Episodio 13: Pandemic Weddings (Bodas en pandemia)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Nazmul Ahmed y Sharmin Asa lo tenían todo ya planeado para su boda el 12 de abril del 2020.

Iba a ser en Nueva York y Nazmul sabía que todo iba a ser perfecto.

We started planning our wedding in the summer of 2019, and we were really excited.

We knew exactly what we wanted.

We found a location for the wedding.

We even chose the food and the photographer.

Pero en enero, Nazmul comenzó a preocuparse por la pandemia del COVID-19.

Él ya estaba al tanto del coronavirus mucho antes que la mayoría de las personas en los Estados Unidos, porque trabajaba para una empresa de suministros médicos que hacía negocios en China.

En marzo, estaba claro que la pandemia se estaba agravando.

In March, we only had a few things to do before the wedding, like trying on our outfits.

But then, Sharmin’s medical school graduation was cancelled, and that’s when we started to worry about our wedding.

La cuarentena llegó el mismo día que el paquete de correos con el vestido de novia de Sharmin.

La pareja se vio obligada a aislarse en su apartamento de Nueva Jersey.

Fue entonces cuando decidieron cancelar la boda.

I thought we should cancel the wedding and Sharmin agreed.

But it was devastating.

Pero unos días después, mientras jugaba videojuegos para entretenerse durante la cuarentena, a Nazmul se le ocurrió una idea.

During our quarantine, we started playing a popular video game called Animal Crossing.

In the game, you can build your own world and you can actually hang out with other real-life players.

Suddenly, I had an idea.

Sharmin and I couldn’t get married in the real world…but maybe we could get married in a video game.

Welcome, bienvenidos y bienvenidas a “Relatos en Inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Los protagonistas hablan en un inglés sencillo y fácil de entender para quienes están aprendiendo el idioma.

En este episodio, dos historias de personas que quieren contraer matrimonio, pero se encuentran un obstáculo enorme: ¡una pandemia global!

Nazmul y Sharmin se conocieron en el 2016, a través de Instagram.

Nazmul se fijó en Sharmin porque la vio en una foto de uno de sus amigos de la secundaria.

Él pensó que ella era guapa, así que la contactó a pesar de que nunca se habían conocido en la vida real.

Lo hizo a través de un mensaje directo, o como se suele decir en inglés, DM, por las siglas de direct message.

Before responding to my DM, Sharmin asked the friend we had in common about me.

Our friend said, “Oh, Nazmul? He’s nice.” Sharmin still didn’t respond for a while.

But when she did, we talked a lot.

And we finally met a few months later with some friends at a bar.

Sharmin and I realized that we only lived eight minutes away from each other in New York City! For our first formal date, we had brunch in a New York neighborhood called Astoria.

El brunch es una comida que combina el desayuno y el almuerzo, generalmente los fines de semana.

Dos años después de su primera cita, Nazmul le propuso matrimonio a Sharmin durante unas vacaciones en Costa Rica.

Sharmin finished her exams for medical school, and we wanted to celebrate.

I suggested a trip to Costa Rica, but her parents didn’t feel comfortable with that.

We are both Bengali.

Our parents are from Bangladesh, and they were conservative about men and women traveling together before marriage.

So, I told them we were going to get engaged on the trip, that way, they would feel comfortable with it.

Sharmin knew I was going to ask her to marry me, but I still wanted to surprise her!

El plan de Nazmul para sorprender a Sharmin era hacerla esperar...

hasta el último día de su viaje.

We stayed at a hostel that had a beautiful butterfly garden.

I knew it was the perfect place to ask Sharmin to marry me.

Before the big moment, I walked around the garden and found a good place for photos.

I got down on my knees and asked her to marry me.

And she said, “Yes!” It was really cute.

Afterwards, I asked her, “You knew I was going to do that, right?” But she didn’t — she was very surprised!

En la cultura tradicional bengalí, las parejas no suelen tener un noviazgo largo antes de casarse.

