Elke says…
When I went to Tanzania for doing my internship at the Embassy of the Netherlands, I never thought I would meet David during my first week in Tanzania. It is always fun to tell people that our first date was during a goat race (yes, like a horse race) after David shaved off his long beard after spending time with the local tribes in Tanzania. David has been my best Tanzanian souvenir – and life has been a great adventure with David. We are two very different people, with different backgrounds. David comes from the USA, and is used to the big city life and “to think big”, “make no small plans”, while I am from a small village in the Netherlands whereby we stay “down the earth”, direct, straightforward, and take smaller steps. But, what made us one is how we mix our different backgrounds to support each other, the fun that we have about silly things, the impact that we want to make in life, our decision to live a different life, to work hard & celebrate life, our love for adventure and for each other. I am very excited about what is coming next in our lives and to my share my life with my best Tanzanian souvenir!
David says…
So here I am settled with a new life in Tanzania and little did I know that the love of my life would make me wait for 5 years before she arrived. It’s true that when I was introduced to Elke that something special was happening in both of our lives. From speaking through a furry beard about metaphorical purple ponies and the future of what’s possible, to our first time hanging out at the Dar es Salaam Goat Races, to our home in Kigali, to journeys across several countries by plane, train, camper van, car, kayak, horse, zip lines, tent, hiking boots, and even as you can see in the photo below… carrying Elke on my back…
Elke has been my constant love, affection, support through sorrow and joy and been the best years of my life… so far.
I’m confident that together, we’re only just getting started and the best is in the moments and decades ahead.
