愛(ài)情無(wú)國(guó)界

I’ll never forget when I first saw the picture of my future wife， Zhao Nan， online. I was sitting alone， in my Guangzhou home， considering leaving China forever， when suddenly I got a message from a stranger looking to improve her English through online correspondence. I thought nothing of it， until I clicked on her photo， and all at once I was completely entranced. She was sat at a desk， at a school in north China， her adorable face framed perfectly by her shoulder length， chestnut brown hair. I knew， right then， that I had to get to know this girl， if it was the last thing I did.

After a few months of deep conversations （and not-so-subtle flirtations）， revealing our respective life stories， I’d already fallen madly in love， though we hadn’t even met in person yet. When she eventually came to Guangzhou， and we met face to face， I soon realized that this was， indeed， my soul mate. After a year of courtship， and two of engagement， we finally tied the knot last February.

There have been moments of uneasiness， of course； meeting each other’s family and friends， and learning to respect the other’s culture. But these have been， without a doubt， the happiest years of my life.

In this month’s first feature， In China， Mixed Marriages Can Be a Labor of Love， we see the struggles that AfricanChinese couples face， even in a modern metropolitan city like Guangzhou. In Double Happiness： Cross-Cultural Wedding Plans， two people， from two very different cultures， find common ground over a simple cup of coffee. And in My Chinese Wife： DNA Envy and the Dinner Conversation， we find out what one Chinese wife thinks are the ideal features in a foreign husband.

So， I guess it’s comforting to know that no matter the couple， no matter the color， no matter the culture， it seems love， against all odds， somehow finds a way. Lucky me！

我永遠(yuǎn)都忘不了當(dāng)我在網(wǎng)上第一眼看到我未來(lái)妻子趙楠照片時(shí)的情景。那天我獨(dú)自一人坐在我廣州的家中，考慮著要永遠(yuǎn)離開(kāi)中國(guó)，突然，我收到一條來(lái)自陌生人的信息，對(duì)方期待通過(guò)線(xiàn)上通信來(lái)提高自己的英語(yǔ)水平。我根本就沒(méi)把這事兒放在心上，直到我點(diǎn)開(kāi)她的照片，我立刻被迷得七葷八素。她坐在一張桌子后，在中國(guó)北方的一所學(xué)校里，她可愛(ài)的臉蛋完美地被其栗褐色的及肩秀發(fā)鑲嵌著。就在那時(shí)，我知道，如果那是我能做的最后一件事，那就是我必須得去認(rèn)識(shí)這個(gè)女孩。

經(jīng)過(guò)幾個(gè)月的深入交談（和不甚掩飾的挑逗）之后，我們坦露了各自的生活故事，我已經(jīng)瘋狂地墜入了愛(ài)河，盡管我們甚至還沒(méi)有彼此見(jiàn)過(guò)本尊。當(dāng)她終于來(lái)到廣州的時(shí)候，我們面對(duì)面地相見(jiàn)了，我很快便意識(shí)到她，千真萬(wàn)確，就是我的靈魂伴侶。經(jīng)過(guò)戀愛(ài)一年、訂婚兩年之后，去年二月我們終于喜結(jié)連理。

當(dāng)然，也曾有過(guò)一些不安的時(shí)刻；面見(jiàn)彼此的家人和朋友，并學(xué)著尊重對(duì)方的文化。但毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，這是我生命中最幸福的幾年。

在這個(gè)月的第一篇主題文章《為你，心甘情愿》中，我們看到中非夫妻檔所面臨的困難，即使是在一個(gè)像廣州那樣的現(xiàn)代化大都市中也不例外。在《雙喜臨門(mén)：異國(guó)的完美生活》一文中，兩個(gè)文化背景迥異的人，在簡(jiǎn)單的一杯咖啡過(guò)后，找到了共同點(diǎn)。在《我的中國(guó)妻子有點(diǎn)“2”》一文中，我們能發(fā)現(xiàn)在一位中國(guó)妻子眼中，一位外國(guó)丈夫最理想的特點(diǎn)是什么。

所以，我想這是令人欣慰的，因?yàn)槲抑啦徽撃菍?duì)夫婦是誰(shuí)，不論其屬于哪個(gè)種族、不論其來(lái)自于哪種文化背景，盡管困難重重，但似乎愛(ài)情總能找到一條出路。我太幸運(yùn)了！