Cross-border Romances: When Love Knows No Distance

Distance is not for the faint of heart

Tran Tuan Anh, his wife, Brizaida Hastie Gonzalez, and their three children are living in Room 2308, R1 building, Sunshine Riverside apartment building, Phu Thuong, Tay Ho, Hanoi.

In their wedding photo album, which has been preserved for more than ten years, there are still love letters they sent each other from the time they dated. According to Tuan Anh, he and Brizaida knew each other when he majored in medicine at the Medical University of Havana, Republic of Cuba. They have fallen in love with each other since their college days and got married when having nothing.

On their wedding day, they were lent a convertible car by a Cuban friend to run around the city to take photos. He also lent a house on a beach to make a groom’s house and his Vietnamese friends who are studying in Cuba decorated their weddings.

Tran Tuan Anh's family. (Photo: KT)

Because of having children while they were still studying master, with a subsidy of more than USD$100 per month, in 2013, Tuan Anh had to sell his house for USD$4,000 to bring his wife and their children back to Vietnam. Along with the money collected, his family's journey to Vietnam came true in September 2013.

When in Vietnam, Tuan Anh's family rented a 25 m2 room without an air conditioner and then applied for a job. With specialized knowledge and high skills, Tuan Anh and his wife were accepted to work at many major domestic beauty salons.

After experiencing a process of study and long-term research in both domestic and international universities. along with the trust and support of customers, Tuan Anh decided to build his own plastic surgery company in April 2020.

“After experiencing many emotions, and differences in culture and language, Brizaida and I have never thought that happiness must be becoming old together. We think that happiness can only be moments of one night, one day, or ten years. The future is unpredictable. Therefore, happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love and gratitude,” shared Tuan Anh.

The secret to happiness of the Vietnamese - Israeli Couple

Thirty years ago, Pham Hong Anh and Yosi Torgeman, an Israeli had a chance to meet each other when Yosi represented an Israeli company to come to Vietnam for cooperating with a local gemstone company. From colleagues, they gradually became close friends. Four years later, they were married and had their first baby girl.

“On that day, due to fearing that I would marry a Westen person, my father posed many challenges to Yosi Torgeman. He asked Yosi to return to Israel to obtain a certificate of non-criminal and still single. After only ten days, he was able to present these documents to his future father-in-law. My father also said that a wedding with a Western person would pose difficulties in inviting friends and colleagues to come, but when the wedding took place, friends were present in large numbers to congratulate my family,” said Hong Anh.

At the end of 1997, her family went to Israel to handle Yosi's business. Initially, they planned to stay in Israel for as long as six months but then delayed it to four years. Their business developed smoothly and they had two more children, so Hong Anh and her husband decided to settle permanently in Yosi's hometown, Israel.

Hong Anh and her Israeli husband. (Photo: KT)

In Israel, Hong Anh has to take care of their children alone when Yosi goes to work. Being introverted, she rarely confided to her husband's family about her homesickness and the difficulties of being a wife and mother.

“I met my in-laws before the wedding and quickly got along with them. However, when I came to Israel, the customs and culture here are different from place to place and my language is not fluent, so it was more difficult for me to share the difficulties. It took a few years for me to get used to the Israeli lifestyle and culture," shared Hong Anh.

Besides cultural differences, Hong Anh said that the Vietnamese and Israelis also shared many things in common, especially family respect attitudes. Israelis are as friendly as Vietnamese, so it is also a basis for her and her husband to love each other at first and decide to get married.

Every year, Hong Anh returns to Vietnam two or three times to visit her relatives. Now, she and her husband work together at a construction company near Be’er Sheva, southern Israel.

"Having been together for 30 years, the secret to my family's happiness is that husband and wife respect each other," said Hong Anh.

Ukrainian woman falls in love with a Vietnamese man

Phan Vu Son, living in Hanoi married Sophia, a Ukrainian woman. Previously, the two lived and worked in Ukraine and just returned to Vietnam to settle down for more than four years.

Talking about his love story, Son said he was born and raised in Ukraine. While studying at a diplomatic university, he was acquainted with Sofia, an attractive Ukrainian girl by chance. Sofia studied at the same school as him but different faculty.

To become a married couple, Son and Sofia have to go through many difficulties. Not long after dating, he had to study abroad for a master's degree in Germany. After that, Sofia also went to Vietnam to study for a master's degree. The two families do not support their love because of differences in customs and the long distance. However, with true love, they overcame all prejudice.

After four years of love, Son and Sofia got married after they both completed their master's degrees. Their wedding was held in both Kyiv and Vietnam.

(Photo: thanhnien.vn)

Sofia easily adapts to the life and culture of Vietnam. However, some things are still very surprising for her. For example, in Vietnam, before having a meal, children have to invite their grandparents and parents to eat, but in her country, there is no such habit. Sofia was quite surprised at first but she tried to learn those customs, so she quickly fitted in the Vietnamese lifestyle and habits.

After realizing Vietnam's rich and delicious cuisine, Sofia is determined to practice her cooking skills. Therefore, the Ukrainian girl won the heart of her in-laws when she fulfilled the responsibilities of a daughter-in-law. Every Lunar New Year, she confidently cooks Vietnamese traditional dishes such as spring rolls, bamboo shoot soup, etc.

Son always spends time taking care of his wife from the smallest things. When the two welcomed their first daughter, Alice, he helped his wife take care of the children and do housework. Son also cooks Ukrainian dishes to help his wife ease her homesickness.

A love story of a Vietnamese - Nigerian couple

Le Thu Phuong (Hanoi) and Cee Jay (Nigerian) first met in March 2018 when Cee Jay was walking in Hoan Kiem Lake. He said a few jokes to the two young girls he met and one of the two girls suddenly responded to him in English. That made him pay more attention and the two talked more after that.

Two days after, Cee Jay decided to meet her again and love blossomed between the two. At that time, his job and his income were unstable. As for Thu Phuong, she was born in Hanoi. Her mother passed away, so Phuong supported her father to take care of her siblings.

Having known that Phuong loved Cee Jay, her friends, and families were all surprised and did not know the reasons why a beautiful and talented person like Phuong would love a black and poor guy. When Cee Jay visited her house for the first time, Phuong's father asked him directly: "Can you make money to support your wife and your children?"

Cee Jay did not immediately answer his future father-in-law's question but proved it with actions. He has developed a media career, worked as an English teacher, and created a YouTube channel. Gradually, Phuong's father was touched by the sincerity of Cee Jay for his daughter, so he agreed that her daughter could get married to Cee Jay.

Cee Jay and Thu Phuong wedding. (Photo: KT)

Their love faced many difficulties when Cee Jay twice asked to break up. For the first time, his work locked in a stalemate and he only had VND20000 (~US$1). The second time, his company went bankrupt, he once again fell into trouble. He was determined to cut off contact with Phuong and blocked phone numbers and Facebook.

The day Cee Jay returned to his hometown, he could not afford a plane ticket. Phuong knew the story, so she took cash to support Cee Jay. By fate, the day Cee Jay returned to Vietnam, they decided to get back together.

"When I had nothing and my life was at its worst, I let her find another happiness, but Phuong was still waiting for me and taking me through the crisis," shared Cee Jay.

After more than two years of marriage and having a daughter, the couple held their wedding in early October 2020, on a 5-star cruise on Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province.

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