Félicitations Rumba!!!!

Ok Ok, the secret is finally out!! After 7 long months of keeping it in, I have finally lived it. Thank gawd, it was the hardest secret ever!!!

Friday I flew up to Ontario to surprise Rumba. His mom and I have been planning this since November; the surprise was for Rumba's graduation from L`École des sciences de l`éducation de l`Université Laurentienne. I got into Sudbury around 11:00pm and his parents picked me up at the airport. We walked to his friend Fraser's where Fraser was keeping Rumba busy until I arrived. We got there and I hid behind a wall while they told Rumba to come upstairs. He saw his parents and brother first and then he saw me. His face was priceless; utter and complete shock. "What are you doing here?" and "How did you get here?" was all that he could say for several minutes; he was completely speechless. It was perfect!!!

The ceremony was Saturday morning and it was really interesting. The graduates marched in to the music of Bagpipes and the tune "Scotland the Brave." That was really cool. They also had a string quartet to entertain folks while we waited for the ceremony to start. It was a really small group of graduates that day as the university has about 8 different ceremonies for a week. The ceremony was also done in English and French with the speakers switching between languages throughout the ceremony. For the most part I didn't understand much when they switched to French, but was able to pick up a few words here and there. It was too long though as the honorary degree recipients were quite windy. What was neat about the ceremony was that each graduate had about 10-15 seconds on stage talking to the Madame President while people stood near the stage and took pictures. I was able to give Rumba a kiss on the cheek right after he recieved his diploma too after I finished taking pictures. They rounded up with a French rendition of O Canada and then marched out to the bagpipes playing Auld Lang Syne.

After the ceremony we went to Boston Pizza for lunch/dinner with members of his family. It was fun but for some reason I wasn't feeling so good. So I didnt eat much and felt bad that I didnt eat much of my meal even though I took it home. Cant help a stomach ache though. Saturday night, we fell asleep and slept til 930pm!! Holy...it was only supposed to be a short nap. At 1030 we went to a party that his classmates were having. Lots of beer, hot tubbing, swimming and a campfire. 95% of them were "Frenchies" so I had a very hard time fitting in as I didn't understand/communicate in their language. But they were very nice and did speak English at times, especially when they addressed me or Rumba. Some were cold towards me but I don't think it was a personal thing, I think it was because I was "different" and not part of the crowd. It was interesting to be there; Rumba was happy that we went and that I was there with him. Its nice to do these "normal things" with him that we dont get to do because of the distance and I know he loves it when we get the chance to do stuff like that together. Sunday we went to his aunt and uncles for a BBQ and Monday we just hung out and went to dinner. Tuesday I flew back to Chicago. It was a very quick visit and hard to leave...it always goes too fast but 3 days is definitely not enough!!!

Rumba bought a car--his grand maman's car. Its about 10 years old but in great condition with little mileage. It has only spent one winter in Sudbury as she was a Floridian snowbird for many years. It worked out really well and with great timing. Will make it easier for him to come to Chicago or meet halfway. We are still discussing him moving to Chicago. He has applied for a few jobs here but is still undecided on what is best. He's on the fence about visas and requirements for staying in the US long term. I think he's making it bigger than necessary but I do appreciate his concern and the fact that he is thinking it over seriously. I'm learning as I go here that I can't let the border heighten my anxiety or get stressed over it. Its just one small thing thats in our way but nothing we cant handle.

So anyhow, that was the big surprise. Most everybody knew about it anyways, except for him. I'm really impressed nobody spilled the beans about it and I know of a few people that came close, including me.

Rumba de félicitations, je suis si fier de vous. Je t'aime!!