The greatest adventure I’ve gone on so far or How I Met Your Father…

Well, to clear one thing up right away - I am not pregnant, but I would love to tell the story of how Josh and I met as it is a pretty unique story. My plan is to have Joshua write his view of the entire story on here as well. He’s an excellent writer and storyteller! But here is my part of the story:

In 2014 I finished high school in Switzerland and I knew I wanted to become a teacher which meant three more years of school. I wasn’t quite ready for that and I desperately needed a break. At this point I had been going to school for 14 years already! I was determined to take a gap year and explore more of the world. Suddenly I was presented with hundreds of options: Working on a farm? Or in a hotel? Language School? Youth with a Mission? Ect. One evening we visited my godparents who had just come home from a trip to the US. They were really excited about an internship program at a church they visited in California and it caught my attention. It sounded just like what I was looking for - exploring the world, growing in my faith and advancing my English. So I applied for a spot at the church and a few Skype calls later I was set!

As the day of departure came closer I really started second guessing my decision. I cried several times a week (maybe even a day?). What was I thinking going away from my family for so long? To a place where I didn’t know anyone? What if I wouldn’t be okay there? At this point, I’d like to give a short appreciation moment for my mom who listened to all my doubts and encouraged me!

Packing was a challenging endeavour as well. I knew I would be doing a lot of physical work such as cleaning, cooking and gardening but aside from that, who knows what to bring for a 6 month trip? All I knew was I could leave the high heels, pretty dresses and perfume at home since there was a strict “no-dating rule”. So I left all of my fancy, nice things at home, thinking I wouldn’t have to impress anyone… (well, well…)

Lots of tears later I flew to San Francisco, California. I was picked up by an American lady and another Swiss intern, who filled me in on all the details including sharks, black widows and poison oak… Well, at least I knew how to avoid death in this new country. I was relieved to find out I would be sharing my room with 3 other Swiss girls. (So much for improving my English) Aside from the girls there were 4 guys living on the church campus as well as a few families. The guys were American and Canadian. I met everyone in the first few days, except for one guy, because he was helping out in the youth camp… Joelle, one of the Swiss interns told me his name was Joshua and that I would probably like him - he was a favorite of everyone. Little did she know how true this statement would become…

A few days later I met Joshua in the hallway and we were introduced. I know what you’re wondering now. Was it love at first sight? Did it feel like I was struck by lightning? Instant wobbly knees? I must disappoint you. He seemed like a nice guy, but that was about it. So how did I fall in love? I can’t really point out a specific occasion where it hit me. There were lots of little things and moments that slowly captured me.

My first experience with Josh that I fully remember was him setting up my computer account for me. He explained a bunch of stuff and I didn’t understand a word. He spoke so fast and maybe a little unclear - I just nodded and did what he showed me to do.

About a week into meeting each other, all the interns walked to the nearby ice cream shop. On the way home I walked next to Joshua and he complimented me on my beautiful eyes. I was very glad the night had already come in so he didn’t see me blushing.

Cooking in the resident kitchen was always a fun experience since everyone was having fun chatting and preparing their own food. Joshua made sure to always step in my way and bother me a little… Aside from the silly annoyance he was really kind and fun with everyone around.

One night we had to take notes in the computer room and after that I looked at some places on Google Maps. Joshua pulled over a chair and joined me and we ended up sharing our travel experiences and looking at fun places we wanted to explore. The hours passed easily and by the end I thought he seemed quite cool. Okay, maybe a little more than cool? Man, where were these nice clothes and high heels when you needed them?!

The other occasion I remembered was working for the church daycare. There was sort of a glass-less indoor window frame looking into the hallway, and as Joshua walked by it, about 4 of the kids ran over to the window and screamed his name, almost falling out because of how excited they were to see Josh. I gotta say that was quite impressive for my maybe already slightly captured heart… Slowly I started hoping to be paired in cleaning groups with him. Or to be standing next to him as we prayed for dinner and held hands. My free time I started to hang out in the kitchen if he was there or to stay in the family room aka TV room when he watched a movie.

