Let’s start where it really all began…
At age 16 Andrya decided she really wanted to learn Spanish, so she moved to Colombia for eleven months, and eventually gained a proficiency in the language. This one decision would go on to shape the trajectory of her entire life.
Skipping forward now to the Summer of 2020, and the world is in lockdown. Andrya’s senior year of high school had ended rather disappointingly, but there was an opportunity to spend a few months volunteering as an extracurricular activity teacher at Rancho de Los Niños in a little pueblo called El Porvenir in rural Mexico. Andrya really had nothing better to do, what with the pandemic and all, so she took the dive and went off to Baja California to volunteer at the orphanage. Little did she know that she’d be coming back with far more than she expected..
Jesus had also just graduated high school, and similarly to Andrya, it was rather underwhelming. Jesus had grown up at Rancho with his sister, and there he was again--now stuck amongst a pandemic with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Luckily for him there was this group of American volunteers that were about to make life very interesting.
From here on out, and for the sake of this story, we’re going to call Jesus ‘Chuy’ which is the name he actually goes by. It’s a Mexican thing, look it up if you’re not familiar.
The first interaction between Chuy and Andrya did not go too smoothly…
Andrya exasperatedly told Chuy that she couldn’t understand a word of his Spanish because he mumbled so much, and Chuy thought that she was full of it. (Andrya was right, he still mumbles but now she’s just used to it.) Luckily for them, things got much better from there. Since Andrya was one of the few volunteers who spoke Spanish, she was often communicating for the group and interacted quite a bit with those she was translating for. Andrya and Chuy were drawn to each other and quickly became close friends, despite Chuy wanting things to be a bit more than platonic. His secret weapon was owning a big car, and lo and behold, the volunteers had places they needed to be and no other ways to get there. Whether it was trips to the grocery store or just hanging out on the swings, Andrya and Chuy were spending hours together day in and day out. Andrya even convinced him to attend the hip hop dance classes that she gave to entertain the littles. After a month of late night bonfires and taco runs, the two of them mutually began to realize there might be something deeper to their friendship.
It was the middle of the night under the gazebo when they had their first kiss. It’s worth mentioning that this was Andrya’s first kiss, ever, and she was far less nervous than Chuy was. From then on they would sneak out just to have some time alone together under the cover of darkness. After inevitably getting found out, there was a whole lot of drama (their fling was very much not allowed) but it all came to a head when Andrya eventually had to return home to Utah. Their forbidden love would probably fade into memory, and just turn into a wild story of “that one boy I kissed when I was in Mexico during covid”. At least, that’s what they thought would happen.
But then they just kept talking…
For two months.
Andrya went back during her fall break from school to surprise Chuy on his birthday. They spent a whole week together--finally free from orphanage rules and volunteer handbooks--and filled every day with as many memories as they could muster. At the end of the week, Chuy surprised Andrya with a box of roses and a bracelet (oh right and a giant balloon that said “Would you like to be my girlfriend?) and they made it official. It was their last day together before she would fly back home, and they had the loveliest night eating expensive sushi and watching the sunset.
The next day, before returning to the States, Andrya broke it off.
Yes, okay, I am the one writing this story, and it’s not great exposing my blunders for the whole world to read. This is not a moment I’m proud of, because it ended up creating a lot of issues for us down the road. My logical brain wanted to protect myself from a relationship across countries with no solution in sight. After two months of late-night phone calls, I already had a taste of what I knew was to come. So, despite how badly I wanted it to work, I just didn’t think it was possible.
And so we ended things. Sort of.
After a day or two of being broken up, they both realized they really missed the other… so they kept on talking. They continued with this talking-but-not-together for about five months, after which Andrya finally decided that she was in it for the long haul. They were now together, for real, and haven’t looked back since.
As the pandemic started to release its grip on the world and governments slowly went back to work, the hope of Chuy coming to the US began to glimmer just a bit brighter. And so began the slow process of acquiring an ID, then a passport, and finally submitting an application for a visa. All the while, Andrya was wrapping up her first year of college. She was studying at UVU to be a graphic designer, where she would learn a lot of cool things, like how to create websites and design pretty wedding invitations. :)
Eventually, her sophomore year rolled around, and without much tying her down to Utah she decided to move to Miami for a semester. She tends to do this thing where she’ll move really far away for a few months, and then comes back home and stays for another three years before repeating the cycle. In fact, if we check our calendars, it looks like they’re up for another move abroad in the very near future. (wink wink)
The day Chuy went to the Tijuana embassy and was told his visa was approved was the biggest pivot point in their relationship thus far. Two weeks after his approval, Chuy was on an airplane headed for Salt Lake City. Unfortunately for him, Andrya was still in Miami and would be for the next three months (I know, I really fumbled a lot in this story.)
They were finally united in December of 2021 after a year and a half of long distance. They had both overcome a lot to get to this point, and would continue to fight for their relationship in the years that followed. Day by day, they grew in their love and commitment, and soon enough they were celebrating their second and third anniversaries together. By the summer of 2023, dropping a ring into the equation was really a no-brainer, so Chuy did just that and popped the question while kneeling in a very wobbly rowboat. The proposal was straight out of a fairytale. Every detail, down to the picnic dinner and plethora of flowers, was all Andrya could have hoped for and more. Obviously she said yes.
In the year that ensued, Andrya graduated from college with a BFA in graphic design, and Chuy began developing the plot of land he bought in Mexico to kick off his pursuits in real estate. The two saved up their time and money to plan the perfect wedding, yet even with a year-long engagement, they still ended up sending invitations out very very late, and they are very very sorry. :)
So that pretty much brings you up to speed. In a few short weeks we will be saying our “I dos” on the sandy beaches of Puerto Vallarta surrounded by our immediate family. We are more than ecstatic to begin this new chapter together, and almost as excited to celebrate it with you!
Back when we were separated by 800 miles and a border, I used to tell Chuy “que estar juntos no solo es un deseo, sino una meta.” -- “That being together is not just a dream, but a goal.”
Against all odds, we’re seeing that goal fulfilled… but I have to say it sure does feel a whole lot like a dream to me.