Pero Nazmul y Sharmin crecieron en los Estados Unidos, donde estar comprometidos durante más tiempo no es raro.

Muchas personas hasta toman meses o incluso años para casarse después de comprometerse.

In the summer of 2019, we started planning our wedding.

We were very excited about it.

In the fall, Sharmin’s sister found a location for the wedding in Brooklyn.

It had a lot of beautiful green space.

We also found a chef to cook delicious Pakistani food for the wedding.

Sharmin incluso compró un vestido de novia tradicional indio; y con las lentejuelas y demás adornos pesaba más de 20 libras, o 9 kilos.

Su lista de invitados era de 150 personas.

Como es común en los Estados Unidos, le pidieron a un amigo que oficiara la boda.

Our photographer was a good friend, and one of our best friends was going to officiate our wedding.

We were really excited.

Cuando llegó la pandemia, tuvieron que llamar a todos y cada uno de los invitados para cancelar la boda.

Poco después, Nazmul también fue despedido de su trabajo, o laid off.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I was laid off from my job, and Sharmin’s internship at the hospital was cancelled.

With the quarantine, we were just at home, in our apartment, and we were feeling pretty low.

Con preocupación por el futuro y decepcionados por haber cancelado su boda, comenzaron a jugar el video juego Animal Crossing para entretenerse.

In the game Animal Crossing, you can go to different islands and see waterfalls and beaches.

There isn’t really a goal in the game, except enjoying life.

Sharmin didn’t play video games often, but it was great for her, because it’s a very relaxing game.

We couldn’t leave our one-bedroom apartment, so it was fun to imagine going to those beautiful islands.

Ese juego ha sido muy popular durante la pandemia porque se puede jugar con amigos a través de Internet.

So we played Animal Crossing eight hours a day, and our friends played it too.

A week after we started playing, we were on Sharmin’s beach in the game, and we took really cute pictures.

I thought, “Wait, this looks really nice! Maybe I can plan a really fun beach wedding, like you see on TV or the movies.”

Al día siguiente, Nazmul comenzó a planificar una boda a través de ese juego.

Quería que la boda fuera una sorpresa...

First, I started to make a space on my island for the wedding, and that took an hour.

Then, I started creating our wedding logo with our initials, and that took another two hours! I wanted to make sure each pixel was perfect.

After several hours of planning, I thought, “OK, this looks like a real wedding location.”

Y, en ese momento, Nazmul decidió contactar a los invitados.

We already had a group chat with all of our friends, so I had to start a new one without Sharmin.

I told everyone to come to my island.

They quickly realized I was planning a surprise wedding, and they were so excited.

Nazmul sabía que podía dedicar más tiempo a planificar todo al detalle para que fuera perfecto, pero en realidad solo quería sorprender a Sharmin.

Everyone was ready to start the ceremony, so in the video game, I invited Sharmin to my island.

When she arrived, I put shiny objects in the sand, creating a path for her to follow to the big event.

I offered her a white dress to try on, and then we walked to the beach.

As we walked, our friends appeared in the game and started throwing sparklers and confetti.

Muchas bodas en los Estados Unidos acaban con bengalas, o sparklers, y confeti.

En la vida real, en el sofá, Nazmul subió el volumen de su teléfono para que se oyera la llamada en grupo.

Todos sus amigos gritaron a la vez: “¡Vivan los novios!”.

It was really, really surprising to me! It brought together a lot of important people in our lives, and we were just really happy.

Sí, esta es Sharmin.

La boda en Animal Crossing no fue oficial.

Nazmul y Sharmin todavía están esperando para casarse.

Pero la ceremonia improvisada les ayudó a darse cuenta de que cuando se casen, quieren centrarse menos en los detalles materiales y más en celebrar con las personas a las que quieren.

We haven’t seen our families for a while.

So when it’s safe to have our wedding, we want to bring everyone we love together.

But it doesn’t have to be perfect.

