Ho Chi Minh City - When the question "Is this the girl of my life?" rang in his head, Jason decided to leave everything in America, come to Vietnam and start over from zero.
Pak Jason and Hoang Kieu Anh first met on the lecture hall of the University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 2016. The Korean-American boy was immediately impressed by the Vietnamese girl who was writing attentively, unlike most of the 150 freshmen in the class.
They met a few more times through mutual friends, but it wasn’t until three years later, in September 2019, that they had the chance to sit down next to each other and actually talk. Jason said it was the first time he had ever felt so compatible with someone.
"After that night, we both had very good impressions of each other, but because we were too busy studying, we both got carried away," said Jason, 24 years old.
Eight months later, they met again on a group trip to New York before the start of their senior year. During the trip, Kieu Anh and Jason talked nonstop.
"Our energies are quite compatible, when she is like the shining sun; I am as calm as the peaceful moon, so when we are together we always feel balanced," the guy shared.
Jason and Kieu Anh when they first fell in love in 2019. Photo: Character provided
Kieu Anh clearly felt that she had feelings for the guy when he suddenly announced that his mother wanted to invite the whole group to dinner. Not long after, Jason's mother and sister appeared together, making the Vietnamese girl nervous as if she was "meeting her husband's family". Jason's two relatives also quickly discovered "something shady" between their son and Kieu Anh.
Both of them maintained a state of "love inside but shy on the outside" until one day while studying, they suddenly started talking about each other. Both of them wanted to define this relationship and set boundaries to make it healthy and sustainable, and finally decided to officially fall in love.
The beginning of their love was filled with roses. During the week, the couple would go to school together, study in the library, and go out on the weekends. "We wanted to write down as many memories of our student love as possible before facing the pressures of life after graduation," Kieu Anh said.
But Covid-19 caused their college lives to end early. During spring break 2020, they received notice that the school was closing and switching to online learning. Not knowing what the epidemic situation was, Kieu Anh decided to temporarily return to her boyfriend's hometown in California.
Covid-19 became a global pandemic. A college degree was sent to Jason's house, and the young couple was locked in four walls. They had a life of adventure, but now they are confined to their home and have to learn to live with the pandemic. Being together in a small space with a repetitive schedule makes them conflict and argue, but thanks to that, they also learn that "the language of love includes understanding and compassion".
By the time they had learned how to live happily together, Kieu Anh's visa expired, the company she was working for cut staff. The companies that had promised her a job position earlier withdrew their job offers. The girl returned to Vietnam.
"Before, I would have been very worried when we each went our separate ways, but Jason gave me the peace of mind that we would soon be reunited," the girl said.
Kieu Anh and Jason's wedding ceremony impressed with a wedding gate filled with colorful flowers, March 2023. Photo: Hukstudio
The couple learned to love from a distance. Twice a day, at midnight in Vietnam and midnight in the US, they connected on the phone to chat. As soon as Kieu Anh was released from quarantine, Jason decided to go to Vietnam.
In mid-2021, the US allowed social integration but it was the peak of the epidemic in Vietnam. Kieu Anh could not return to the US or travel, but Jason could come here to work if he found a suitable job. The young man found a marketing position at a technology company but it took him half a year with many flights between San Francisco and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Washington DC.
The American man arrived in his girlfriend's homeland in mid-November 2021 after a 20-hour flight and multiple Covid-19 tests, before returning to a hotel to quarantine. Because her boyfriend was jet-lagged, Kieu Anh usually arrived at noon. The couple exchanged loving glances from a distance of 10 floors.
During this time, the girl from Hanoi also looked for a house and decorated their living space. The day he was released from quarantine, she was busy cooking Korean dishes all day. Jason anxiously waited for the medical staff to take him to Kieu Anh and test him for Covid-19 one last time. Only then did they get to share a kiss to make up for all the longing.
Jason confessed that life was difficult at first, not because of the language barrier but because he didn't know where he was going. Here, apart from his girlfriend, he didn't know anyone. Many times, seeing her trying to fit in, he felt "like a burden".
Loving her, he was determined to quickly integrate. After only one week in Vietnam, he decided to take a driving test to conveniently drive his girlfriend because she did not know how to drive, although he was afraid of Vietnamese traffic. At first, he was not used to it, and sometimes he confused Vietnamese laws with American driving laws. "Not knowing the language, I did not understand the signs. Once I was stopped by a traffic police because I was going the wrong way," the young man said.
Jason went to work during the day and studied Vietnamese at night. A few months later, he followed her to Ho Chi Minh City, because Kieu Anh thought this city would be more suitable for them. Jason said that, as Kieu Anh had said at first, Vietnam had many opportunities for career development. After more than a year working in an IT company, he moved to the more interesting and promising blockchain field. Working remotely and having a group of close friends, both Vietnamese and foreign, made his life even more interesting.
In March 2023, the couple decided to hold a wedding ceremony. The bride and groom's family and friends from many countries flew to Vietnam to celebrate. On the wedding day, they exchanged specially designed rings: the shape of a corona.
The bride shared that her dream day had finally come true. Her love was not just pure attraction but also an unbeatable connection in all circumstances. One of them was the 7,649 miles Jason traveled to be with her.
"I think it was a very brave decision, also a big sacrifice for love, especially for a guy born in America who knows nothing about Vietnam," Kieu Anh said.
The bride and groom exchange vows and share their sister's words at their wedding in June 2023. Photo: Hukstudio
In his vows, the groom said that thanks to the love of the Vietnamese girl, he found confidence. She showed him tolerance and appreciation for what he had during a year of isolation together. And she, along with her family and friends, opened the door to welcome him, helping him become a complete person.
"All along the way, you have given me the world and now it's my turn to give you 10 times more," the groom confided.
The groom's sister, a literature graduate in the US, shared that she has read all the famous love stories but she believes that nothing can compare to the story that Jason and Kieu Anh are writing together.
"What could be more perfect: Boy meets girl. They fall in love and together build a wonderful past, present and future," the older sister said.
Phan Duong - Vnexpress.net
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