HCMC Timeline Resource

[ntbt11 1]

Thank you all for sharing timelines.

I am trying to find the right balance between too little information and too much information for my timeline. It covers 5 years including 3 trips (2 trips lasting over 1 month each). I have gone into detail about new developments and for each trip I went into detail about what we did each day. The format is date and description per line and the result is over 8 pages. I am afraid this too much for the CO to read. I was considering creating a "condensed" version for the CO and keeping my original "full" version should the CO need more info. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Well even though I haven't read the timeline it is best to not provide too much info. Make a condensed version to send and keep the original and use at te interview if it is requested. Many timelines have info like how they felt and such as that and they don't care at all about when your love deepened and how your heart is happy.

Thank you all for sharing timelines.

I am trying to find the right balance between too little information and too much information for my timeline. It covers 5 years including 3 trips (2 trips lasting over 1 month each). I have gone into detail about new developments and for each trip I went into detail about what we did each day. The format is date and description per line and the result is over 8 pages. I am afraid this too much for the CO to read. I was considering creating a "condensed" version for the CO and keeping my original "full" version should the CO need more info. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

[ntbt11 1]

Thank you luckytxn! You answered my question perfectly. In my original timeline, I described feelings for each event so that the CO would be more convinced of our genuine relationship.

Well even though I haven't read the timeline it is best to not provide too much info. Make a condensed version to send and keep the original and use at te interview if it is requested. Many timelines have info like how they felt and such as that and they don't care at all about when your love deepened and how your heart is happy.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Many do and it is just chaff to them. We had many years ago discussed these tings already and the consensus was just stick to the facts. Anyone can say anything they want. If wanted to commit visa fraud they wil of course say the same as others who are genuine.

Thank you luckytxn! You answered my question perfectly. In my original timeline, I described feelings for each event so that the CO would be more convinced of our genuine relationship.

[Shookeums34 2]

Mine's a bit longer than I'm sure was necessary, then again the part we did AFTER I sent the first part (as padding and frontloading) got significantly shorter...

I, Timothy Ruppert, a citizen of the U.S. am the fiancé of Phuong Nguyen. The following is a sworn affidavit documenting the timeline of our relationship from May 25, 2012 to present.

*****During her time in the United States we became close friends and developed feelings for one another despite knowing she had to leave at the summer’s end. This timeline cannot represent every moment we spent together during that time as we spent four or more days together out of each week, not to mention visiting one another on our breaks at work. Therefore the timeline below shows only the major events during her time in Tennessee as well as events we have substantial proof for. We were unaware we had to provide such documentation for our relationship until later on, and therefore we had collected and saved more evidence as during our later meetings than our time originally spent in Gatlinburg.

May 8, 2012

Became Facebook Friends

May 22, 2012

Phuong finally texts back, we make small talk online.

May 28, 2012

Phuong and I make small talk, I mention my friend’s wedding.

May 30, 2012

I remember her hair was in a ponytail, she was working on the corndog side at the time, and wearing a yellow Fannie Farkles shirt. She had such a warm smile, and I was surprised at the how cute I found her accent to be as I admittedly had trouble understanding her with all the loud sounds of the arcade in the background and her soft speaking at that time. She was still very much interested and we made plans to meet up that Saturday (June 2, 2012) for the wedding. I picked her up at her work the day of the wedding and neither of us had eaten yet at that point, which was around 12:30. We decided to stop at the McDonald’s on the way, she bought a 10 piece chicken nugget meal, and I had fries as I was a vegetarian at that time. We drove to the wedding and enjoyed music and small talk along the way. Arriving at the wedding, Phuong seemed enamored with the small church and the closeness of it all. Many of my classmates from high school were there, and Phuong readily made friends with one in particular, Lizzie Williams (who is of a similar height as Phuong).

June 2, 2012

I pick Phuong up at her work and we grab food at McDonald’s before making it to the wedding. Her boss makes sure to tell me to “bring her back safely”, and once the wedding has ended I drop her back off at her work safely just as she asked. An old school mate and close friend (Heather Dobbs, formerly Heather Holt) had invited me to her wedding. I was granted permission to bring a date, although with summer being the busiest time for my job, I didn’t have time to find one. I had all but given up until Phuong texted me out of the blue a short time before the wedding. After a few texts over Facebook, she agreed to join me for the event. I walked across the street to her work (Fannie Farkles) before the day of the wedding to meet her in person for the first time and make sure she still wished to go. The day of the wedding I picked her up at her job and we drove towards Newport for the wedding, stopping for breakfast at the McDonald’s on 321 on our way there.

