愛情無國界

I’ll never forget when I first saw the picture of my future wife， Zhao Nan， online. I was sitting alone， in my Guangzhou home， considering leaving China forever， when suddenly I got a message from a stranger looking to improve her English through online correspondence. I thought nothing of it， until I clicked on her photo， and all at once I was completely entranced. She was sat at a desk， at a school in north China， her adorable face framed perfectly by her shoulder length， chestnut brown hair. I knew， right then， that I had to get to know this girl， if it was the last thing I did.

After a few months of deep conversations （and not-so-subtle flirtations）， revealing our respective life stories， I’d already fallen madly in love， though we hadn’t even met in person yet. When she eventually came to Guangzhou， and we met face to face， I soon realized that this was， indeed， my soul mate. After a year of courtship， and two of engagement， we finally tied the knot last February.

There have been moments of uneasiness， of course； meeting each other’s family and friends， and learning to respect the other’s culture. But these have been， without a doubt， the happiest years of my life.

In this month’s first feature， In China， Mixed Marriages Can Be a Labor of Love， we see the struggles that AfricanChinese couples face， even in a modern metropolitan city like Guangzhou. In Double Happiness： Cross-Cultural Wedding Plans， two people， from two very different cultures， find common ground over a simple cup of coffee. And in My Chinese Wife： DNA Envy and the Dinner Conversation， we find out what one Chinese wife thinks are the ideal features in a foreign husband.

So， I guess it’s comforting to know that no matter the couple， no matter the color， no matter the culture， it seems love， against all odds， somehow finds a way. Lucky me！

我永遠都忘不了當我在網上第一眼看到我未來妻子趙楠照片時的情景。那天我獨自一人坐在我廣州的家中，考慮著要永遠離開中國，突然，我收到一條來自陌生人的信息，對方期待通過線上通信來提高自己的英語水平。我根本就沒把這事兒放在心上，直到我點開她的照片，我立刻被迷得七葷八素。她坐在一張桌子后，在中國北方的一所學校里，她可愛的臉蛋完美地被其栗褐色的及肩秀發鑲嵌著。就在那時，我知道，如果那是我能做的最后一件事，那就是我必須得去認識這個女孩。

經過幾個月的深入交談（和不甚掩飾的挑逗）之后，我們坦露了各自的生活故事，我已經瘋狂地墜入了愛河，盡管我們甚至還沒有彼此見過本尊。當她終于來到廣州的時候，我們面對面地相見了，我很快便意識到她，千真萬確，就是我的靈魂伴侶。經過戀愛一年、訂婚兩年之后，去年二月我們終于喜結連理。

當然，也曾有過一些不安的時刻；面見彼此的家人和朋友，并學著尊重對方的文化。但毫無疑問，這是我生命中最幸福的幾年。

在這個月的第一篇主題文章《為你，心甘情愿》中，我們看到中非夫妻檔所面臨的困難，即使是在一個像廣州那樣的現代化大都市中也不例外。在《雙喜臨門：異國的完美生活》一文中，兩個文化背景迥異的人，在簡單的一杯咖啡過后，找到了共同點。在《我的中國妻子有點“2”》一文中，我們能發現在一位中國妻子眼中，一位外國丈夫最理想的特點是什么。……