Date Night When You Are In A Long Distance Relationship

Sometimes I miss going on dates since I’m in a LDR.   Particularly, I miss going to the movies together–sharing popcorn and having a shoulder to rest my head on or hide behind.  It’s Oscar season and we are both into movies, so we started the plan of watching movies separately and then discussing them later.  I know it doesn’t lend to hand holding during the movie but at least it gives us a similar experience and something to discuss after. It also actually makes us find even more time for each other, which is something we would need to do in person, so it’s yet another cool way to strengthen our time together and apart.

Last week, we even took it a step further and turned on our Skype (again, thank goodness for technology!), and while I watched The Hurt Locker on On Demand, he watched the same flick on his computer.  Since he has two computers, he used one to watch me watching the movie and I turned my computer around to face me on the couch watching the TV.  This was a fun experience for us, but I think was a little more distracting for me because I spent some time trying to sync up our movies as much as possible.  The problem with our sync issues ended up being that while I was watching a NTSC version, he was watching the PAL version (so his version was faster).  So quick note to any of you in a long distance relationship who want to try this date at home, make sure that you have the same standards while enjoying your Skype date.

Since time and access to movies is a little more flexible for him (95% of all DVDs for sale in Kenya are bootlegs so you can get any new movie in the markets at any time), I am now behind on my movie watching.  So far, he is ahead by three movies, and by tomorrow I’m sure it will be four.   Which means, I should really get off this blog and go to the movies so I can participate in our next LDR date tonight or tomorrow.

A LDR Valentine’s Day Message

Happy Valentine’s day to my bf that lives in Kenya.  This is our second Valentine’s Day as a couple, and the second Valentine’s Day we have spent apart in a LDR.  I am thankful to have you as my valentine, even though you are far away. I know that Valentine’s Day is a little bit of an over hyped Hallmark holiday, but I look forward to next year when we are in the same country so we can snuggle up together and enjoy being in the same place.  I love you and miss you.  Happy Valentine’s Day!  xoxoxo

Adjusting to Life In A Different Place

So now I’m home and trying to adjust to everything–I’ve been back for almost two weeks.

I, of course, miss my bf but I am also dealing with a bit of culture shock.  It’s weird to see clean, paved streets and supermarkets filled with crisp fruit.  I can drink water from the tap and open my mouth in the shower.  I can turn on the heat or AC to match my every temperature discomfort. And somehow in the midst of every privileged aspect of my life, I miss Kenya.  I miss seeing the carts of mangoes and avocados, and buying passion juice in the stores (since I am still a little too nervous to drink it fresh in most places in Kenya).  It’s weird to be in one place that lacks so many amenities (including indoor toilets and showers) and then to wake up in a place with everything I could desire, and yet still miss that other place.

There is a certain simplicity of Kenya that I miss even though I am incredibly grateful for my life.  I also really miss the kids at my bf’s school and the appreciation that comes from the children when I do flashcards with them and pass out stickers.  The simplicity in Kenya and the lack of material things, makes me feel more bewildered when I come back and talk with people who are miserable, and act out accordingly.  Sometimes I’m also guilty of not always keeping things in perspective and there are definitely times when I take things for granted, but being fresh off my last visit for Kenya, it skews my vision a bit of how much we all take for granted and what an amazing place we live in, if only we could remember.

So I am thankful. Thankful for having a bf in Kenya who has shown me this other world, thankful we have shared these experiences together and thankful for the life I do have when I come home.