Long-Distance Relationship--Love Actually!
This kind of relationship existed long before technology is as sophisticated as it is today. No calling, no texting, no emailing--nothing. Only a letter delivered by a postman that could connect one with his or her lover. Yet, despite technological limitations, long-distance relationships persisted. I should be grateful then because I live in an era where communication is not a real hindrance. However, to be fair, the dissemination of technology in communication still has not reached remote areas. My husband lives in Sumatera, an island whose development is said to be second to Java in its advancement. The connection in his hometown is really poor. Domestic calling and texting are still okay, but international calling, texting, whatsoever chatting via internet are far from okay. With hundreds of miles apart and half a day of time difference, I found it really hard just to grasp the reality that it's so hard for me to just "talk" to my husband on a daily basis. We really depended on the internet, yet the internet technology in his hometown is very poor. Recently, it became poorer than ever that almost all of my messages were never delivered.
Reminiscing my long-distance relationship with the-then
boyfriend, who is now my husband, I couldn't help but thinking
how we survived those days when cellphones were still a luxury limited to certain people. Cable phones did not even exist in his hometown. The only means of communication available was through mail. When my then boyfriend left for his hometown after finishing his school, we were almost into 2 year of a relationship. I didn't know what to expect. I doubted we would survive. Anyway, somehow we survived :D. He left without leaving me any specific address, and I didn't even bother to ask. Two days after arriving at his hometown, he called me. Then, for the next 30 days, I had to wait and wait and wait, and there was no phone call, no text, not even a single letter. I spent my days almost in tears. The tears and fears, fear of being abandoned, almost made me lose my senses. Luckily, one his relatives who lived quite far from his home had a cellphone. I had to conquer all the shames and awkwardness to call him and ask him to connect me with my then boyfriend. Even that did not work all the time, because I was just a poor college student, and payphone was really expensive. Some other time, I couldn't get through my then boyfriend because the cellphone owner was busy and happened to be out of town. To make it worse, I lost my phone because of a bag snatcher. Admittedly, I was a fool for not saving the important contact somewhere else--another reason for not being too dependent upon technology.
Eventually, I gathered my courage to go visit his aunt, the only person whom I can ask for help to connect with him. Alas, or I don't know how to make of it. After visiting her, getting back the lost contact, my then boyfriend called me in the evening. Had I known he would call, I wouldn't have gone to his aunt. Well, all is well. From that point onward, our communication was bettered. By smooth, I meant, there were occasional calls.. Until finally, two year into our relationship, we both bought cellphones. Occasional phone calls and texts were still a luxury, but we could afford that--OCCASIONALLY.
Now, after six years of a long-distance relationship, we wedded each other FINALLY. The end of a long-distance relationship? Not at all, our distance is now even increasingly wide apart. Hundreds of miles with the addition of time difference. Oh, bless our hearts! :) What about the connection in his hometown? It's still terrible. We managed to chat everyday, but the frequency does not necessarily reflect the quality of our communication. Often times, the connection is very unfriendly, we just managed to say hi and ask each other's situation. Skype has been removed from our lists of means of communication since months ago. Calling is, besides expensive, hindered by the poor connection. To be able to send each other text has been something that we really should be grateful of. But, then again, we survived. I don't know how or why. I don't want to even question it. I guess it's love actually that made us survive. Not trying to be romantic here, but I believe that we sincerely love each other. Our physical presence is important, but we know we can feel the warmth of love without the physical hugging or snuggle.
I believe I share the same belief with anyone involved in a long-distance relationship. Nothing can be a real obstacle, as long as there is a sincere love. The basic ingredient of survival in a long distance relationship is LOVE ACTUALLY!
Reminiscing my long-distance relationship with the-then
boyfriend, who is now my husband, I couldn't help but thinking
how we survived those days when cellphones were still a luxury limited to certain people. Cable phones did not even exist in his hometown. The only means of communication available was through mail. When my then boyfriend left for his hometown after finishing his school, we were almost into 2 year of a relationship. I didn't know what to expect. I doubted we would survive. Anyway, somehow we survived :D. He left without leaving me any specific address, and I didn't even bother to ask. Two days after arriving at his hometown, he called me. Then, for the next 30 days, I had to wait and wait and wait, and there was no phone call, no text, not even a single letter. I spent my days almost in tears. The tears and fears, fear of being abandoned, almost made me lose my senses. Luckily, one his relatives who lived quite far from his home had a cellphone. I had to conquer all the shames and awkwardness to call him and ask him to connect me with my then boyfriend. Even that did not work all the time, because I was just a poor college student, and payphone was really expensive. Some other time, I couldn't get through my then boyfriend because the cellphone owner was busy and happened to be out of town. To make it worse, I lost my phone because of a bag snatcher. Admittedly, I was a fool for not saving the important contact somewhere else--another reason for not being too dependent upon technology.
Eventually, I gathered my courage to go visit his aunt, the only person whom I can ask for help to connect with him. Alas, or I don't know how to make of it. After visiting her, getting back the lost contact, my then boyfriend called me in the evening. Had I known he would call, I wouldn't have gone to his aunt. Well, all is well. From that point onward, our communication was bettered. By smooth, I meant, there were occasional calls.. Until finally, two year into our relationship, we both bought cellphones. Occasional phone calls and texts were still a luxury, but we could afford that--OCCASIONALLY.
Now, after six years of a long-distance relationship, we wedded each other FINALLY. The end of a long-distance relationship? Not at all, our distance is now even increasingly wide apart. Hundreds of miles with the addition of time difference. Oh, bless our hearts! :) What about the connection in his hometown? It's still terrible. We managed to chat everyday, but the frequency does not necessarily reflect the quality of our communication. Often times, the connection is very unfriendly, we just managed to say hi and ask each other's situation. Skype has been removed from our lists of means of communication since months ago. Calling is, besides expensive, hindered by the poor connection. To be able to send each other text has been something that we really should be grateful of. But, then again, we survived. I don't know how or why. I don't want to even question it. I guess it's love actually that made us survive. Not trying to be romantic here, but I believe that we sincerely love each other. Our physical presence is important, but we know we can feel the warmth of love without the physical hugging or snuggle.
I believe I share the same belief with anyone involved in a long-distance relationship. Nothing can be a real obstacle, as long as there is a sincere love. The basic ingredient of survival in a long distance relationship is LOVE ACTUALLY!
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