[This message has been edited by jediknight]
hey guys, i've been back since friday and wanted to share my experience with all who want to know how things went. first, a bit about me and a quick summary of how i got to this point.
this all started back in 2000 when i dated and then broke up with my ex girlfriend, one of the few latinas i had ever dated at that time. i met her in nyc, it lasted for about a year but dating her and the other latinas were experiences that i have never had with any american women, so since then i've always looked for a latina. because of work and hectic schedule, i didn't have much time to go out and meet people,so surfing the interent one day i came across amigos.com , i joined and met many great latinas, some here in the states and others in colombia. i traveled to cartagena colombia for the first time in 2001, met up with a few women and was very interested in one(there are long trip reports in the archives from june 2001), we spoke but eventually had to break it off because she wanted someone in cartagena, she couldn't deal with the long distance relationship. she felt that in order to marry someone she needed to spend lots of time with that person over a period of time, not just a few days once or twice a year. i was lucky to have met her, she is beautiful and honest and like many women in colombia could have easily taken advantage of me and used me but she wasn't looking for that, she wanted the real thing. we are still in touch, she is still single but has a boyfriend in cartagena and i'm happy for her.
since 2001 i've met and dated many colombianas here that i've met on amigos.com, some are still friends while others i've never heard from again. i traveled to bogota twice in 2004, met a few women from the same website but nothing really happened, just good company while i was visiting. then i began to write to a young woman who i also met on amigos.com in mid 2004, she's 26 and i'm 36. it first started with emails, then phone calls, IM, web cam, each letter and phone conversation helped our relationship grow so when i decided to fly to colombia i made plans to meet her in barranquilla. i wouldn't have made the trip to the coast if i didn't feel we had a connection and i'm happy to report that my 7 month long distance realtionship with my friend has changed to my novia and we are looking to getting married in 2006.
i arrived in barranquilla in the beginning of jan, stayed with her and her family, met all her extended family and they all loved me. they were all extremely nice and courteous, i had a wonderful time. she met me with her family at the airport, we were both very nervous, so much so that after we hugged each other we were almost silent in the car. i kept looking at her because she is so beautiful and i couldn't believe we were finally together, but she avoided my stares, she later told me that she was so nervous with her parents there and didn't know how to act and react. well, the following days were totally different, she was much more at ease, we went out, were invited to many lunches and dinners, everyone knew about how we met, she told me that her parents at first were surprised but felt more relieved after meeting me since they have heard many horror stories about these type of meetings through the internet and agencies.
after about a week with her i decided to ask her to be my novia and she very happily accepted. we spent another week in barranquilla and then flew to bogota where she stayed with a friend and i stayed in my friends apt. we went out, talked allot, asked each other questions, and really became closer. after knowing her for many months over the phone and email, talking and getting to know her family i've decided that she is the one for me. we've talked about the future and i have agreed to wait a year to get to know each other more to be completely sure. her father, mother and she think its a great idea to wait, there's no rush for either of us and i value that. she comes from a loving and close family so she has allot of support in the decision we are making, i'm happy to say that everyone is with us.
i plan on going back in may or june.
it seems that there are many things i should share with you but i don't know where to begin so i'll be posting later with tips, observations and respond to any questions that any of you might have.
until next time
jediknight
