Carmen and I began to date soon after our meeting and my short visit to her beautiful island in the Caribbean. We spoke on the telephone every Sunday evening and exchanged e-mails almost daily. My next visit came in September of 2003 when Carmen, I and our good friends, Jaqui and Fialo accompanied us to a beautiful resort in Punta Cana. Carmen and I enjoyed the resort very much and we look forward to returning soon. Later Carmen was very kind to show me around her city while I was visiting. I found the history to be very interesting. As school children in the United States we learn about Christopher Columbus. I was getting the opportunity to explore the city that he founded and the beautiful Colonial city that he built. I saw many beautiful places on my second visit to Carmen's beautiful and exotic country. I had only read about the island in books as a child in grade school.

As Carmen and I continued to instant message every night after I brought her the laptop, her English was improving at an astonishing rate! My Spanish was improving marginally. Many of our friends ask us how we communicate. Many times I will start a sentence in Spanish and end in English and she may start a sentence in English and end in Spanish. We have learned each other's language very well this way. I returned to Santo Domingo in March to spend an entire week with Carmen. We had an incredible time together. She introduced me to many new family members and friends. Carmen took me to the mountains to visit the most beautiful waterfalls and the pebble filled beaches in the south. The Dominican Republic is truly a jewel in the Caribbean. At the end of my visit in March I had a surprise planned for Carmen and only her best friend knew but, even then she did not know the exact place and time that I would propose to Carmen.

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