Looking back, our engagement story seems more romantic that is probably was at the time. We were engaged on May 1st, 2005 while on vacation (from our teaching jobs in Mianyang, China) in Yangshuo, China.
China celebrates a national holiday on May 1st which means long weekends and plenty of time for foreign teachers (like ourselves) to head out and explore the country. Unfortunately, the rest of the 1.3 billion Chinese population has that same holiday, which makes for pretty cramped train and bus stations... let alone hostels and hotels!
Since we knew we were traveling to heavily tourist populated area, we did something that we rarely do – we planned in advance. We chose a hotel (looking back on it, I need to stress that I use the term “hotel” loosely) from the Lonely Planet and called to make reservations for the May Holiday. We even arranged for a vehicle to pick us up from the airport and drive us the hour or so to the hotel, instead of the usual public transportation (in Chinese) hustle and bustle that we usually fight with. Ah. Romance was already in the air.
A few days before the trip, I had started fighting a nasty cold. This made the first few days absolutely zero fun for B, as he spent a bit of time wandering the streets of Yangshuo by himself and (as I later found out) freaking out about how and when he was going to propose while his girlfriend laid around in bed all day with tissues up her nose to stop the snot from pouring out.
On day two, we tried to rent bikes and cycle through the countryside, but my sick self only made it about a half-mile away from town before I started wheezing, hacking, and sneezing. I was in no shape to ride in the hot sun. I needed to go back to the hotel to sleep. And that is exactly what I did.
When I did start to feel better, we decided to takes things slow and set out on a guided long-tail boat tour of the river (instead of renting bikes and cycling through the limestone carsks or taking a trip to the rice paddies). Before we signed up for this private boat ride, I (made the mistake of) inviting along another American couple we had briefly met in the streets. Not knowing my boyfriend wanted to propose, I thought it would be fun to have another couple along for the ride. I was right. It was fun.
That day, was the first, and hopefully last time I'll ever have to select (and hold) my lunch while it was still alive and roaming about (as most of the chicken I ate in China was that fresh and “free range”...again, I use that term loosely).
We enjoyed a wonderful (but way over priced) lunch by the river that was prepared just for us... and consisted of traditional Chinese fare, i.e, chopped up chicken bits mixed about in sauces, loads of fresh greens that had been flash fried in oil and garlic, and several unidentifiable dishes that probably contained salt, msg, pork, and myriad of other flavors.
After the boat ride, the lunch, a leisurely stroll through a village across the river and small hike home along the river bank and later, along side the rice paddies, we ended up back at the hotel. We wanted to freshen up before we headed out to dinner.
B and I talked about how wonderful the day had been and how much we enjoyed the scenery and just getting out of the hotel finally, when he asked me, “Would you like to make the day a little better?”
I was skeptical, thinking he was trying to get into my pants ... but looked over at him anyway. He was sitting next to me and pulled out a box. Before it even opened, I started crying. Not just crying, but wheezing, and sniffing snot up into my nose. I may have screamed yes, he may have said somethings, but I honestly don't remember. I only remember that I knew what was going down as soon as I saw the ring box.
Unbeknownst to me, B had picked out a ring on line, had it shipped to his father in Texas, who in turn, shipped the ring to China.. but to our upstairs neighbors... the Peace Corps couple from New Jersey. The ring was my “China” engagement ring, a Ceylon sapphire. We had planned to “upgrade” once we moved back home. He didn't want to entrust the Chinese postal service with something too valuable.
We celebrated by trying to get into a nicer eating establishment, but the only seating that was available was outside, and I swear it was 90 degrees with zero wind and about 80% humidity! So we walked around for a bit and ended up sharing a table at a backpacker cafe with an extremely loud, and overly arrogant (not to mention, crude) Australian weight lifter. I don't think this man put down his cell phone once. I also don't think he knew what his “inside” voice was supposed to sound like. Regardless, we enjoyed our meal and just hoped we run across that couple we shared the afternoon with so I could run and tell someone, anyone, that my boyfriend just proposed.
The rest of the trip played out nicely-ish. Our rice paddy tour got canceled at the last minute (after checking out of our hotel, because we were supposed to be moving to a different city) and we ended up paying astronomical rates to have a place to stay for the last few nights on vacation. Minus that, we enjoyed a few more boat rides, a trip to Guilin in hopes of frolicking through a Chinese Amusement park (instead we just wandered around because we ended up missing the last bus). The bike ride finally happened and we met an incredibly sweet Chinese lady who was our personal guide. She showed us an amazing noodle joint and introduced us to some interesting profanity she learned watching American DVDs.
After a rocky start, the trip was eventually a success. I love looking back at our pictures, because even though it was hot and miserable, we were so incredibly happy (and still are.. .but you know what I mean!).
When we moved back to the US later that year, we eventually did upgrade to my current left hand ring (and later, the wedding band), but I still wear their sapphire on my right hand ring finger. Even though it has been replaced with a beautifully clear, emerald cut, estate diamond, it still means the world to me.
