I went to Nicaragua to study abroad for a semester with the School for International Training in the fall of 2007. Luis lived right next to the student center, where we met. We were together through the semester, my family came to visit and met him and his family. On Christmas day I returned to the US. We spent some months trying to make it work, but ultimately we felt that we had to give each other time to finish up at our Universities, and if we were meant to be together we would find each other again.
Less than 6 months later, I called him because I missed having him in my life. And we began our relationship again. I went back to visit for a month the following winter and decided that following my graduation from school I would move to Nicaragua to live and make a life. Which is exactly what I did.
Summer of 2009 marked the beginning of our time living together in Managua. We learned so much in that time. But, as much as I adore Nicaragua and its people, the daily trials of living in Managua coupled with the difficulty of finding a job in my field caused me to return to the United States.
We continued our long distance relationship, and Luis obtained a visitor's visa to meet the rest of my family and friends in October of 2010. He came and it became clear that we both wanted to continue our lives together in Vermont. He returned and we looked into our options.
March of 2011, I returned to Nicaragua to visit, where Luis proposed! Now we are just working our way through this complicated maze of the K-1 Visa application.