June 8, 2012

After the wedding we decided to hang out in Gatlinburg and get to know each other a bit better. I soon found out that she loves her ice-cream, as we bought it many times while we were together. We decided to buy some from the Chocolate Monkey, which is directly next door to her work. She insisted on buying both of our ice creams (She got Chocolate and strawberry, which was her regular, and I got cookies and cream) and we were off to walk the streets of Gatlinburg as we chatted and learned more about one another. The one thing that stuck out about this day was she stopped to listen to a song playing in a store, Lucky by Jason Mraz, this song soon became “our song” as time went on.

June 13, 2012

Our work has an exchange program with the Knoxville Zoo, so Phuong and I decided to pay it a visit. I drove us to Knoxville and when I went to pay for parking, she practically threw money at the attendant. Knowing she wouldn’t let me pay for anything as long as she had her card, I offered to hold it for her so she didn’t need to lug her purse around with us. However when it was time to pay for lunch I finally had the chance to pay for our meals, as I wouldn’t let her use her card to pick up the bill this time around! She especially enjoyed the Elephants “dancing”. I have a video of us discussing them as they sway side to side. She also seemed quite curious about the spraying water mists around the zoo to keep you cool in the hot weather.

June 20, 2012

After a long time as a vegetarian, I decided to eat meat again for the first time. Phuong treated us to AppleBee’s. I decided to order a grilled chicken Caesar salad (an old favorite from when I ate meat, and it had the vegetables I am use to) and she had no idea what she wanted, so she ended up ordering the identical thing as I did(even down to the ranch dressing and sweet tea no lemon)! After we left we were hounded by a times share guy.

We then left for our Cirque de Chine show, unfortunately no photos are permitted in the performance, but she seemed to like the acrobats!

June 23, 2012

Phuong and I drove to Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge to spend part of the day and relax. We went through some shops near the park, most notably the jewelry and ceramics shops there. This is where we discussed her family’s business and my hobby. After which we went to the actual part and walked around while talking for a bit before settling into a grassy area near the water and I gave Phuong a short anime-styled drawing lesson. Once that was done we sat by the creek and took some photos and she played with some bubbles I brought with me. A small Spanish speaking girl fell and was hurt on the walking track close to us, and Phuong immediately ran over to console her. This was the moment I really noticed her kind and compassionate heart, and really knew that I was beginning to really fall for her. We admired the sunset before walking back to my car. We visited this park a few times during her stay here, and even spent our last night together in this same park.

July 4, 2012

Unfortunately Phuong had to work the night of the parade, but we both managed to get off the night of the fireworks show. We walked around Gatlinburg for a while and made our way down between Cooter’s Mini Golf and the Arrowmont school of Arts and Crafts to watch the fireworks display. Of course today wouldn’t be complete without a stop for ice cream! When I went to leave she gave me a hug and asked me something I never expected. I thought she was joking, but she was entirely serious, she wanted me to go the Vietnam. I didn’t know what to think at the time, but as things are now, going to Vietnam is no longer a big deal for me or my relationship.

July 16, 2012-

Phuong and I decided to see the new Ice Age movie in Turkey Creek. Since there is no point driving all that way for that, we decided to make a day out of it in Knoxville. She insisted on filling up my car before the trip, since I had been doing all the driving all this time. Afterwards we went to the West Town mall and walked the shops, she bought Subway and I had Japanese food. We each paid separate for our movie tickets once we arrived. She seemed to enjoy the cute movie, and the seats in this theatre were super comfortable!

July 23, 2012

I can obtain free admission for myself and a guest at Dollywood with a recent check stub. Phuong and I decided to go check out the shows and ride a few rides. Unfortunately she wouldn’t get on the WildEagle with me, but we did decide to climb up on the climbing course they had. Someone was also nice enough to take a photo of us in front of the antique squad car. Unfortunately, the main reason we decided to go was to see a show, and we missed it due to them filling the theatre to capacity before we were there. There was a final show later that day, however Phuong had to leave so she could have a farewell dinner with her boss that night.

