It is not always a glamorous story of how couples meet and courtship centuries ago may not have commercialized on spending a few doughs on roses and champagne but there was still love nevertheless. My grandfather had met my grandmother far away from home. He was German and she was Thai. He was a soldier, during the Vietnam War based in Thailand where he met a foolish girl, my grandma. It was not love at first sight, but an admiration of a fun bubbly girl. Germans are known for their love of beer and my grandpa showed it in the best ways by drinking beer at a German restaurant near the base. There he met my grandma, who (somewhat inappropriately) made fun of this white man with his huge glass of beer. Not sure why that was funny, since he after all spent the rest of his life doing that very same thing. Maybe, he thought that it was what made an impression on her. There was some spark, courtship but then he had to return to Germany. He left my grandmother a promise ring and exchanged address to send each other letters. He did write to her but she couldn’t read it.
Luckily, she was a smart, bold lady for her circumstances. Being Asian and a woman, she was brave enough to randomly talk to strangers and go about on her own. With that letter, she found someone to help her read. He was returning, it says. Being that time has passed; both did not really remember each other’s faces. Remember: photos were not that easy to make back then. He came to the same restaurant where both were hoping to find each other. And with the help of the ring, thank god, they found each other, got married and she moved with him to Germany.
My grandfather was a kindness man I’ve ever known. Didn’t probably know what he was getting himself into, he took on three children of my grandma which included my mother. They all moved to Germany to the town where Asians were like an endangered species. Either ways, it is now her home and a part of mine to. Thank you grandpa for teaching us humility, kindness and faith in love. ❤
Dedicated to the loving memories of my grandfather, with love