After having this little Animal Crossing wedding, I’ve realized the perfect wedding is not important.

It’s more important to spend time with the people we love, whether it’s in a game or real life.

Nazmul y Sharmin no pudieron ver a sus amigos y familiares cuando llegó la pandemia.

Pero Savannah Koop y Ryan Hamilton ni siquiera pudieron verse el uno al otro.

Savannah es canadiense, de un pueblo llamado Abbotsford, en la provincia de la Columbia Británica.

Ryan es de Bellingham, en el estado de Washington, al otro lado de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y Canadá.

Se conocieron en Hinge, una aplicación de citas, en julio del 2019.

For our first date, Ryan asked me to meet him at a coffee shop in Bellingham.

I was two hours late because there was traffic at the border, but he didn’t mind.

He just ordered two coffees and we left the shop.

We walked around the old neighborhood of Bellingham and along the beach, where a saxophonist was playing.

Then we drove up a mountain, where there was a beautiful view over the sea.

We talked and talked and talked.

It was perfect — except for his terrible jokes.

Al principio, ninguno de los dos se preocupó mucho por el hecho de que vivían en diferentes países.

Todos en esa zona cruzaban la frontera todo el tiempo: para citas, para comprar comida… por todo tipo de razones.

After that, we started seeing each other often.

We had so much in common.

We both enjoy hiking and skateboarding, and we’re both Christian and enjoy discussing Christian issues.

A los seis meses de conocerse, empezaron a hablar de casarse.

We just wanted to be together.

It was so simple — in theory.

In December, we started looking for rings.

Ryan really wanted to buy me a diamond, but I told him I just wanted a simple gold ring.

And so on March 1, he asked me to marry him.

We were in a beautiful national park in Canada, next to a river, with tall trees all around us.

A principios de marzo, la pandemia estaba empezando a convertirse en un problema en Estados Unidos y Canadá...

pero aún no quedaba claro que tan problemática iba a ser.

Así que planearon la boda para mayo.

Solo faltaban dos meses, pero así sería más fácil para que la familia de Savannah pudiera estar.

My parents live in Spain, and they only come to Canada once a year.

My older sister was going to have her first baby in May, and our parents planned to visit then.

So instead of making them travel twice, we thought, “Let’s get married while they’re here!”

Savannah y Ryan empezaron con los preparativos.

El 12 de marzo fueron de compras juntos a Bellingham para decidir qué querían incluir en su registro de bodas.

As I was driving back to Abbotsford that day, I heard an announcement on the radio.

“Health officials are recommending that all travelers complete a 14-day quarantine after visiting the United States…”

It was recommended that all people going to Canada from the U.S.

should quarantine for 14 days.

“...to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.”

Es decir, gente como...

Savannah.

At that time, the 14-day quarantine was only a recommendation, so I still went to work.

But my boss told me to quarantine at home.

I was so upset because I couldn’t see Ryan for 14 days! Soon after that, the borders closed.

El 20 de marzo, Canadá y Estados Unidos cerraron su frontera a viajes no esenciales.

Ryan y Savannah estaban atrapados...

en diferentes países.

Then I lost my job.

It was really stressful.

Ryan had to stay in the U.S., because he couldn’t leave his job.

I was in Canada and couldn’t leave my pregnant sister.

We couldn’t see each other for two and a half weeks, and it was really difficult.

Then I had an idea...

A diferencia de la frontera de Estados Unidos con México, la mayor parte de la frontera con Canadá no tiene valla o muro.

Entonces, Savannah buscó en Google Maps y encontró dos carreteras que iban paralelas a los dos lados de la frontera, para que ambos pudieran conducir hasta allí.

La frontera en sí era una zanja o ditch.

Between the roads, there was a ditch.

It was about two meters wide.

I told Ryan we should meet there, but he wasn’t sure.

He thought it would be too difficult to see each other but not be able to touch.

Finally, I convinced him, and the next day, I drove to the border.

