Yesterday – Part III – Against all odds

We didn’t know yet, but many things would be happened in our lives for the following 5 months!

Once in Italy, obviously, I went to my Municipality and ask what I have to do to get married with a foreigner person, there in the Philippines.

They gave me the list of document but, the most important was to have the clearance from the Italian Embassy in manila for Bing.

A friend of mine was already married with a girl from Venezuela and he told me I had to have a lot of patience since isn’t so easy to have the needed documents.

It was really a fight, complicated also by the problem of the distance from Manila.

Every two steps ahead, we were sent back one step.

There were no documents correct at the first attempt. I remember once I went to Municipality of Legnano with the copy of the document she asked to her Municipality. You should know that, in the Philippines, divorce isn’t allowed. Then, the document she had, literally translated in Italian, was saying that she wasn’t married. Wasn’t enough because in the document had to be written she was “single” (in Italian “nubile”). I remember that time I was going out from the Municipality office with some tears in my eyes and I’m sure people realized this!

This is only one example of the troubles, but also the Italian Embassy created to Bing more than one problem. I remember once she told me that, even that time, the Embassy would refuse the document, she will give up everything. I knew what was meaning for her going to Manila and back: one day trip, without sleeping for two nights, in a cold bus. Then, at the Embassy, not Italian people have to wait long and also to be allowed to go to the Embassy isn’t so easy.

Every document presented to the Embassy had to be approved by two different Philippines Government Offices and translated in Italian.

During those weeks, we were in touch daily, through internet and telephone. Our mood was changing depending on the news about documents: when one document was ok, we were happy and sad when the document was refused. Sometime we had to set a “meeting” in a shop (for her) to receive a fax from me. Many times, but was also because I wanted to be in contact with her, I went in bed around 1 am and also later; the following morning, as soon as I arrived in office, we continued our chat.

Our families were happy (mine and my mother in particular very much) to know we decide to get married, even if many doubts started to come up.

I was thinking about the gap between our ages: she is younger than me for 17 years. I can say that I never felt this difference. Since we met, she always have been sure this isn’t a problem and for her isn’t important the age you are, but the age you feel.

I know, always we use to say this, but, believe me, in this case is true!

Other doubt was concerning the different “background”, the different habits; a little problem was also the religion. Both are Catholic and Christians but she is more involved than me.

Thank to Bing I was able to overtake these problem: she was so sure that these would be not a problem that she convinced me about it!

When finally we were able to have all documents ready, was time to look for a date.

There was another little problem: her job.

She was teaching in a University managed by nuns and, when her Din understood Bing was engaged with me, tried to convince her wasn’t a good choice to leave Philippines and going to Italy.

They told her many bad things about Italian people (and, unfortunately, some of them are true), they asked to her to finish her studies and to continue to teach there. I knew, some years later, they also offered to her to become nun too!

Bing was “hard” extremely self confident. When I asked her why she didn’t believe to them, she answered that she believed to her heart, to me and that she was praying every day for us!

We decided to get married in the Philippines, because to have a Visa for Bing to come in Italy, was too difficult.

Now we were near to reach our target. Owing to her University and our documents, the first month available was May: the day was 28, 4pm.

There was still another little duty: to attend the seminar before the wedding!