The Chronicle stops the presses- Play offers new twist on classic story
- Students create illustrations for Georgia Ports Authority
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Graduate student channels classic horror in thesis film - Alumnus creates mobile gallery
- SCAD libraries hold artist’s book competition for students
- Griffis discusses development of Arthur legend
- Noted author speaks to students
- The Green Scene: 'We have a dream'
- Personnel File: New staff members join SCAD-Savannah
- SCAD hosts regional IDSA conference
- Titus Kaphar to speak at SCAD
- The Bee Line
- Women’s lacrosse sets records in Kennesaw State win
- Athlete Feats highlights for Feb. 22
- Baseball takes series from St. Thomas
- Women’s basketball wraps up second place in Florida Sun
- Athletics updates for Feb. 15
- Baseball off to best start in program’s history
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Trivial Pursuits
 Special Valentine’s Day edition: Internet enables international romance
 Photo courtesy of Scott Newman Darwisa Damsani and Scott Newman were married in Hobbes, N.M., in December 2005. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, February 10, 2006 Two years ago, a friend bought Scott Newman an ad on Yahoo! personals as a light-hearted gift. What Newman didn’t expect was that through the online dating service, he would meet and fall in love with a woman who lived in the Philippines. Newman, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration and video/film from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and who works as a graphic designer in the college printing department, married Darwisa Damsani — three times — during November and December 2005. Newman and Damsani first began chatting online after discovering they share the same birth date — Oct. 8, 1976. They quickly learned they had much more in common. Both worked at colleges; Damsani, who earned a master’s degree in English language education from Western Mindanao State University, taught English writing and literature. She also was finishing a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The pair rapidly advanced from novel-length e-mail messages to text messages and international phone calls. “We talked online every day, but we talked on the phone once a week because that happens to be one of the most expensive countries in the world to call,” Newman explained. Although he had never been out of the United States, Newman flew to Damsani’s hometown, Zamboanga City, to meet her and her family in October 2004. He and Damsani celebrated their 28th birthdays together. Despite cultural and familial differences — Damsani has eight siblings and Newman none — they found that they connected in person as well as they had online and over the phone. “I thought it would be kind of strange, but it was completely natural,” Newman said. “It was as if we had always been able to hang out together.” Before the trip ended, he asked Damsani’s parents to grant their permission for him to marry their daughter, and they agreed. Newman returned to Savannah and began to develop plans to bring Damsani to the United States. “I had to apply for a fiancé petition, and that’s where the whole immigration process began,” he said. So both families as well as their friends could celebrate the marriage, Newman and Damsani decided to hold wedding ceremonies in the Philippines and in the U.S. Their first wedding took place in Zamboanga City on Nov. 10, 2005, in a traditional Filipino Muslim ceremony. “As opposed to an American-style wedding, this one was focused on me rather than her,” Newman explained. “She’s locked in a cage — it’s symbolic — so she can’t even see the ceremony. Her father and I are sitting opposite each other at a table in front of everyone, and our right hands are clasped together. There’s a handkerchief over our hands.” Newman said a Muslim priest read the rites and then asked Damsani’s father to approve the marriage. “Then I go to her little cage and the funny part is, instead of the kiss, she kneels down and the guy puts his thumb on her forehead.” Newman said the event was a novelty for many of the guests as well as the groom. “Every single family member wanted to pose for photos,” Newman said. “This wedding is rarely ever done even there, so most of the people [who came] had never been to a wedding like that before. We were already going to have a Westernized wedding [in New Mexico], so we thought, ‘Well, why not?’” The second wedding, a civil ceremony for immigration purposes, took place in Savannah Nov. 22. The final celebration was in Hobbs, N.M., Newman’s hometown, Dec. 11. This time Damsani had a novel experience. “While we were there she got to ride a horse for the first time, which has been a lifelong dream,” Newman said. The newlyweds have settled easily into life in Savannah, although Damsani is still waiting for a Social Security number. The pair plan to spend Valentine’s Day on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. “We are slowly seeing everything,” Newman said. “Things now are very good. |
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