got ourselves dirty and was rejected at fancy restaurant. Dates were canceled often because he was busy. I felt embarrassed every time he picked me up with the dirty white truck (but now I miss it so much, Henry knew I didn't like it but he never tried to please me too much). We made love on rooftop of buildings, in power houses, in his office, sneaking around together. He took me out on his bike to do horse riding, eating everywhere in the city, to see his game. Most importantly, he is always there for me, to make me feel safe and protected.
Eight months apart
Three months were quite short but I love him more when I am away from him. It is hard. I just went through a period of stress that affected my health significantly. The details are complicated but most importantly, we are still together and in love even more than before.