We sat close to one another in an International Politics class but had never spoke. At the end of the semester we were put in a debate group together and we interacted a handful of times. At the end of the class we both discovered that the other was going on exchange the following semester. We discussed possibly meeting in Europe during our exchange but we didn't expect our paths to cross.

Alyx was passing through Rome on her solo Europe trip and got in touch with Julian who generously hosted her for a couple nights. While we adventured around Rome, Julian's brother, Simeon and Julian's cousin's Dayne and Tess joined us. We ate amazing food and danced the night away.

We lost touch during our semesters abroad, Julian in Italy and Alyx in Spain. We both returned to Albuquerque at the last possible second before the semester started. We met up once again to talk about our experiences during our semester abroad and we have spent everyday together since.