Laura and Chris have to transcend geography (she's MSU - he's U of M) but cross-cultural issues as well

The Couple: Laura Martin & Chris Panjwani

Been dating since: October 2003

How they met:
(Laura’s disclaimer: This is dorky.) They met in their high school marching band.

Who made the first move?
Laura: I liked him first but Chris was the one to make the first move. He actually asked me out to a movie, but on the day of the date I woke up with a really high fever and a sore throat. So, much to my disappointment, I called and canceled it. Then later on that day as I was sitting there, disgusting, wearing two sweat shirts, a really old ugly sweater of my mom’s that was made in about 1960 and no makeup, he shows up at my house with a rose and asks me to be his girlfriend. (I’m surprised he didn’t run away as soon as he saw the sweater, it is soo bad) .We’ve been together ever since..

Conflicts of interest: While Laura goes to Michigan State University, Chris attends rival school University of Michigan. Last year Laura visited Chris almost every Saturday at U of M and this year she heads home a lot to see him and he has made several trips to State.

How they spend their couple time: Since they don’t see each other much, usually they just stay in and spend time together. But when they do go out they go to the movie theaters sometimes, Chris has tried to teach Laura how to golf a few times and she’s tried to teach him how to ice skate. They go out with other couples to restaurants or by themselves. Or they just hang out and talk for hours, walk around town and shop.

Opposites attract: Chris is a math and science guy while Laura is an English and history girl. He’s a Republican, she’s a Democrat. Somehow it works. They have a few common interests though: reading, traveling and socializing.

Favorite memory as a couple:
Laura: When we had been dating for about five months, our band went on a trip to Florida, by way of a 24-hour straight bus ride! I didn’t think it would be much fun but it ended up being one of the best memories I have. We had never really spent that much time together and had a really nice time falling asleep with each other and talking throughout the night. At one point, even though I had not planned on saying it, I told Chris that I was in love with him. Anyone who knows me will know is crazy for me to say something like that first but it just seemed so right at that moment. Chris got really excited and told me that he was in love with me too. It was at this point that I think we both realized that we were going to be together for a long time.

Struggles they've faced as a couple:
While Chris has been able to expose Laura to Indian culture, one that is totally different from her own, it has also caused some hardships. Chris’s parents moved to the United States from India a few years before Chris was born and, in their society, dating always comes second to education. Laura said, “In Chris’ parents’ minds, having a girlfriend takes away from schooling and should not be done until after their son has finished his college education and, at that point he can date, preferably a nice modern Indian girl. They didn’t like us hanging out alone back when we were both in high school, so sometimes Chris had to hang out with me and ‘other people’ that weren’t really there. They are coming around to the idea of us being together now and even invited my family over for dinner this summer. But [they] are still concerned that I will distract him too much from his education.”

Favorite things about the other:
Chris: My favorite thing about Laura is that she spontaneous, silly, and fun. She brings out a different, more fun side of my personality because unlike a lot of my friends she is not a boring science person. I also love her smile. And she sends me these really sweet emails all the times and every time they totally make my day.
Laura: Chris is the sweetest, most caring guy I have ever met. He is always looking out for me and trying to make me happy. He is always there to wipe my tears away no matter how stupid the reason for them is. Chris can make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world when I am wearing sweat pants, no make up and my hair is a mess.

Celebrity couple they are most like:
Laura: In the movie You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan is the Shop Around the Corner, free-spirited one and Tom Hanks is the big business guy who is taking over her company but once you get to know him he is really sweet. I could see that happening to us, because Chris is a very capitalistic logical guy and I am more of a “let’s make everyone happy and keep the hominess of small town life” girl. Either that or the character in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding except opposite because of the whole culture difference thing and having to hide that they are dating.