I Voted for Luisa and Steve

 

How did your love story begin?

Was living in Japan. Stuffed my life into a backpack, headed to Europe to visit a dozen penfriends in 1/2 dozen countries. Budget died in Sardinia, so got an ESL gig at a private school. At semester's end, the school had a big party. There I met gorgeous Luisa. Oh wow, she blew me away! At end of the evening, she shyly gave her number. "C U later," she said. "When?" I shot back? "How 'bout tomorrow for gelato?" That 1st date was hilariously insane, a cultural train wreck. But we both knew...

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

Taking our daughter (who by 8 yrs old was fluent in both our languages) to bounce around Europe (Ireland, Germany, etc.) We laughed so hard as she tried (with Italian body language) to talk to kids from Czech Republic. To this day, my wife's laugh turns me to Jell-O inside. I watch her when she isn't looking and wonder, "How did a bad boy get sooo lucky?"

What would you do with $20,000?

For several years, we've been struggling to raise $ for Christmas Apollo (yes, that's his real name), who runs a tiny orphanage in Uganda. His story and pictures always push me to tears. This money would buy a real floor for his 1-room classroom, tables and chairs, and possibly a boat so their kids could safely cross the 2nd biggest lake in Africa to get to his school. We believe empathy is the key to most of the world's issues.