{"id":150259,"date":"2023-02-09T16:18:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T15:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=150259"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:38","slug":"love-is-in-the-eur-one-walk-by-leah-and-ferdi-led-to-many-walks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/02\/09\/love-is-in-the-eur-one-walk-by-leah-and-ferdi-led-to-many-walks\/","title":{"rendered":"One walk by Leah and Ferdi led to many walks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leah found the lecturer of the elective she took during her Bachelor of Arts in Groningen ‘very nice, and attractive’. But she never imagined that Ferdi would one day become her boyfriend.<\/p>\n

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Ferdi and Leah.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLeah Kilian<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cAfter two lectures we went online because of corona, so I didn\u2019t see him in real life\u201d, she says. \u201cAfter the elective finished, I e-mailed him because I knew he had switched from Art to Sociology and I was considering something similar. I expected to be able to ask a few questions by e-mail, but then he suggested we talk about it during a walk. And I love walking, so why not! He turned out to be a very good listener, very easy to talk to and very respectful. We walked all over Groningen for three hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

One walk led to more walks, until Ferdi suggested we watch Star Wars<\/em> together. Because her name is Leah, which sounds exactly the same as Princess Leia from Star Wars. A risky suggestion: Leah had never seen any part from the famous space opera. But it worked out well: three film trilogies later, they were in a relationship. \u201cHe\u2019s so nice to talk to. And we have the same humour. We\u2019ve been together for two years now. There\u2019s a bit of an age difference \u2013 we\u2019re 11 years apart \u2013 but he doesn\u2019t behave differently from me, so I don\u2019t notice much of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every three weeks<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018There\u2019s a bit of an age difference \u2013 we\u2019re 11 years apart \u2013 but he doesn\u2019t behave differently from me\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

However, Leah now lives in Rotterdam and Ferdi still lives in Groningen. \u201cThe plan was for us to break up, because we didn\u2019t believe in a long-distance relationship. And I wanted to do what was best for my career. Ferdi fully supported me in that.\u201d But Leah and Ferdi did not break up. \u201cAt least we see each other every three weeks; one time I go to Groningen by train, the other time he drives to see me. It has only strengthened and deepened our relationship. \u2018Distance makes the heart go fonder.\u2019<\/p>\n

For now, Ferdi works as a civil servant for the Province of Groningen while Leah studies in Rotterdam. \u201cHe does want to see if he can find a job in a place where I want to go, according to him it won\u2019t be a problem. I still have to think about where exactly I\u2019m going after my studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nerve-wracking<\/h2>

\u201cAt Christmas, Ferdi met my family for the first time in Germany. That was nerve-wracking, of course. Fortunately, like my family, he really loves playing games, so that went really well. When I met his family in Drenthe, it was a bit more complicated: they don\u2019t speak English at all. So Ferdi and his younger brother had to interpret. Still, I felt very welcome there too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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