I met Rudi my sophmore year of college. He is from South Africa, on a student visa to go to the University of Tampa (where we met). I knew this was going to be no normal relationship from the start. What I didn’t know was we would end up traveling to 7 different countries in the next year just to see each other and to satisfy our passion (more like obsession) for traveling.

I am from New Jersey, but born in Belarus, and my junior year I had to move back to New Jersey because of family issues, so we had to do the dreadful long distance relationship. Rudi has been to 19 countries, and I have been to 11. We flew to see each other every month, and soon every paycheck of mine was going for plane tickets. We would meet in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Mexico. In the summer, when he had to leave the country (since he is only allowed to be here to study), I would go with him to his Dad’s house in Austria, and we would travel from there to England, France, Holland and Italy. We like to push each other forward and make the best of our time together. Plus, it’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with. I love traveling with him for there is no one else in the world I’d rather see everything with for the first time.

Neither of us has ever been to Australia, but I was planning on studying abroad there (at James Cook University) my sophomore year of college (Ironically since my Dad wouldn’t allow me to study in South Africa). I never ended up going but it was fortunate at the time for I wouldn’t have met Rudi.

For my Senior year, I transferred back down to Florida, where I am now living with Rudi and have just gotten back from an incredible trip to his home in South Africa. Our relationship couldn’t be stronger, and I am now looking for a job to make our next adventure possible.