Dating Stories

Three tiny postcards from Italy

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I received these three tiny postcards in a tiny envelope from Italy (quarter-sized coin included for scale). They’re my favorites of this whole postcard project. Read on:

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I am so happy to write you! In Italy dating is so warm and sweet! You see many people kissing, hugging and flowers are often a nice gift. I’m going to marry my bf (secret <3) in June, hopefully. Our first date: he gave me a small sunflower… I guessed it was not only a friendly date, but a love date. I was so happy! I was 15 years old, he was 18. Now I’m 27, he is 30! We live together and we have a cat!

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Often lovers are like that, in parks cuddling. We usually have dinner out and the man pays. It is common to go to the cinema and kiss in the dark :), walking together hand in hand and hugging. We were dating 1 week and then we decided to be engaged <3. It has been almost 12 years so we would like to marry on the same day as our first date!

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Marriage: Commonly the wife is going with her dad and husband with his mother. She goes in a nice old car. We want to do a very private ceremony, maybe only the two of us and two witnessess. My dad died when I was 17, so it would be too sad without him at the “real” ceremony. We’d like the ceremony in the cityhall. The ceremony with parents is so stressfull…

Distance Traveled: 11,736 miles (18,887 kilometers)

A postcard from Moscow

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Peterhof2

Dear Sandra,

My name is Marina and I am from Moscow, Russia. I’ll tell you about my unusual and unforgettable date. It was four years ago, when I was a first course student. My friends and I went for the first time to Sain Petersburg. One evening my groupmate offered me to go to the cinema. We left our other friends and went there. (It was about 8 pm) But on our way we disputed and swore.

I decided to turn and go to the hotel. The city was really unfamiliar to me and it took me a lot of time to find my way. And after 1 hour of wandering, I ran into my guy who also was lost. We considered this situation to be good fortune and since then have never left each other.

Happy postcrossing!

Love,
Marina

Distance Travelled: 8,320 miles (13,390 kms)

A Postcard from Poland

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Here’s a cute story from Poland:

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Hello Sandra!

My name is Agnieszka. I live in Poland. My first very important date was ages ago – in February ’85. In Poland there was a winter with a lot of frost (2° F) and snow then. We met in the ruins of the old castle and we kissed, ignoring the frost.

3.5 years later we got married in the monastery shown on this postcard. When we left the church, people were throwing coins for good luck. You have to collect them all, but I didn’t even notice them. 

So maybe I’m not very rich, but I’m still happy with the same man 🙂

Total distance traveled: 11,042 miles (17,770 kms)

2 Postcards from Australia

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Today I’ll share, not one, but two postcards from Australia that arrived on the same day.

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First, Kay from Sydney writes:

Hullo Sandra,

I take it you are a young girl with ideals of romance, dating etc.  I remember those teenage days! I was so absorbed with my career and did not marry until 25 years of age, but chose the wrong one!! After my divorce and again more of a career person, waited another 10 years before I decided to go to Australia to work and guess what fell in love with a fellow passenger on board ship and I wasn’t expecting to remarry again. Life is very strange. The love bug bites at an time in your life!

All good wishes.

Kay

And second, some wise words from Kim, somewhere in New South Wales:

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Hi Sandra.

I have been married for 21 years. If I could give any advice it would be to let young people know that relationships have highs + lows. That is perfectly normal. Don’t give up when things seem tough. Also don’t assume your partner knows what you’re thinking. Speak up, talk things through.

All the best.

 Kim

Total distance traveled: 7,512 + 7,415 = 14,927 miles

Love Hurts – A Series from Strangers

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In this series, Strangers host Lea Thau takes a look at her own life and why she’s struggling to find a partner, including interviewing men she’s dated in the past.

If you’ve ever asked yourself “What’s wrong with me?” after a breakup or a long stretch without a date, these episodes are for you.

https://soundcloud.com/kcrwstrangers/love-hurts

Love Hurts 2
Love Hurts 3
Love Hurts 4
Love Hurts – The Follow Up
Love Hurts – One Year Later

 

Good Reads – Part 1

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Here’s a small collection of recommended posts and books for anyone who feels completely clueless in the world of dating or has never really dated.

Dating Advice #273 – Highly Inexperienced

A socially awkward 36-year-old man receives dating advice. For me, it was surprisingly inspiring and heartwarming.

Frustrated: A Dating Success Story

You might expect that a dating ‘success story’ must end in a happy relationship. This woman’s first-ever attempt at dating ends in frustration, but it’s a success story nonetheless.

I’ve Been Single For My Entire Life

Katie Heaney has never been on a date. She’s also refreshingly normal and an entertaining writer. If you enjoyed the article, you can read more in her light, humorous book Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date.

Inside the Mind of Guys who are Shy and Inexperienced with Women

A lot of this applies to women as well, at least it does for me. I read this article a couple years ago and it’s interesting to see the progress I’ve made.

Conscious Dating

I reviewed this book in one of my very first posts (here). Back then, I said that reading this book was the single most helpful step in transforming my outlook on dating. I still stand by that statement.

Another Postcard from Russia

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Today’s postcard is another short story from Russia:

Russia Postcard

“My first date and kiss happened July 19, 2015. It was like a holiday romance. My birthday on January 19 and bday of my partner’s – 19 February! I met him, riding a horse! He worked there as an instructor and I love nature and animals. He rolled me in the coach like a princess and then called to meet and take a walk! I wish you a wonderful day!”

Distance traveled: 5,805 miles

A Postcard from Russia

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Postcard - Love

Today’s postcard shares a cute little story from a woman in Russia.

“Last summer I had a really fantastic date that has changed my life completely… I had a date with a man who I hadn’t never seen before this day. For this date I travelled 3000 km by train and we met in a small Russian town and spent there 3 weeks together. And now, I’m writing this card and he is sleeping on the sofa next to me. We decided to get married.”

Distance traveled: 5781 miles

For more on this project, click here.

Andrew and Akina Cox: Meet the Moonies

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“A hip young artist couple find themselves in an arranged marriage.”

After following the Strangers podcast for a while, I was surprised to come across a couple I recognized. Though I don’t know them well, the moonie community is small, so we went to the same summer camps.

They live on the border between the world of the Unification Church and the normal world.  They’re in a happy relationship with someone who understands the weirdness that goes along with growing up as a moonie, but without actually being in the church anymore.

Honestly, I’m a little jealous of them. To listen to the whole podcast, click below.

https://soundcloud.com/kcrwstrangers/andrew-and-akina-cox-meet-the