The Despedida

Narissa was surprised when some of her friends showed up at her place and asked her to change clothes. They had went out and purchased a dress just for her to wear to the party. After she changed they asked her to put on a blindfold. She wondered what was going on but laughingly agreed. Narissa's friends took her hand and guided her outside to an awaiting "Tuk Tuk" where she was whisked away to the secret destination of the party. Upon arrival her friends took her hand and guided her down and across the sand to the destination. They then asked her to remove her blindfold. She took it off and she knew she was at the beach and seen all the time and planning that had gone into the despedida. All of her friends had set out candles in a circle on the beach and placed blankets to sit on in the center. They had prepared lots of food for the occasion complete with decorations. The gazebo that was close by had also been decorated. She cried and was so thankful for all of her good friends and knew this was one of the last times she would see them in person. During the dinner it started to rain and they had to move into the gazebo but that didn't spoil the fun. They ate and had a great time and went back to Narissa's place she shared with some of her fellow teachers. They started to play all sorts of games and taking turns speaking their hearts followed by karaoke. All of her friends had got her going away gifts and wedding gifts. I know this may sound little nuts but every time I think about her farewell party it chokes me up. I got to meet most of the ones that planned the party and others through Skype over the time we were apart and I feel as though they are a part of my extended family. All great people and I know how close they all were at the time and still to this day.

Final approval of our K-1 visa

It took forever for all the clearance processes to be complete. Some branches of the governments involved took so long to do their checks other papers that we had acquired had expired and we had to get them over again. This happened to us twice with our papers in the Philippines and in Thailand waiting on the States to get their part finished. That caused a lot of problems for us and a huge financial strain on the entire process. Not only did it make our wait longer she would have to worry about trying to take off from work over and over again for the trips not to mention the loss in her salary. Narissa lived in southern Thailand and had to travel back and forth to Bangkok about four times maybe five before we got our final approval. When the papers we got from the Philippines and Thailand expired she would have to travel to Bangkok and re apply and we had the travel expense and also the application fees all over again. 

When she went for her final interview at the embassy they were really hard on her as expected coming in from a foreign country. I think some of the things said were overboard but that is just me. After the interview and when we were finally granted our “official” K-1 visa she called me on the phone and it was very emotional. By this time we had been waiting on the papers for almost 1 ½ years since meeting each other online and around a year since we met in person in Bangkok.

I was so worried about her and the entire process she faced in preparing to travel to the States for first and last time (except for future visits back). Just imagine picking up and leaving your very existence to move half way round the world and to put all your precious belongings in three suitcases. What would you bring with you?? What would you leave behind? Narissa went on several shopping sprees buying new stuff to bring with her replacing clothes and buying stuff for my apartment. One of her good friends let her know about a shipping company that would ship her things to the Philippines for a decent price. All of the things she knew her family would need and appreciate she boxed up for shipment with her instructions on how everything would be divided among her family members. All of her household stuff that she didn’t leave with her friends she shipped. She sent her laptop and camera as the big items so she could better keep in touch with her family in the Philippines. The shipment date was going to be after she had to leave for the States so she left the box with her friend for shipment.

She spent the next few days before her flight spending time with friends and saying her goodbyes. Narissa is a very kind person and helps everyone so it was no surprise she had a lot of friends and also being a school teacher for eleven years. I know saying goodbye to super great friends had to be hard and I couldn’t imagine having to say goodbye to students that she had taught for years watching them grow up into little people before her eyes. I am sure that had to be hard to do. 

Little did she know that her friends were planning a going away/bridal shower for her before she left them. The party is called a “despedida” and I didn’t know about it either.

A few of my photos I posted on Flickr... Enjoy

cash_tiger's photostream on Flickr.

A few of my shots... Enjoy 

This was a test to see if I could get my Flickr pictures to post. I tried to get them to load as a slideshow with no luck :(