Her Side

(Spoiler alert: there’s only one side—his job was to build the website)

It’s no secret that I didn’t love living in Frankfurt. In my mid-20s, the city lacked excitement and entertainment—way too quiet after Tokyo and London. My weekdays were packed with work, and my weekends were spent on my couch, watching Netflix because, well, everything (even grocery stores) was closed on Sundays. It wasn’t exactly the “corporate girl in the big city” lifestyle I had imagined when I left my friends and family behind.

Eventually, things started looking up. I made a few friends online, and, as luck would have it, the internet gods sent me Peter. After a few weeks of texting, we set a date. Truthfully, I was so over dating and one convenient text away from cancelling plans and propping my feet up on the couch (thankfully, I didn’t!). On November 8, 2018, Peter met me at the tram stop outside my office and greeted me with a big hug. My first thought? This guy has way too many smile lines—there’s no way he’s a bad person. We took the U-Bahn to a family-run Italian restaurant, shared pasta, and talked for hours until the restaurant practically kicked us out for closing.

The next few months were a blur of everything—winter walks (which I falsely advertised was a hobby of mine - dumb I know), Christmas markets, and even several successful IKEA trips (iykyk, the ultimate relationship test). Before I knew it, I was moving into Peter’s 35m² apartment—just in time for COVID. He worked from our tiny kitchen table, while I set up shop with my laptop balanced on an ironing board. We passed the time with jigsaw puzzles, not-so-socially-distanced yoga, and FaceTiming friends. At some point, we even managed an international move to Amsterdam, which has since become our home.

We never quite became that couple who jogs together (believe us, we tried), but we do have our shared passions—discovering new cafés, making fun of each other in workout classes, the occasional (or not so occasional) music festival, and traveling the world in an ongoing attempt to use up my 46 PTO days (which we still haven’t succeeded in).

Together, we’ve explored 20 countries. Peter proposed on August 16, 2024, the first morning of our weeklong hiking trip in Lofoten, Norway. Although it was a total surprise, I now realize his timing was strategic—he wasn’t about to risk waiting until later in the trip when I’d be tired and grumpy. Because let’s be real—my Asian friends will agree, Asians don’t really hike-hike. Though Peter was a nervous, slightly sweaty mess, I remember feeling unexpectedly calm—an unusual state for my restless mind. For the first time in our relationship, I was the clear-headed one. And honestly, that was a good enough sign for me.