The Couple
It seems like ages ago that Peter & Daisy first met. Both were somewhat new to the business world -- Peter being on only his fourth month, and Daisy nearing her first year -- and they both felt a bit surrounded by strangers. Peter was on his first business trip, to Hong Kong and then to Hangzhou, where he and his few fellow travelers were fortunate enough to have a beautiful young girl to translate. Daisy thought Peter was a typical IT guy, with long goofy hair and three pens in his breast pocket, but that didn't stop him from spending quite a bit of time with Daisy, leaving the others without a translator.
Like their friends Benjamin & Keri, Peter & Daisy were brought together in part by their shared appreciation for the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To this day, Peter is amazed that the world is small enough that he found a beautiful girl, about his age, on the other side of the planet, who loves such a silly show as much as he does. It was from talking about Buffy and dragon fruit that gave Peter the courage to ask her on a date to West Lake, where they got noodles on Hefang Street and melted sugar in the shape of a monkey. (Peter pronounced it wrong, mistakingly calling it a beard.)
They had to say goodbye after only the first week, but they made sure to keep in touch while he was in Chicago for Christmas, and by the time they were together again, it was like they'd been in love for years. Still weary of cultural insensitivities, though, they moved slowly, until their first real date. Again, they went for noodles on Hefang Street, and then for a long walk by the lake. On a bench they sat, and Daisy said, in perfect American English, "I think I like you more than a friend."
Since then, they've had ups and downs, but for three years, have always been happiest when they're together. They've been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time traveling -- Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, San Francisco, Colorado Springs, Chicago, Houston, among others -- something they both love to do.
The company they work for has been very supportive of their relationship, and are even helping them migrate to America, where they will be married in late 2011. Though they both call Hangzhou home, they'll be saying goodbye to what the Chinese call paradise on Earth, and moving to Houston, Texas, in the earlier part of 2011, where Daisy will get her CPA while Peter develops customizations for the company's ERP system. And because they will both be American residents, they will of course visit all of their friends all over the United States!