It has been a while since I updated this blog, forgive me.
Life seems to be so busy for all of us.
Well I visited Rochelyn in January/February for less than three weeks so we could both prepare her Visa application and take it to the VFS in Manila from Cebu.
I worked all the days I could in the UK to save money for this extra flight and also to prepare for her arrival in the UK in a few months or so.
She put in her application and received her passport with the visa stamp in in exactly 4 weeks and two days.......WooHoo
I am glad she paid PHP 300 in the VFS for the courier service as she had quite a shock when her passport arrived so soon.
So now she doesn't have to be worried about a possible interview anymore.
For others who are preparing their visa applications, take time to organise all the documents. I believe this was one of the reasons Rochelyn was successful in her application.
So, she was "a little nervous" when I asked her how she felt on receiving her passport.
I put this down to the realisation that she will be leaving her family and friends soon. It must be a big shock to her to leave the comforts she has lived with and to leave her country for her new husband.
I know her as well as I can through our meetings and constant phone calls, I just support her emotionally and financially and we both long for the day we will be together soon.
The best thing I took to the Philippines right from day one was one of those small digital cameras that also had the facility to take videos. I have videos right from the first time we met and throughout all of our times together.
When I feel a bit low at constantly missing her, I can see her talking to me and smiling from those precious days together.
She has now gone back to spend a couple of months with her family on her small island. It is not easy for her as the electricity suppy is almost non-existant and it is always hot there and she frets about her skin getting darker. Also, we cannot keep in touch on skype as we used to as there is no internet cafe there. I do feel for her as she is really saying goodbye to her lovely close-knit family, I tell her her new family will be here in the UK if we have the kids we are hoping for.
She is the eldest child and she has three other younger brothers and sisters, two of them are toddlers and I know she loves them dearly. She will miss them a lot I know. I asked her to let me know when she gets homesick in the future, so I can comfort her....
At the end of April I will go back to the Philippines to join her for the start of her new life.
We are flying to Thailand for a week en route for the UK as I am joining a reunion of people who I used to work overseas with for many years.
This is to put my face about and find out about the possibility of getting a job again in onshore oilfield logistics in the future. If there is a possibility to be onshore somewhere in the world earning better than I get at the moment, then this shouldn't be discounted, as long as I am with my beautiful wife every day from now on.
So, soon we will be together. The best thing about this is that we no longer have to keep saying goodbye. I am so sick of always saying goodbye. I work all the hours I can and return home to an empty house. Soon, the house I live in will be a "home", where Chel can be with me learning all about life in the UK. I don't want to see her face get that sad again as we say goodbye. I get so sad always hearing her ask me "why so far from me dear?".
I am trying not to get too excited as it is almost a dream come true to be with my "Panaginip" every day.
I still love her very much and feel a deep ache all the time spending life without her. Her smiles and the constant little shrieks she makes are just memories and constant reminders in my mind of how good I feel when she is around me.
I have never experienced before the joy that I feel when she does the simple things like combing her hair and changing two or three times before going out.
So, only about five weeks before we can be together forever.
Yesterday she told me how excited she was to be joining me, that makes me feel soooooo good.