And Ryan was there, on the other side, with a huge smile.

I immediately started crying.

It was so good to see him! We walked side by side — as close as possible.

But I really wanted to touch him.

Después de aquello, se vieron todos los días.

Se enteraron de qué puntos de la frontera no estaban separados por una zanja.

Pero en todo momento, tenían que estar atentos por si aparecía la patrulla fronteriza, o border patrol.

We were so close, but we never touched each other.

We knew the Border Patrol was always watching.

We were careful because we heard stories about people being arrested for suspicious behavior.

But I still really wanted to hug him.

Al principio, Savannah y Ryan pensaron que el cierre de la frontera sería temporal.

Pero a medida que la fecha de su boda se acercaba...

se dieron cuenta de que no iba a reabrirse pronto.

Y tuvieron que cancelar la boda.

Así pasaron las semanas.

Then, one afternoon in May, I read an article about a woman who flew to the U.S.

to see her husband.

We didn’t realize that flying was still an option, even though the land borders were closed! So, we decided very quickly: I was going to fly to the U.S.

to see Ryan.

Una vez que ambos estuvieron en los Estados Unidos, decidieron intentar celebrar una boda, tomando las precauciones contra el coronavirus, en la propiedad de un amigo que se extendía a ambos lados de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y Canadá.

I was so excited! We immediately started planning our wedding ceremony.

We decided to have our wedding at our friend’s property because then all our Canadian and U.S.

guests could come and stay on different sides of the border.

And it was safer to have an outdoor wedding during the pandemic!

Solo tenían dos semanas para planificar la boda porque los padres de Savannah, que estaban en Canadá visitando a su nuevo nieto, querían regresar a España.

Pero no querían volver hasta que Savannah y Ryan se hubieran casado.

We planned a small wedding — it was only for some of our family and friends.

But it was so much work because we were planning two weddings! We didn’t want people to cross the border, so we needed two of everything: two photographers, two videographers, two different people to bring dessert and coffee…

El día antes de casarse, tuvieron un ensayo o rehearsal, un repaso previo de la ceremonia que muchas parejas estadounidenses hacen el día antes de la boda de verdad.

While we were finishing our wedding rehearsal, I heard a truck arrive.

I looked, and it was the Border Patrol.

I was devastated.

Savannah estaba segura de que el agente de fronteras iba a cancelar la boda.

The officer got out of his car and said: “Oh, you two are getting married!” I was really nervous, but when he said that, I felt so much better.

He recognized us from all of our dates at the border!

La boda pudo continuar según lo planeado.

Había una hilera de sillas a cada lado de la frontera, los invitados canadienses a un lado y los estadounidenses al otro.

Savannah caminó a lo largo de la frontera, justo en el medio, para recitar sus votos o vows.

While I was walking down the aisle with my dad, it started to rain.

I stood next to Ryan, and when I started saying my vows, the sun started to shine.

Then, Ryan took a ring out of his pocket.

And it was a diamond! I was shocked.

Ryan había comprado el diamante en secreto.

Y aunque no lo había querido en un principio, a Savannah le encantó la sorpresa.

After the ceremony, we moved the tables together, so we had one big table on the border.

Guests from Canada were on one side, and guests from the U.S.

were on the other side.

My sister came with my baby nephew.

I loved every second of it.

Savannah y Ryan Hamilton ahora viven juntos en Bellingham, en los Estados Unidos.

Su historia fue producida por Eloise Stevens, productora de radio que vive en el Reino Unido.

Nazmul Ahmed es un ingeniero en calidad y vive en Filadelfia, Pensilvania, donde él y Sharmin se mudaron recientemente para las prácticas médicas de ella.

Su historia fue producida por Stephanie Maltarich.

“Relatos en Inglés” es una producción de Duolingo y Adonde Media.

Puedes suscribirte en Spotify, Apple o tu plataforma preferida.

Yo soy Diana Gameros.

Thank you for listening!