A proper introduction

Since writing a book about myself is proving to be a very challenging task, I thought about compiling stories on my blog. And most recently, I had posted a short version of how I met Sam (my former safari guide and my now husband), I’ve had many asking for more details… So here I am! Working on “our story”, starting with a proper introduction!

Here is a photo of us – without the kids. It seems like so long ago that we were our “own persons”, and it’s a very refreshing way to start, as I write about how we first met. Perhaps I should dive into a quick background description of ourselves.

I was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada when I was 8 years old. I still recall vividly how our family disembarked the plane, and unto a cold, snowy grounds of the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. I even remember tasting the snow on my tongue, and struggling to stand in my oversized down winter coat. I grew up in Dorval, a suburban town near Montréal, and when I think of the word “home”, memories of this very place would come flooding back. Later, our family would move to British Columbia, the warmer part of Canada, but not before I left for Japan to teach for two years. My upbringing was very traditional in a sense that, we still spoke Mandarin at home, and my parents still maintained rules about not dating before university (mainly applied to me, my younger siblings defied that rule). Growing up, my family has always been close, with my parents setting a pretty ideal example to us as a loving & respectful couple. I think due to this, I had high expectations in my future “other half”, and didn’t give in to early dating (neither was I really allowed to!).

Sam was born and raised in a small village near the idyllic Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest peak in Africa. He grew up on a farm with an abundance of avocado (in fact, his grandfather had an “avocado fence” to mark the border, imagine that!), passion fruit, banana, guava, orange, corn, and coffee. One of his most dreaded “chores” were picking coffee beans and bananas. When we compare our childhood stories, I always feel so sheltered in my experiences, because his recklessness and adventurous spirit truly makes his exciting childhood a difficult one to trump. That’s for another post. For most of his school years, Sam attended all-boys boarding schools, and he claims that he was very shy around girls and didn’t give dating a second thought when he was younger. We won’t be revealing dating history here, but let’s just say that he and I had pretty boring dating lives until we met each other.

I know that my title reads “proper” introduction, but I am still new at blogging, especially about myself. How much should I divulge? What do people want to know? Let me know in the comments and I’ll see if I can come up with a better one. Perhaps a Proper Introduction Part II.

Lucia l. Kombe