... in response to Red Clay, could you please tell us about..., posted by Aaron on Jun 16, 2003Be glad to. My wife is Peruvian, we met by writing. After about 4 months of writing/phoning/emailing, I flew to Lima to meet her. We basically spent the week together as she took a week of vacation while I was there. (this was in March of 2000) She was already very functional in English, almost fluent. She already had a tourist visa and had visited the US once before we ever met. She had completed college and was working for the same university doing some teaching and office work, a very good job by their standards. We had a great week together there.
We kept in touch and about a month later she called me and said, " I'm coming to the US for awhile so we can be closer if you want." I asked "what about your job?" She said she had quit. She had saved enough money to fly here, buy a cheap car, and live for a few months. She asked me for nothing.
At first she stayed with her cousin in Miami and I went down a couple of times to see her. I invited her to come be with me in TN. and we extended her tourist visa. I proposed in Feb. of 2001, she accepted, and we married in March of 2001, just before her tourist visa expired. Of course all that time spent together made it easier to know one another, a luxury that most guys don't have.
Thought you might want a little background, now about "her".
You're right, she's not a young "hottie", she's a 37 year old hottie now, lol. She is probably the most unselfish, agreeable person I have ever known. During our courtship she discovered that I had been contacted by another latina that I had written to before we met. She was hurt and we almost broke up, but after a couple of tough days of "discussing" whether or not to continue she offered to help me translate letters from the other girl if I really wanted to know her. This was right at the time that she didn't know where she would end up or what she would do if we split. I thought she was being a smartazz at first, then realized she REALLY was offering to help me. I can't imagine any other woman doing that and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I emailed the other girl and told her that I had someone now and could not continue writing, wished her well. I know that sounds unlikely if not impossible, but her sincerity knocked me over. Her reaction to our possible breakup showed me how much she loved me. It was different than anything I had ever seen.
She's ambitious- Before we ever met, she visited the US and went to Disneyworld alone. I asked why and she told me that nobody in her family could come and none of her relatives here had the time to go with her, but she had always dreamed of going. She told the people at the US Embassy in Lima that she wanted to know Mickey Mouse when they asked her why she wanted to visit. So she took a Greyhound from Miami to Orlando, checked into a hotel and saw Disneyworld alone. She has always been fascinated with anything American and will never understand how anyone here could bash it or fail to take advantage of the opportunity here. She sings aloud with the National Anthem at sports events. She thinks liberalism is nuts.
Without dwelling on it or bashing, let's just say that photos like some of our fellow board members post with their dates are trashy to her. I can't imagine asking her to pose on a bed, she would be insulted by the thought. To each his own, but I assure you she is 180 degrees apart from that. She'll wear clothes that show off her body if I want her to, she'll change if I ask her to also.
Her first job here was receptionist/translator at a chiropractors office. An attorney who dealt with her there asked her to work for him for 3 dollars more per hour to start than what she was making. They beg her to stay with them for a long time. Today they asked her to be in a TV commercial they will be making soon advertising their services. I'm extremely proud of her. She is considering buying a new car and her credit scores here are already higher than mine have ever been. The few times I have helped her pay a bill, she has paid me back within a week. When we eat out, she insists on paying 50% of the time.
It is almost difficult to convince her to go shopping with the girls, etc. I'm actually the one who encourages it.
Thanks for asking and allowing me to brag. I wish every guy here could find someone as good, some of you already have. Yes, the "models" look good and appeal to the flesh, but so does my wife. I can't imagine her ever deciding that the grass might be greener somewhere else, and at times I ain't the easiest guy in the world to live with. I have really been blessed.
