How Netflix Binges and Google Translate Helped Me Find Love
My fiance found me through a hashtag on Instagram — but that was only the beginning
Technology has revolutionized humanity right down to the most primitive task of finding a mate. With apps like Tinder, happily ever after is possibly just a swipe and an awkward meeting away.
But what happens when couples find themselves in unconventional predicaments? Such was my case when I began exchanging messages with Mostafa on Instagram. We found each other through my very amateur nature picture I had hashtagged #Germany, so our initial messages were in German. His native language is Arabic and mine is English. We didn’t have a shared fluent language, so after a month of discombobulated Google Translate exchanges, we met for coffee and awkwardness. In true American fashion, my bilingual skills only extended to ordering food despite making my home in Germany. Since Mostafa was already fluent in German, it became our middle ground.
There are also vast cultural differences that required research for me to better understand Mostafa. From traditions to religion, so much about him was a mystery to me. Having crossed paths in a country foreign to both of us, we were on neutral ground when it came to what “normal” was to each of us. Our journey together…
