The happy couple I came from a small Oregon town with a population of about 25,000. I knew four Asian people (with various backgrounds and heritages) throughout my twenty-one years before transferring to university. I moved into the dorms at Oregon State University, where I had a Korean roommate and a Japanese next-door neighbor. I had so many questions—I didn’t know where to start. Both of these lovely people were very patient with me and excused what were probably idiotic and insensitive interrogations. I ended up learning a lot. Four months later, I got to know my Japanese neighbor, Mitsuhiro, quite a bit more than I thought I ever would (but had secretly hoped). I invited him to my small birthday dinner and a night out on the town with my brother, his girlfriend, and a good friend of mine, and by the end of the night, I took a chance (with the help of some liquid courage) and declared my affections. From then on, I was fortunate enough to see and spend time with this man (almost) every day for six months, until he had to return to Japan. We knew that we loved each other very much, and [...]
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