One Year Together

Life is pretty magical, isn’t it? I wouldn’t consider to myself to be a religious person at all, but I like the ideas of fate and destiny, and I believe things will usually work out the way they are supposed to, and often even good things can come out of bad things. The probability of certain things happening can be so very small that when they do happen, I wonder to myself if it was meant to be.

That’s kind of how I feel about my boyfriend. If you think about it, the likelihood of us meeting was so very small, it’s a wonder that it worked the way it did, and furthermore, that we connected in such a good way. Think about it…What are the chances that I would become so interested in Japanese culture that I abandon my decision to major in architecture and study Japanese, then choose to uproot my whole life and move to Japan (not to mention that I was selected to go out of thousands of people around the world)? I get randomly placed in a quiet suburb of Osaka. I am introduced to a bar near my new home that I like. After two years of going there regularly, it just so happened that I saw someone there who caught my attention. The funny thing is that he had also been going to that bar regularly for two years. We had always just barely missed each other. I’d leave a little after midnight, and he’d arrive around 1:00. What is the chance that a boy with no interest whatsoever in foreign languages, traveling abroad, or American culture would hit it off with someone so different from himself? Well the thing is, Shinya and I, we aren’t so different after all.

I have never met anyone with a temperament so similar to mine. I didn’t even know it was possible to be with someone so effortlessly. I thought arguments, fighting, crying, and anger were all parts of a normal relationship. I feel stupid for thinking that now. It could be that I have simply matured as a person since then and don’t let things upset as much as I used to. A friend recently told me, love doesn’t mean someone who is the same as you, has the same upbringing, the same hobbies and interests, the same beliefs even. Love is between two people who support each other, who care for each other, who make a good team.

I’m not naïve. I cannot say where my relationship with Shinya is headed for certain, but I can say that what I have with him is different from anything else I’ve experienced. There is a high level of respect between us. We are always kind to each other and try to understand each other’s ideas, opinions, and thoughts when they aren’t the same. He being Japanese and me American means that we were raised with different values and ways of thinking about different things. It just means that we have to be open and understanding. We are never hostile towards each other, and have never raised our voices or fought once. We have discussions and try our best to see things through each other’s eyes. If one of us does something unintentionally to make the other upset, we are quick to apologize. We have gotten past the point of easily breaking up. I was actually surprised to hear from Shinya that if my face was mauled in an accident, and I looked like a mutant, he’d still stay with me haha! Yes, we had that discussion recently.

What I’m trying to say is that I feel good. I feel happy. I feel confident. I feel content with him by my side. Being with him is always fun and conversation flows so naturally (when I’m not fumbling over my Japanese that is lol). Shinya is patient with me. He is kind. He is caring. I feel like we can get through anything. A short year has passed together. I know that this is the time when challenges start to arise. I’m anxious to see where it goes. Seriously dating someone from a country that is not your own poses a whole new set of challenges in addition to the ones regular couples have. I get nervous thinking about forging a life in this country and worry about if I can make it through, but if it is meant to be and fate is in control, we will be able to get through all the obstacles ahead. If I can get through the pain of missing my country and being away from my family, it will be because Shinya was the one helping me. We shall see! In the meantime, please enjoy this short story about our one year anniversary date!

Technically our one year anniversary was on May 18^th, but I was in America during that time, so we celebrated when I got back. Shinya took me to a nice Italian restaurant he had found, and it was really good and had a friendly atmosphere. We could talk easily in a lighthearted manner. After that, we went to one of our favorite, romantic bars in the area. It was the same one he had taken me to for my birthday where he gave me beautiful earrings. I’m wearing them right now (hehe). After that, we were feeling like a livelier atmosphere, so I took him to the HUB for his first time. Not exactly a romantic place, but it was the kind of atmosphere we were seeking. Of course, on the way home, we had to stop for a last drink at our local bar where we first met. It was only appropriate. When we got home, I gave him an album of memories from our first year together. A great way to end the night. We sat for a while looking through the pictures and reminiscing about all the fun times we had.

Mussels in a garlic-tomato sauce.

Carpaccio.

Margarita pizza.

One year together. :)

We wanted to do purikura on our one year date, but we
forgot, so we instead did it on the next date. We decided
to do purikura together once a year.