International Stories of Love: Mariam Aghayan & Tayler Rose
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Tayler Rose & I studied abroad in Berlin through the CIEE Open Campus program in the spring of 2017. We both very accidentally decided to choose Berlin as our study abroad location, but it turned out for the best. Not only did I have the most incredible study abroad semester, but I ended up meeting and falling in love with the love of my life.
Tayler was assigned to be roommates with one of my best friends from college, Noah. When I needed to go grocery shopping one time, Noah asked if I would mind having his roommate come along. Of course I said I wouldn’t mind, since what’s the big deal about going grocery shopping! Long story short, Tayler ended up teasing Noah a few times and that made me laugh. The following night, Tayler asked me out to dance at a local salsa club.
Both of us came to Berlin with the idea of immersing ourself in a new culture, taking interesting courses, and making new friends. Notably, neither of us were interested in getting into a relationship abroad. It just so happened to work out that we simply liked each other so much that we said we might as well try. Agreeing to date Tayler ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made.
We ended up being enrolled in two of the same courses (being able to excel academically together was important to me) and then having the opportunity to travel to places like Italy or Poland together was beyond surreal. I am Armenian and there are more Armenians outside of Armenia than inside our country, so Tay ended up meeting one of my uncles in Poland before he even met my immediate family after our study abroad program had ended.
During our spring break this year, we had planned a trip to Denmark and Lithuania, and Tayler ended up surprising me with tickets to Berlin. I suggested we go to our favorite food place in Berlin, Mustafa’s, and because we were so hungry, we both ordered the largest possible version of the dish, which is a huge durum. Of course, we ate the entire thing, and once we got back home Tayler promptly said, “Well, I’m going to put on my suit. Do you want to put on that dress you brought?” I struggled to get into my form-fitting dress after that huge meal, but somehow it all worked out in the end.
We got dressed up and heading towards the car waiting for us outside. I had no clue where we were going, as Tayler had been stubborn and wouldn’t disclose the location to me at any cost. I recognized the location we were dropped off at, Victoria Park, and we proceeded to walk up the hill, in my 5 inch heels and long train, since I had no clue where I was about to go. Once we got to the very top, Tayler offered to take selfies. He pretended that he didn’t like the lighting on the photos and suggested we ask a stranger to take a picture of us. I was a bit skeptical when Tayler approached the only woman with two professional cameras draped around her torso, but went along with it. The random woman was the lovely Sarah, who introduced herself as a professional photographer who happened to be at the same venue awaiting a different couple’s arrival in 20 minutes, but was kind enough to offer to take a few pictures of us with her camera in the meantime. We happily agreed, but my skepticism didn’t go away. She told us to pretend that she wasn’t there and when we walked a little further away, Tayler got down on one knee and proposed to me.
Even just writing about this still seems surreal to me. He flew me to the city where it all started for us and he got down on one knee at Victoria Park, right by CIEE, where we used to go on walks. I cannot believe I’m going to get to marry my best friend this summer and three of our groomsmen will be our friends from CIEE! I have our program to thank for the circumstances where we both met. We are now are planning on flying Yerevan, Armenia, my home, to celebrate our wedding with all of our friends and family this summer. Our journey has been incredible so far, and we have been blessed to travel to many countries together, but Berlin will always hold a special place in our heart. I do know that no matter where we are in the world, be that the U.S., Armenia, or Tanzania, I will always be home as long as I’m with Tayler.