Below, I've tried my best to briefly describe how I met my partner, Monika, for the #sevendaysoflove contest.
Our story, like any love story, is hard to put into words. No matter how hard you try, it just isn't possible to combine and organize words in a way that fully captures the feeling of love.
This post will be very brief because the complete story, which is the story of my year and a half long trip, will take months to write and I will, over the next few weeks and months put together dozens of posts about my backpacking.
So, how did we meet? Hitchhiking.
How it all started
I had started traveling one month earlier, and was leaving Amsterdam in a rented car with my friend Lei.
Lei and I are old college friends and were in Europe together at the same time, so we decided to meet, rent a car, and travel together for a bit before we each continued with our own independent backpacking.
I was driving and I made a wrong turn on our way out of Amsterdam and to Copenhagen. I took the exit going south, towards Rotterdam, instead of the one going north towards Copenhagen.
I didn't realize my "mistake" and continued driving for a few seconds until we saw two girls hitchhiking on the side of the road.
Lei and I had an incredible hitchhiking experience together in St. Malo, France, a few weeks earlier when we didn't have a car and vowed to pick up the first hitchhikers we saw to pay it forward. We knew we had to stop as soon as we saw them.
The girls saw us and got in the car.
Monika and I made eye contact and the first second that I saw her, I fell in love. For me, it really was love at first sight. I can't explain it, in words, any other way.
"Where are you girls going?" I asked.
"Rotterdam."
We looked at the map to see where that was on our way north, only to find that it was in the opposite direction. Of course it was, I had taken the wrong road.
"Oh."
We looked at the map again.
"We are going in the complete opposite direction."
The girls turned to each other, without saying anything, then looked back at us, and said "ok...we'll go with you!"
From that second on, there was so much energy and excitement in the car--a crazy road trip started!
We ended up spending 3 incredible days together, and during that time Monika and I had a connection. Those three days were some of the most fun I've ever had. They were pressed for time because they still had to return to Poland, so we said goodbye in Hamburg.
Of course I couldn't get her off my mind and we stayed in contact. We made plans for me to visit her village in Poland.
I didn't know what to expect. Would we have the same energy that we had during the first 3 days that we met? Would we laugh as much? Would every moment be filled with as much of a sense of adventure?
It was even better.
I remember how we still rolled on the floor laughing as hard as we had in Hamburg, sneaking into the castle late at night to get a free tour, time flying by in a way I had never felt before.
Weeks went by, and I continued my trip. We continued to talk and see each other. When I was in Italy, I invited Monika to join me during some of her university vacation days.
An incredibly memorable meal. The restaurant must have found us to be very charismatic (laughter and positivity is contagious, I believe) because they gifted us the entire meal.
We saw each other again in Paris. It was impossible to deny what we felt.
For reasons that I won't get into in this post (another time), our meeting ended in heartbreak. We had to move on, and this meant moving on completely. I couldn't stay together as friends because if we did, it would mean I would be lying about not wanting something more.
Months went by and we didn't talk to or see each other. I still thought about her more than I wanted to admit to myself, but I survived.
After a few months, she messaged me. I told her I was in Turkey. I felt that I had resolved my feelings, and we talked about the possibility of just staying friends. We planned a trip for her to visit me in Istanbul.
We hitchhiked together around the country for a few weeks.
We tried to stay friends, but we couldn't. We realized that, despite the fact that we were separated for months, we always were pulled back together. Why keep trying to push away something that felt so natural for the both of us?
I went off to Lebanon for two weeks and then organized a trip to meet again.
Poland, Germany, and then Spain to help set up her move there.
More of the same craziness we had always had. No plans, just hitchhiking and camping.
Here's a picture of us camping in a park in the middle of Berlin. What a trip.
We are always up to some mischief. To this day, the hardest I've ever laughed has always been with her. Here we are during one of the funniest (and most embarassing) moments I've had, startling all of Leipzip by walking a (stolen) shopping cart through it's cobblestone streets.
"Pardon us" as we try not to interrupt a street orchestra performing to a totally silent crowd of perhaps 100 people.
And more hitchhiking.
Recently, Monika came to the United States for the first time. I wanted to show her everything that is important to me. I took her to my city of birth--New York City--and then where I currently live in Florida. It was another unforgettable trip.
It hasn't been easy. But we love each other and work hard every day to improve as individuals, and partners.
From the first second I met her, I saw the strong, and courageous woman that I know she is. It's one of her best qualities.
I leave tomorrow to fly to Amsterdam, where we will meet and celebrate Valentine's together in the city that we met.
There are a lot of unknowns in life, we handle it one day at a time, like everything else in life, but one thing I know for sure: I love this chick.
Our story so far is just the beginning.