Mr. Ben Mrs. Asia

Couple interview Couple interview Mrs. Asia Mrs. Asia mr. ben & Mr. Ben Interview by Hannah Won Photography by Aum Kuansongtham & Mr. Ben Interview by Hannah Won Photography by Aum Kuansongtham & mrs. asia Interview by Hannah Won Photography by Aum Kuansongtham

First off, please introduce yourselves! [A] Hi! I’m Mrs. Asia. I am the middle school visual arts teacher, and this is my second year teaching in ICS. I was actually an ICS student in high school and graduated in 2015, so it’s great to be back! [B] I’m Mr. Ben, and I’m married to Mrs. Asia. I work as a recruiter for a college in the U.S. Some students might know me because I work as a substitute teacher here as well.

How would you define love? [B] Love has a lot that goes into it. I would define it as making a decision that you are going to care for someone and value them no matter what. [A] I think love is putting someone else’s needs above your own. It could be love for a friend as well; loving them and being willing to care about them more than yourself. That, I believe, is the hardest thing to do. What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? [A] Actually, we started dating on Valentine’s Day 5 years ago. So, it’s like our dating anniversary. It’s fun to reminisce about our relationship throughout these 5 years. [B] Yeah, and that day was definitely extra special to me as well. On that February 14th, I took some time off, wrote her a little poem, and took her to this bridge overlooking a small river leading into a lake. It was snowing, it was really romantic, and I asked her, “will you be my girlfriend,” and she was like— [A] —“Why’d you wait so long!” [B] Yeah! So yes, Valentine’s day is very special to us! [A] And Valentine’s Day is also special to celebrate with friends and family too! The other day I was making Valentine’s cards with my younger brother and it’s really cool to see how kids view Valentine’s. He was telling me that he needed

to write to all these people in his life as he believed Valentine’s was for everybody. I just thought that was a very special way to look at Valentine’s: that Valentine’s is for everybody.

What are three qualities about your spouse that you find most admirable? [B] It’s hard to pick just three, but if I had to pick… I would say she’s super creative. She’s amazing at coming up with ideas and making them a reality. Secondly, she’s extremely driven. When she wants to do something, she gets it done and does it meaningfully and purposefully. The third thing is that she really, really, really cares about people. The longer you spend time with her, the more you realize that she just loves people and wants to connect on a deeper level. [A] With Ben, he was very quick to find people who were often unnoticed and spend time with them. It made me realize that he doesn’t just care about the ones that everybody loves but also the people that may not have as many friends. He’s also very patient and level-headed. He’s rarely offended and very gracious. Another thing I find most admirable is that there is absolutely no task that is below him. He will do anything for anybody just to be a helping hand. For example, I don’t always do the laundry right away because I’m busy with school, but he will have it already done and finished by the time I even notice.

Who popped the question? How did the proposal happen? [A] It actually happened here in Bangkok when we were here for vacation to see my parents. [B] I had bought a ring at least a few months ago. I actually hid the ring in a sock in the airport, so I was like smuggling this really expensive ring in this sock in my trunk. And I didn’t know how, when, or where exactly I was going to propose, and I had to find a decent place. We went to King’s park which I thought was going to be a nice, quiet place. We get there and it is packed with people. There’s this massive fitness group at the center blasting loud music and people are jogging and talking everywhere. I just thought to myself, I can’t propose here. We walked around a little, and I just remember constantly being distracted, trying to find a calm, quiet place. Finally, I saw this museum with nobody along the railing, and I just decided to go for it. So, I went to a corner and asked her to give me a second as I took out this little, potted plant. And what I had done was, since I knew she loves plants, I was going to put the ring on the plant and propose with the ring on the branch. But when I turned around and took out the potted plant, it had come apart in the bag. So I had to replant it in the bag and put the ring back on the branch. So, I got it back together, turned around and was like, will you marry me, and she said yes!