American math doctor falls in love with Vietnamese student over a cup of coffee

The first time he met the 1.94m tall guy, Nguyen Anh's eyes widened: "Oh my god, how can someone be so tall and have so many muscles?"

8 years ago, the young lady from Saigon, Nguyen Anh, was 19 years old and had just come to the US to study microbiology in California. During her free time, Nguyen Anh worked part-time at a Vietnamese restaurant. One day, Nguyen Anh's friend came to visit and brought along a male friend from school.

"When he just walked into the shop, I looked up with wide eyes. Even though he was 1m94 tall, his face was gentle. His glasses were also very impressive," Nguyen Anh, now 27 years old, recalled.

After asking, Nguyen Anh offered to invite Joe Adams to a cup of tea to ease his hunger, but he insisted on trying the iced milk coffee. "While I was sipping my coffee, she was chatting away with her friend. Nguyen Anh didn't know that I had been looking at her for a long time. Until now, I still remember her standing that day, her smiling mouth looking sideways very attractive. Especially when she turned away, my heart fluttered at her back," Joe, 28 years old, recalled.

Nguyen Anh is 1m64 tall but still looks "tiny" in front of this 1m94 tall guy. Photo: Khoi Le.

The impression of that lovely Vietnamese girl with long hair and a back remained in Joe's mind throughout the years he returned to New York to pursue his PhD in mathematics. He sometimes thought about the situation of accidentally meeting her or becoming a couple with her. As for Nguyen Anh, she sometimes asked about him through her friends. However, no one spoke to each other for the next 5 years.

In early summer 2013, Nguyen Anh's friend invited her to her graduation ceremony. When she learned that Joe was also coming to congratulate her, Nguyen Anh was very nervous. She said: "While I was talking to my friend, Joe walked over, his long, wavy hair, striped T-shirt, and shorts looked very healthy and youthful. He walked over to greet his friend and then turned to me and asked: 'You are a coffee girl!'"

At first she was confused and didn't understand, but after a minute she was surprised to know that he still remembered the cup of coffee she made for him that year. Thanks to this cup of water, Joe and Nguyen Anh started a natural conversation as if they had known each other for a long time. Joe said he liked the taste so much that he once bought a filter to make it himself, but the taste was not as good as hers. Nguyen Anh honestly revealed all his secrets.

The two young people continued to talk about their studies and interests. Joe was increasingly attracted to the lovely Vietnamese girl. Nguyen Anh was impressed by the guy who had pursued his dream of mathematics since he was a child, his intelligence, humor, and even his adventurous hobbies.

Just a few days later, Joe expressed his desire to get to know Nguyen Anh better. About two months later, he asked her to be his boyfriend. And in August of that year, Joe invited Nguyen Anh to visit New York.

The couple officially fell in love in August 2013. Photo: Khoi Le.

For Nguyen Anh, having been in America for many years, this was her best summer. The first time she set foot in New York City, her boyfriend picked her up and took her out to eat and play in many places. After only 6 short days together, their relationship had made important progress.

The gentle girl shared that when they first fell in love, she was shy and spoke very little. One day, Joe took her kayaking on the sea. After paddling for a while, she got tired, so they pulled the kayak closer together and let it rock with the waves.

"At that time, I turned to ask: 'How are you feeling?', meaning if he was tired. Joe looked into my eyes very gently and replied 'I feel completely in love'. I was extremely surprised, happy, and embarrassed so I could only blush," the girl recounted the story of three years ago as if it had just happened.

Because of school, the two were forced to have a long-distance relationship. California and New York are 3 hours apart. Many days, Joe had to stay up until dawn to talk to his girlfriend. He often joked, "I see the sun rising outside the window, so I should go to sleep."

Usually, every 2-3 months, they met once. Most of those times, they went to explore the states in the US, riding motorbikes from east to west, to Canada, Tokyo. Being a young lady loved by her parents and spoiled by her brother, Nguyen Anh was quite spoiled. She liked easy tasks and always avoided the sun. However, since falling in love with Joe, he dragged her to climb mountains and cross waterfalls so much that now the nickname "coffee girl" has stuck with her.

Joe is very eager to learn, he figured out how to decode his girlfriend's Vietnamese messages, and now he can communicate completely in Vietnamese. Joe also loves delicious food, so Vietnamese cuisine attracts him.

Joe loves climbing mountains, waterfalls, especially high mountains, so whenever he has time, he takes Nguyen Anh to conquer them with him. Photo: Khoi Le.

Almost all couples who love each other deeply and for a long time have their own love languages. Joe shared that he was attracted to Nguyen Anh because she is smart, learns new things quickly and is also very good at it. For example, rock climbing, after only one session she climbed quite well. "Not only that, I also really like the times when I hear her speaking Vietnamese animal sounds like woof, chirp, meow. The way she walks on tiptoe is very cute. Thanks to her funny and smart observations, every story through her way of speaking becomes humorous," the math doctor confided.

Nguyen Anh was initially attracted to Joe's intelligence. But the more she loved him, the more she loved him. Because while she was protected by her family, Joe grew up and studied on his own since childhood. "He is especially honest, hates hypocrisy and dislikes material things. Because he is an emotional and cheerful person, he is loved by many friends and teachers. I love him more for those reasons," she confided.

Normally, Joe works as a teaching assistant with professors, does research, and tutors one or two students to earn money for living expenses. At the end of May, Joe finished his six years of doctoral studies. Immediately after that, he and his family, many friends, and Nguyen Anh's family returned to Vietnam to hold their wedding. Their love story turned a new page in early July.

The couple is currently enjoying their honeymoon in Vietnam. They will return to the US at the end of this month. Nguyen Anh will continue her studies in pharmacy, while Joe will teach at a university in California while doing research.

There are still many plans for the future and both want to do everything together. "Since we don't know how to do business, we will probably stick to studying forever", the smile on the face of the talented couple.

According to VNE