Whammy #1:
Julio- whose name I am comfortable disclosing because the odds of anyone reading this blog identifying him in Guatemala are slim- sent me an email saying he is getting married and expecting a child.
The first person you fall in love with helps you identify those feelings and sets the standard for future relationships. The second person is special because they remind you that it can happen again.
I will always be grateful to Julio for being the second, for getting me out of a relationship with a man I wasn't in love with by helping me rediscover what it meant to connect to someone. He taught me Spanish, a language that I speak every day at work. He ignited my love for reggaeton music, clubbing, and drinking tequila. We climbed to the top of Central America together and watched the sun rise at 13,845 feet. It was a happy relationship that ended with the biggest dealbreaker I have ever encountered:
I wanted to go back to the United States and work in medicine, and he wanted to stay in Guatemala and become a Catholic priest. In the tragic endings of my romantic relationships, it figured that I fell in love with the one Guatemalan who would turn down my offer to try for a US visa.
Obviously his goals from four years ago changed, and in the process, he met his fiancé who is Mayan, Catholic, and a much better life partner to him than I ever would have been. I cried when he told me, not because I was sad or angry, but because his happiness overwhelmed me. I want good things for him.
Yesterday, he sent me a message wishing me a Happy International Women's Day. The United States doesn't observe the holiday, but Guatemala does, and he wants good things for me as well.
Julio- whose name I am comfortable disclosing because the odds of anyone reading this blog identifying him in Guatemala are slim- sent me an email saying he is getting married and expecting a child.
The first person you fall in love with helps you identify those feelings and sets the standard for future relationships. The second person is special because they remind you that it can happen again.
I will always be grateful to Julio for being the second, for getting me out of a relationship with a man I wasn't in love with by helping me rediscover what it meant to connect to someone. He taught me Spanish, a language that I speak every day at work. He ignited my love for reggaeton music, clubbing, and drinking tequila. We climbed to the top of Central America together and watched the sun rise at 13,845 feet. It was a happy relationship that ended with the biggest dealbreaker I have ever encountered:
I wanted to go back to the United States and work in medicine, and he wanted to stay in Guatemala and become a Catholic priest. In the tragic endings of my romantic relationships, it figured that I fell in love with the one Guatemalan who would turn down my offer to try for a US visa.
Obviously his goals from four years ago changed, and in the process, he met his fiancé who is Mayan, Catholic, and a much better life partner to him than I ever would have been. I cried when he told me, not because I was sad or angry, but because his happiness overwhelmed me. I want good things for him.
Yesterday, he sent me a message wishing me a Happy International Women's Day. The United States doesn't observe the holiday, but Guatemala does, and he wants good things for me as well.
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