Travel With Them Before You Marry Them

I believe a good way to know if you should marry someone is to travel with them, especially internationally.

3 months into our relationship, we traveled to Paris for her birthday & it solidified my desire to marry her. It's also where I told her I loved her for the first time.

Traveling can take you out of your comfort zone and remove you from the mundane barriers of life so we can witness your true character.

My wife wasn't used to traveling internationally like I was, so I wanted to see how she would manage and if we could work together properly.

This isn't one of those stories where every moment was magical because we did have situations that helped us understand each other better. After landing in Paris, we immediately ran into an issue with transportation leaving from the airport into the city center.

There is a bus route that I've taken before that heads directly into the city with very few stops but due to strikes, the amount of buses available was limited and every bus that came through was nearly full, extending our wait time.

After the second bus pulled away without us, my wife's face was full of frustration but I always remained calm. At one point, she walked away angrily unsure of what to do but I didn't follow. When she returned moments later, I looked her in the face and said:

"Things aren't always going to go as planned and you have to be okay with this."

Finally, our fateful bus came and as the bus traveled further into the city, I could see my wife digesting what I said as she calmed down.

For the rest of that trip, there was no panic or expectations from her because she quickly understood that you can't plan everything in life and it's okay if things don't work out but she's not alone in this experience.

One of my favorite things about my wife is her openness to new people, experiences, and cultures. While in Paris, we met up with a friend for lunch who I met previously in Barcelona. She was asking him questions, inquisitive about his life, and pleasant in her demeanor.

I knew at that moment that I could bring my wife anywhere in the world to meet anyone and she would never embarrass me. Matter of fact, everyone who meets her falls in love with her and asks about her later on because of how pleasant she is to be around.

Prior to the trip, I taught her some simple German words that I knew but she had never heard me engage in a conversation in German until I was in Paris. While waiting for a bus, she witnessed me having a simple conversation with a German couple from Munich with ease.

I had spent a couple of years off and on learning German and traveling to Germany by that point. I could tell she was impressed with the amount of work I put into even having a casual conversation with native German speakers.

It accentuated an attractive quality I possess: If my mind is focused on something, I'll go above and beyond to accomplish the task to the best of my ability. She saw what I was capable of then, so she's not surprised with the amount of success I've gained since.

Traveling with her put me in a position to take the lead and earn her trust. She saw that I wasn't a dictator in decision making but whatever I decided for us to do, she could feel comfortable and safe when I led the charge.

In her previous relationship, he would plan every minute of their trip but with me, I planned nothing once there. I was relaxed in my approach, making it a fun experience for both of us. If we wanted to go somewhere twice, we could because we didn't have an itinerary.

After that trip, I knew for sure I wanted to marry her, that she trusted me and she was the exact woman I wanted to represent me in this world. I was certain that we could work together, be receptive to criticism, and communicate our frustrations for a resolution.

As we prepare this week to leave for Turkey (our second time together) to celebrate our anniversary, I'm thankful to have this travel experience as a fast-track way of understanding each other and helping to determine if I should spend the rest of my life with her.

I couldn't imagine seeing the world without her. My tip is to travel with them before you marry them.