After having gone offline yesterday, I checked my phone this morning. I almost missed nothing. No messages or emails from friends or even family. I felt like I could just disappear and no one would notice it. However, there was a message from Graeme on Telegram. I smiled from ear to ear because it was a voice message, the first voice message ever from Graeme. That made my day.
Why was it special and surprising?
Graeme and I have been knowing each other for... mmm, I don't know for how long exactly. It might have been for over five or six years way when Lang-8 was still active.
Graeme used to correct my English entries while I helped a little with his Arabic ones. He's been the only English speaker who has followed my English journey and kept correcting my posts, no matter how long or boring they were.
He often commented and shared his opinions or thoughts on what I wrote. He didn't agree with everything I wrote, especially when it was related to religions or politics but that never broke our steady, slow relationship. He also kept praying for me during my difficult times, which I very much appreciate. He welcomed my questions regarding his corrections and never got irritated with my overanalyzed questions.
However, we've never talked or seen each other. I knew him but I didn't know him simultaneously. I knew him through his corrections, comments and Arabic entries but I didn't know him beyond that. We added each other on WhatsApp when Lang-8 was shut down. When I deleted Meta accounts, we moved to Telegram. We never shared photos or voice messages or even had a video call. I still don't know how he looks. I always had the impression that he was conservative and secretive about his personal life outside the posts he shared so I was quite reluctant to share with him something irrelevant to languages.
I'm still in awe that I heard his voice today. That was a very slow progress but I'm thrilled it happened in the end.
Thanks for all the corrections you made and the prayers you sent me, @MusiqueGraeme!
Keep praying and keep in touch!
Awesome! I didn't know that Graeme also was in Lang-8! I'd been using it until the website was closed. But I'd never seen you or Graeme, even though I'd kept posting every day. It's very interesting.
I also met three nice guys there: my Texan friend, my British friend, and my Jewish friend. I've still been good friends with them. All of them have become my conversational partners and we've been chatting over for 18 years! My friends are interested in Japanese.
I remember you're looking for somebody to speak English. He is the person! You can teach him Alaric and vice versa.
18 years! Wow, that's a record! I hope I will reach it with Graeme and others.
Graeme looks like a very nice guy, and nowadays it's really rare for us to find such a nice person online. 18 years ago, there were so many nice people everywhere. Things have changed. I also met a nice American guy here as well. We should appreciate their friendships!
I'm sure you'll keep great friendships for years with him and your other online friends!