During our cleaning days I had proven to be a rather fast and efficient worker. Josh wasn’t quite that, so one of the leaders thought it might be a great idea to pair us up and for me to be teaching him to be faster… We had to clean the staircases (which I hadn’t done before, to be fair) and we had a blast talking together. We might have spent a little too much talking as we ended up being waaaaaay slower than what was expected. That probably gave a hint or two to our leaders about us liking each other…

The only problem was, there was still that dumb “no dating rule” and I was about one month into my internship. We both had to talk to our mentors about our feelings and how it wasn’t quite the right time to be in a relationship. It was quite tricky to figure out how to manage my feelings and time spent, since we saw each other every day. The rule obviously didn’t change my feelings and since everyone knew we liked each other I felt like my every move was being watched. On the plus side that long stretch gave me enough time to think if I really wanted to be in a long-distance relationship. Would it even work? What would it mean?

Time went on and I was nearing my sixth and last month in the US. My feelings remained the same and so did Joshua’s. For the last two weeks he asked our leaders for permission to go on dates with me. He asked me out and on an early Monday morning we went to grab coffee and watch the sunrise at the beach. Now that I am thinking about it I realized that there is no sunrise at the beach in California? Not sure what we watched at the beach. I have a hazy memory of seeing dolphins but I am also not sure if that’s just false memory. Anyways picture us sitting at the beach watching the sunrise and dolphins and sharing our first kiss. And our second and third… it was magical. Eventually we went for a hike in the nearby forest and we talked, talked and talked. Finally we were able to clear all the confusing unclear moments that happened in the last 5 months. The day passed way too quickly and we had to go back home.

Long distance relationship

Just a few days later I departed back to Switzerland. I cried about as much as when I left home six months prior. At home I had one month before I started my job at a hotel in Tessin, the southern part of Switzerland. Josh and I skyped whenever we could and on Feburary 2nd, 2015 we made it official. We were a couple!

During the next few months we skyped for hours and Josh was trying to get a visa to come to Switzerland for six months. Sadly that was denied and he could only come for 3 months. I started teacher school in fall of 2015 and Josh moved to Basel. That was great but also he was still 3 hours away from my home. I guess this would have been the kind of long distance relationship most people are used to. We saw each other every weekend.

After the three months were over, he went back home and we kept visiting during my semester breaks, meaning we saw each other every six months. Saying goodbye was rough for me. I usually was sad and worried a few days prior to departure already. We’ve talked about our future every time we met but I was still in school and couldn’t leave. In December 2017 Josh came over to visit. At that point I had 5 months of school left.

How he proposed

I knew Josh would probably propose during this visit since we’ve talked about our plans for marriage before. (Isn’t it funny that as a kid you always think proposals happen out of nowhere?) Josh and I went to a Christmas market in Konstanz, Germany. His plan was to propose there. The market was so crowded though that he felt like it wasn’t the right place. We went home to eat at a restaurant by Lake Werdenberg. After dinner we walked around the lake and Josh said I had to turn around. When he told me to face him, he dropped something. We went to search for the pieces in the dark and I thought it was a serious accident. But it was all according to the plan. Josh made a dorodango (a Japanese Art form where you mix water and dirt to make a shiny sphere). He let it drop on the ground because there was a note hidden inside. He made me read it and it said: “Hey, I have a question for you!” When I looked up he was on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! He also had the most gorgeous ring for me!! We were so happy!! We knew this was our last goodbye, in summer Josh would come over for good and we would get married.

Our wedding

I finished school in May 2018 and Josh came over in the beginning of June to help me prepare everything. We decided to get married in a large greenhouse and that involved a lot of work on the decor side. A few days before our wedding Joshua’s family and friends arrived. It was a sunny, very hot summer day when we got married. The greenhouse was pretty but it also meant it heated up very quickly (as greenhouses do) and to this day, every guest on our wedding mentions how hot it was. I remember standing up for my vows and feeling the sweat run down my legs… romantic right? Aside from the heat it was an amazing, incredible day! I remember smiling all day because I was so happy. We played lots of fun games one of which even had Joshua milk a cow and shoot an apple from my head! It was an amazing day!

The day after the wedding we moved into our apartment in Zurich and a week later we went on our honeymoon to Porto, Portugal. It was a few very busy weeks and I was so glad we had time to rest in Portugal.

What has happened since? We are still in the same apartment in Zurich. I’ve been working as a teacher for almost 6 years and Josh has been teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We love to travel together and have been able to explore many incredible places. You can also read about a few of the countries we’ve explored including Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Amsterdam, New York, Hawaii and the American Southwest. We love our life together and we are sure all these hours of talking on Skype have helped us to have good communication skills - which is a necessity in every relationship. I am proud of our story and the fact that we’ve survived 3.5 years of long distance and I am so happy to live life with you, Joshua. I love you!

The greatest Adventure yet