Living in Asia does bring back a lot of memories from our first months dating. It all began at the end of autumn 2015 in Beijing. We first met when our master’s program MaRIHE started in August 2014 in Austria, but Jon was busy dating other women (my version of the story) and I was with someone else so he patiently waited (his version).

I was free as a bird and having my best time in Beijing. I actually enjoyed the city way more than I first anticipated. All the amazing food, countless of ancient sites to visit, alleys to stroll through, spending time with my girls. I wasn’t looking to start another relationship, let alone a long-distance one. I still could recall that night when Jon came in to my dorm room jokingly “taking in” the smell from my favorite perfume bottle which I accidentally dropped on the floor and it broke into pieces. He brought up an art space in the city and asked if I wanted to go check it out, and I said yes thinking oh it’s another trip we’re going with others in our group (not just the two of us). I did joke that “okay it’s a date!”, but I honestly didn’t expect it to be one.

Still, on the “date”, I spent hours picking what to wear. Jon showed up with a rose, very nicely dressed. So I guess it’s a date at this point? (Although I still joke until now that it wasn’t a date😆). Surprisingly, my roommate sat through all these pretending she’s innocent although Jon already told her about his feelings for me a couple weeks before.

The 798 Art Zone in Beijing couldn’t be a more perfect spot for a first date. We wandered through countless art installation and exhibitions, sat down at a coffee place having Ethiopian coffee while learning about each other (it did sound like an interview a little bit haha), and have sushi for dinner. There were so much we didn’t know about each other, since we didn’t really spend time together outside of group projects and class time. We didn’t take any selfies (because…I wasn’t sure if it’s a date?😂).

When we got back to the dorm, we passed by our close friend group who just “happened” to hang out in the kitchen (coincidentally, wasn’t it?). There was a warm goodbye hug at my door. And our worlds changed since then. Still the best decision I have made in my life💓