See you later alligator!

I met Ryan nine months ago. Ben, his room mate and my co-worker, had taken both Mikka and I on the back of his motorbike to his house so we could pick up Ryan and head to some weird Russian restaurant. From their house Mikka rode on the back of Ben’s motorbike, and I rode with Ryan.

We chatted a bit while at the restaurant, but it wasn’t until a week later when we met again, at Chim Sao restaurant, that we really got to talking. I told him that I needed to learn how to ride a motorbike and he so graciously offered to teach me.

The next day Mikka and I met Ryan for lunch and that afternoon Ryan and I drove around and he taught me how to ride a motorbike. In the evening we went to the guy who he rented his bike from and picked one up for myself. A few weeks later we started dating and the rest is history.

We’ve gone on so many adventures together around Hanoi, in Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. He’s been my partner in crime.

This afternoon we took a taxi to the airport to say goodbye because Ryan is returning to the US to continue on his own adventures. We will see each other again in the Summer, but it was still very difficult to let go because he’s been such an integral part of Vietnam for me and I’m going to miss him tremendously.

As I was returning to the city from the airport, blotting my eyes and blowing my nose, I couldn’t help but remember the first time I took this trip when I arrived in Vietnam last May. I had no idea what was in store for me in my new place and I certainly didn't expect to fall in love with some guy from Colorado. Even though from the very beginning Ryan and I knew that our relationship would hit this crossroad and we knew it would suck I still would have never changed a thing about these past nine months and I'm grateful to have been able to spend this much time in Vietnam together.

If I could I would make a video documenting our time together, but my six-year old laptop doesn’t have the technological capabilities to do so. If I could make a video, I may have a song playing in the background…probably “I’ll be here in the morning” by Townes Van Zandt, or "You're gonna make me lonesome when you go" by Bob Dylan. In my video I would most likely use these pictures:

I love you Ryan and I'm missing you!