I Might Have Fallen for a Green Card Scam

I still don’t know if the relationship was real

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

My second year into life abroad, I fell in love.

Well, I think I did. It’s hard to say. The whole thing felt both dreamy and terrifying. When I think back, my memories get twisted up in themselves, like magazines curled into hard batons, an improvised weapon to smack my ex in the face if he ever returned and tried to pull me back into his life.

Today, I wanted to sit down and write about my final year living in Madagascar, but the truth is, I can’t write about that without writing about him. I don’t like to see his name in print, so I’ll call him by a psuedonym, Sachmo.

Life in a vacation town

In Madagascar, I lived in a small town called Maevatanana, a small, struggling town without much to see. Only a four-hour bus ride away sat a coastal town called Majunga, where I could go and get my monthly paycheck in cash. I loved Majunga. Where my town was filled with crumbling buildings and screaming babies, Majunga had preserved buildings, a chill vibe, better restaurants and coffee, and of course, the beach.

Another perk was a significant number of locals who already spoke English and wanted to practice with me. I made friends in my banking town and started…