Ivan sold drums to come to Kristina from Argentina: our love story friends suggest putting in a book | Lifetime

Communicated daily for two years.

When you hear stories like this, you think that’s only the case in the movies. But then you consider these movie scripts to be taken from real life.

From an early age, Kristina felt an inexplicable attraction to Latin America, its culture, its music, and was very fascinated by the Spanish language. At 16, he thought about learning it. Through the scythe, people found Spanish-speaking people to connect and interact. As she herself said, she wanted to do it live, not sitting on textbooks.

He found more than one Spanish speaker: There were girls and boys in the conversation, but eventually the conversations stopped. But with Ivan he stayed.

“When I was looking for Spanish speakers to add to and interact with the skaipe, in fact, my husband kicked me out first. Even then, I thought his name was not Spanish. Later it was learned that his ancestors were from Poland, once they emigrated to Argentina.

We interact with Ivan every day. We talk about such neutral topics. We communicate in English, he also wrote me in Spanish, I translated because my Spanish was just a beginner. Eventually, there was such a connection that communication became an addiction: when I returned from school, I immediately flew to the computer, my parents were angry, they said who I corresponded with here. But even though the parents were quite strict, they allowed me to do it.

We hadn’t even seen each other, only a few months later we sent each other photos. There were also challenges: we were assigned 15,000. kilometers, 6 hours and even stations. Due to the time difference, it was also the case that we did not sleep at night to be able to talk, and the next morning I had to travel to school.

Finally, the connection developed in such a way that communication became addictive: when I returned from school, I immediately went to the computer.

As for the different seasons, I used to sit by the radiator, because outside the window -15, and with them in Argentina at that time – more than 40 degrees of heat, and Ivan does not withdraw from the fan, “the interlocutor recalled the fun moments.

First sensual encounter

After two years of daily communication, Ivan flew to Lithuania to visit Kristina.

“Neither he nor his family knew where that Lithuania, there in Argentina, was not educated over the rest of the world. His parents were surprised when they said that they were flying to Lithuania to see a girl. And ten years ago in Argentina, it was impossible for a young man to travel abroad, especially to Europe. Ivan had to sell his beloved drums, drop out of school in order to fly to me, “said Kristina.

The meeting at the airport, according to Kristina, was very sensual, but at the same time full of tension.

“While waiting at his airport, I thought I would pass out from stress. You know, as it sometimes happens, you communicate with a person online, you know one thing, and when you meet, it turns out that he is completely different. I was very afraid that was not the case.

But really, our meeting was very sensual, like a scene from a movie. As soon as he could find himself, he kissed me. And he was still a teenager who had never had a boyfriend before. I thought, God, as a shame, my mother also sees (laughs) Ivan said he did it so he would not hesitate to evaluate it from the beginning ”, the interlocutor shared his memories with a smile.

Lithuanian law allowed Ivan to stay in our country for only three months. He spent that period at Kristina’s parents’ house.

“His parents prepared a separate room for him, and he received him very hospitably. Everything here seemed exotic to Ivan: human features, language, food he had become accustomed to, although cold beets are still like a curse (smiling), nature, experienced a lot on a daily basis.

And when he arrived, his favorite band Rammstein performed in Vilnius, he was like in the ninth heaven, – said Kristina and confirmed that at first it was very strange for her, she could not get used to the idea that here, at her parents’ house , man himself “from the computer”. – At first I still had a feeling of inertia, when I returned from school I ran to join the mockery (laughs) “.

Three months passed, during which, according to the interlocutor, the black fell in love a lot.

“A painful day came when he had to leave, and he had already entered university. Under the law, he could live another three months in a European country and then return to Lithuania for another two months, and then necessarily go to his country to avoid deportation.

My mother saved this situation, she saw that we are in love with the ears.

My mother saved this situation, she saw that we are in love with the ears. He asked my cousin in London to take Ivan, as he said then, a future son-in-law, to live for three months. My cousin had never seen him, did not know him, but agreed. After living for three months in London, Ivan flew to Lithuania for another two months. “

The illusory painting of Argentina collapsed

After his second stay in Lithuania, Ivan returned home. Kristina couldn’t go together because she was studying. The couple had to pass the distance test again, they only communicated remotely for a year. Finally, a year later, Kristina decided to travel to Argentina with her beloved. This trip was very opposed by his parents.

“Knowing my love for Argentina, he said: I will leave, I will not return, we will lose my daughter. But I convinced them and promised my dad that he would definitely come back in two months ”, the interlocutor shared his memories.

