Connect How did your love story begin?

Our story began in Linyi, China. I was an American teaching English, and Anastasiia was a Russian student earning her master's in Asian Studies. Mutual friends started dating and kept dragging us to baijiu-fueled karaoke nights. Our first interaction didn't go well—I confidently mispronounced her name as "Anastasha." She laughed, said something in Russian to her classmates, and they all laughed too. Somehow, despite that start, we became friends and discovered we shared a love of travel, culture

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

Over 16 years together, we've collected memories across China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Caribbean, and all over the United States. It's hard to choose just one. If we had to, it would be the realization that every place feels like home when we're exploring it together. Whether it was wandering a night market in Asia or getting lost on a road trip, the best memories have never been the destinations—they've been sharing them with each other.

What would you do with $20,000?

The responsible answer is a down payment on a house. The honest answer is that we'd probably spend at least a little time looking at the rural Japanese vacation home listings we've been obsessing over. We'd love to create a place where travelers could experience the same sense of adventure and cultural connection that brought us together. Realistically, we'd probably do both: invest in our future and keep one eye on Japan.