How Covid-19 saved my Long Distance Relationship
This LDR Story begins in March 2020.
The world is in the grip of a global epidemic. Covid-19 is spreading at an astonishing rate
Much too fast to anticipate.
Countries are closing their borders one after the other.
More than 160 countries in the world have completely or partially banned the entry of foreigners on their territory.
It is a total chaos:
The rules of each country change every day and the information circulates badly (when it is not false)
All couples in long-distance relationships are worried:
- Those who have not yet met physically
- Couples who had bought their plane ticket and had to cancel everything
- LDR couples who were together when it all started, and had to be rushed back to their country (spoiler alert: I’m in this category).
The worst part?
No one how long this will last, and that brings two issues to the table:
LDR couples need to plan ahead and always have the date of their next reunion in mind
This is crucial to the couple’s well-being. At least know this date within a few weeks.
Why?
Because distance is only a stage in a LDR story. It is an inevitability. It is something that will inevitably end. I don’t know of any couple that wants to stay apart for life!
While playing the LDR game Truth or Dare, I asked Kyomi the question N°5:
« If I told you that I wanted our relationship to stay long distance forever (seeing each other at regular intervals, a few times a year), could you accept it? »
She answered me in less than a second: « Impossible ». And I agree with her.
It’s like in school, when you’re in math class and you’re bored to death. What keeps us going is knowing when the class is over. That there are only 5 minutes left. If we don’t have this information, hello to the teacher’s remarks and yawns!
Hugging your partner, feeling the warmth of his hands on your cheeks when he puts his lips on your forehead, is the consecration of all your efforts
It’s what reminds you why you decided to start a long distance relationship.
Why you make the sacrifices that 90% (if not 100%) of your friends couldn’t.
It’s the ultimate reward after months of effort.
It’s the big school break after a hard year of studying.
Taking away the reason for all our efforts is devastating. Horrible.
« Hey, you’re going to keep putting in the time and effort to make your relationship work, but no one knows when it will pay off. In the meantime, keep going. »
And to drive the point home, love is not seen as an exceptional reason to travel. The whole world thinks that we travel for tourist reasons.
Hard to keep hope alive, isn’t it?
Almost impossible if you’re not prepared.
Yet Covid-19 helped my couple survive the distance.
In a way, it even saved it.
That’s what I’m going to explain to you now. To do this, you need to understand how we built our relationship. Are you ready for this LDR Story #1?
Then let’s take a little leap in time.
Our relationship before covid (December 2019 — March 2020)
Meeting and heated discussions : the beginning of our LDR story
Here’s a quick look at how Kyomi and I met.
It is essential to know our state of mind to understand this LDR Story.
- I was finishing my studies in September 2020. One of my dreams for the past few years was to take a trip to a part of the world for several months, alone.
- I wasn’t sure yet where to go: Latin America or South Asia
- To prepare my trip, I downloaded a language exchange application (Tandem) to talk with native speakers and help me choose a destination.
- I came across Kyomi’s profile after several weeks on the application.
From her side, here is how it went:
- Like me, she had travel desires (and was a little bored).
- She also wanted to learn a new language, or at least learn more about a European country.
- So she downloaded this language exchange application by searching on the Play Store. So much for mixing business with pleasure!
- She discovered my profile after 3 days
Tandem is an excellent application to improve your language skills. The people are caring, altruistic and open-minded.
If your partner is not jealous and you want to improve your level, I advise you to download it to improve your level.
But let’s get back to this LDR Story.
I’d like to ask you a question, for couples who met through the Internet:
When you met your partner, how much time did you spend talking to each other the first three days?
Hours, I imagine. I’m sure you can’t even count them.
For us, it was from morning to night. It’s like my hand is merging with my phone!
It was like an instantaneous feeling. It’s impossible to put it into words. You have to live it to know what I’m talking about.
That’s why most people don’t understand people in long-distance relationships.
You have to experience it at least once to understand our point of view. Otherwise, it’s like convincing a vegetarian to eat chicken and French fries.
We started talking a little before the Christmas holidays. It was a good way to learn about the cultural differences between us, our families and our countries. It was absolutely incredible.
By the way, I open the debate:
Do you open your presents at midnight or do you wait until the next morning?
We quickly made our first video call. I’ll say within a week, but we don’t remember very well.
It was a pretty strange moment for me:
- I was definitely not used to doing video calls. Maybe one every year to tell you!
- It was my very first one with someone I had never seen in real life
- I have always been very careful about what I share on social media and the internet in general. It was really out of my comfort zone to make that first call.
- I didn’t speak my native language, so it made it difficult
But I did it anyway.
I’m not going to hide it from you: it was pretty embarrassing. Maybe even a little ridiculous.
The second one was a little less ridiculous.
The third one was a little less so.
Then it became a habit.
During one of our discussions, we wondered if we were making it official. We were both couples that idea.
Would you like to read the rest of my story?
You can find it on my blog. You can access it by clicking right here!