Like Ivan in Lithuania, Kristina in Argentina was not without impressions: she got acquainted with Ivan’s family and traveled across the country. However, I had a dream image from Argentina that a corner of paradise here, where people are happy and everyone dances in the streets, has crashed while they were there.

“Ivan did not show me the most beautiful and polished tourist destinations, but the reality. When I saw it, I was quite disappointed: there is no one dancing on the streets and he is very insecure. There we did not even go hand in hand. He walked a few meters in front of me and kept looking to see if we were in danger. The armed people also walked the streets. I am tall, blue, so I caught the attention of the locals, “said the young woman about the reality she had to face.

Friends said, “You can’t find a girl here.”

Another year passed after the trip to Argentina, when Kristina and Iván only communicated remotely. “At that time, we had already decided what to do, because we would not always live like this. I really did not like the feeling of insecurity in Argentina and that she is so far from Lithuania, I thought that I could not live without my family. And Ivan liked it Lithuania so I decided to come here.

It was a second shock for the family when they said they were going to live in Lithuania. So they all started seriously squatwhere lithuania (laughs) Friends did not support him, he said: here is full of girls, but can not find a suitable one. But he is quite an unbreakable person, if he has already decided, he will take and do something. He packed his backpack and flew away. By then, we had already decided that we would no longer be separated.

There were also doubts, we said that perhaps we would not be successful, we would not be together, we would not disturb our families.

Our love has really been so cultivated, nurtured. As far as I hear stories, people don’t keep friends in the distance. And we cling to the old one, and everything (laughs) Of course, there were doubts, we said that maybe we would not be successful, we would not be together, we would not disturb our families, but that internal feeling always prevailed, “said Kristina.

Ivan came to Lithuania in the winter, pressed around -20 cold. Argentina does not need jackets, so it did not have the necessary clothing for the Lithuanian winter. The most important thing at that time, according to the interlocutor, was to provide warm clothing.

In addition to the hustle and bustle of winter, the couple had other difficulties. Ivan could only come for a short time. And to stay longer, she had to enter to study, find a job, or marry a Lithuanian.

“But we weren’t in a hurry with marriage, so we started from the first step.” He managed to enter the Technical University of Kaunas, specializing in information technology in English. Only later did it become apparent that the university was not yet ready for those studies, because Ivan received his homework in Lithuanian. He and I were bored because he had to constantly translate them into English.

Half a year later, he retired. We were on the brink again because Ivan had to find a job quickly, or he would have to leave again.

Everything is simple with the university: you enter, you study, you obtain a residence permit. And if everything turns to work or marriage, the paperwork begins and the Lithuanian language is stagnant: I always had to mediate in the Immigration Service, at that time Lithuania was not ready to accept foreigners from third countries. Lithuania was very reluctant to accept it, the bureaucracy crossed the street.

Lithuania was very reluctant to accept it, the bureaucracy crossed the street.

That period cost us a lot of nerves and tears. But we overcame everything together because we were used to not giving up as much in adverse situations.

Finally Ivan started looking for work in Kaunas. He really has a typical Argentine black humor, when I read his CV and cover letter, I said that nobody would hire you, you have to write it seriously, not jokingly. And what do you think? Sent to three places, called from all three places. She got a job with a Frenchman who understood Ivan’s situation very well, because she had married a Lithuanian and moved to live here, ”said Kristina about how Ivan managed to settle in Lithuania.

He moved to Spain for the child’s health.

A year and a half later (in 2013) from the day Ivan settled in Lithuania, the couple walked to the altar. By the way, they married Domingo Avellaneda, an Argentine priest who lives in Lithuania and speaks Lithuanian.

The celebration, as Kristina said, was modest, welcoming, with close family and friends, the ceremony was bilingual and the young men were sworn in each in their own language. Ivan’s relatives did not attend because they did not have the financial means to come here.

It is true that the marriage did not mean that Ivan could live here peacefully: after the marriage, the Immigration Service tried to find out if the marriage was not fictitious, both interviewed them separately and the interview was conducted in Lithuanian, which the man already had appreciated. Every two years later, they had to prove that they lived together.

Despite these unpleasant procedures, life in Lithuania was not bad. The couple lived in Kaunas, Kristina graduated, Ivan worked for the French company, passed exams and obtained a driver’s license, started playing soccer, and made friends. “What an Argentine, if he doesn’t play soccer, he’s here as a religion,” said Kristina.

The couple had a son. When he started going to kindergarten, the boy did not get out of the transport of diseases.

“We let him into a private garden, we both work with my husband. But very quickly the situation turned like this: one week, in kindergarten, two weeks, at home sick. I had a variety of colds, so all year long I didn’t understand what was going on. He finally found himself in a hospital with obstructive bronchitis. We discussed with my husband what to do to help improve the situation. The solution was to change the place of residence to a warmer climate.

Since we could both work remotely, I suggested that my husband go to Spain. I was there when I was a teenager, I really enjoyed it. Unlike him. But I said, don’t we want to learn another language? The son already speaks three languages: Lithuanian, Spanish and English.

So after five years of living in Lithuania, we accumulated things and bought tickets. The man went to look for, find and rent a house for us first, and a couple of weeks later, and me and the boy, ”said the interviewee about the changes in life.

Valencia became the current home

The beginning in each new country is not like a silver plate, but, according to Kristina, they did quite well to settle in the third largest city in Spain, Valencia.

“We wanted a quieter and more familiar city. Madrid is too noisy, Barcelona is too touristy. We have not been to anyone in Valencia, so we only knew it online. But we take risks and do not regret it. And it is not that far to fly to Lithuania, we come back here twice a year.

Upon arrival I had to manage documents, shape my life there. It was a great challenge for me to think about the thresholds of the institutions or resolve misunderstandings over the phone, because my Spanish was Argentine, a different dialect. I had to break both in terms of language and to get out of the comfort zone. But now I am glad that man has encouraged me to do it myself and taught me to fight for a place in the sun.

So we found a house, we settled. Ivan was still working remotely, then found a job in Valencia as a software engineer. I have established a digital marketing studio, I work independently, my clients are mostly Lithuanian companies, start-ups, etc.

By the way, only after coming to live here, the son’s health clearly improved. When everything was in place, we decided to plan a second child: the man wanted a girl. Genes led to the birth of twins: a girl and a boy. At first, there was anxiety about how we would manage on our own when there were no family or friends around, but somehow it all worked out. So today there are three children in our family, six for the oldest son and two for the twins, “said Kristina.

The greatest desire is to meet again

When asked if the love that was kindled a good decade ago and rejoiced in her choices, the woman is open: “There is everything, and we are angry, there is heat between them, but there are many things that have survived from the first day. We try to ignite that passion, love. When we can, we have an appointment, when we cannot, we organize it at home. Relationships must be nurtured.

As for them, I often hear how high people’s demands are on each other, how someone should look, behave. I am tall, my husband a few inches shorter than me, and that does not bother us. I never had appearance standards and didn’t apply them to anyone else.

Many couples say they are different because they are too different. Ivan and I are like black and white, our opinions, likes and hobbies are highlighted almost everywhere, but that is what unites us (smiling) We had to get used to cultural differences: we are so closed that Argentines are open. But we have been very receptive to each other and have been doing so until now. Something supernatural probably happened here. Many of us tell us: write a book, make a movie.

Ivan and I are like black and white, our opinions, likes and hobbies are highlighted almost everywhere, but that is what keeps us together.

I will share another detail that can be called a coincidence, although I tend to call it a sign myself: when Ivan visited me the second time, one day he returned from class and found a rose. Before flying to Argentina, I saw a rose in a vase that had taken root. I asked the florist if it would be worth planting. I answered no, because he really won’t stay. But I planted it. Prigijo! Then transplant the bush in the garden, and you know what? That rose released three little roses, as a symbol of our three children. “

Three years have passed since the couple was building their lives in sunny Spain. So far, he does not plan to return to live in Lithuania, but, according to Kristina, Ivan is very unique in Lithuania, he really likes it here, so he does not rule out that possibility in the future.

In Argentina, the family visited the oldest son twice during those years, and only Iván and his son went to visit the parents again.

And today the most anticipated moment for Kristina and Ivan is to meet again! The couple with their children had returned to Lithuania to celebrate Christmas. After the holidays, Ivan and his older son went to Spain, because the son is already going to school, and Kristina and her twins stayed to spend the winter in Lithuania.

“We had to fly home to Valencia in mid-March, but the quarantine began. The man was still trying to buy tickets, but the flights were canceled, the car trip also failed because he closed the borders. So we have not seen each other in almost half a year.

I can say that my husband and I were not affected by this, we communicate daily as in the old days, only the children regret it, they do not understand who and why. Although when I tell my old man that I miss him, he replies: you know, mom, that one more day is one less day. Even the words and breath of a child like that clench my throat. So we are all looking forward to next week, because a man and his son are flying away on July 2, “Kristina concluded the conversation without hiding her joy.