August 23, 2012

I picked Phuong up in Gatlinburg and we drove to the city where I attend university, Johnson City. We spent a few moments walking around campus and letting her see a US campus and the beautiful area where I attend school. I also had to take care of a few things for the upcoming semester so I managed to get that done as well while I was there. After leaving campus we drove to the Mall at Johnson City and walked around the shops. We mostly visited clothing stores and Phuong seemed a bit upset that nothing really came in her size except for one item at Hollister she bought. We both ate at the Chinese restraint in the food court before looking around a bit more and then heading back to Gatlinburg.

August 27, 2012

Phuong books her flight home.

August 31. 2012

I visited Panther Creek Park with my college friends when we graduated back in 2011. I decided to take Phuong there to relax and enjoy the day. We drove from Gatlinburg to the park first. I let her enjoy the view of the lake from the top of the park first on the small balcony they have built. After that we hiked down through the trails to the water. Once there we walked along the shore and took a few photos. We brought a small plastic covering and placed it on the ground to relax and chat a bit. It became dark quickly and we barely made it back to our car before the sun was gone. We stopped at the Hobby Lobby across from my old college and she bought some pieces so that I could assemble some jewelry for her from it. On the way home we decided on Mexican in my hometown. She had a margarita before her food, and needless to say she was quite enjoying herself as she even asked me “So how was the restroom?” and laughing when I had returned from there. By the time we returned to Gatlinburg she was back to her usual self, although I still laugh about it to this very day.

September 5, 2012

Phuong wished to go white water rafting before she left. We made plans, however soon before our day we realized we had no one to go with us. She was upset but said it was fine and not to worry. Most of our friends had work and school was starting soon, or they were out of town. I couldn’t let her go without taking her rafting like I promised her earlier and so I called up my younger cousin and asked him and his friend to come with us. We all took my car to the spot in Hartford and once on our raft we talked to our guide, who if I remember correctly was Ukrainian. Phuong looked a bit scared, but still quite excited as we set off into the river. Our guide asked us how we all knew each other and I told her “she’s the cute girl that works across the street.” Some parts of the river you can swim in and Phuong insisted on doing so, even talking me into jumping in and swimming back with her. I could tell she really enjoyed it, and she also bought a souvenir photo of us. After we dropped of my cousin and his friend we went to dinner in my hometown. It was nice minus her having to send her steak back to get cooked a bit more. We then went to Walmart so she could buy some supplies and toiletries to take back with her for her trip.

September 6, 2012

Our last night together was quite bittersweet. We knew it was coming but neither of us were prepared for it at all. I was in class for the first portion of the day, but after which I drove over two hours from Johnson City to Gatlinburg to meet Phuong one last time. We met at Fannie Farkles and she said her good byes to her old coworkers. I received a call while we were there, only to find out that someone wanted me to help teach English to Spanish speakers in Morristown Tennessee for the upcoming semester. I was quite excited, and Phuong congratulated me on my new endeavor. We walked to my work and she said goodbye to a few of my coworkers she came to know over our time together. We had one of my coworkers take some last photos of us during that night, and then we walked around the deserted streets of Gatlinburg late night discussing various topics. We eventually got hungry and drove to Pigeon Forge where a Wendy’s was still open despite being so late at night. After eating I gave Phuong a stuffed panda bear backpack for her travels, and she gave me a purple feather boa. Purple is my favorite color, and I jokingly offered her strip shows on a few occasions, which the boa was an accessory for. We drove to Patriot Park one last time and chatted and cuddled some more before taking a slight nap into the early morning. Waking up and noticing the time I drove her back to where she stayed so she wouldn’t miss her flight. Her boss and brother texted me multiple times that night and I didn’t realize it, they even called one of my coworkers about four AM trying to locate us while we were together. We said our goodbye and tried to keep it quick to avoid any more emotions as I dropped her off so she could leave for her flight.

September 8, 2012

Phuong calls me from Korea letting me know she’s made it safely to Asia.

September 10, 2012

I make a Skype account so we can video chat.

October 23, 2012

Phuong purchases a birthday gift for me, it arrives the next day at my work.

December 14, 2012

I send a small package to Phuong with some earrings, a hat, and a letter for her.

December 24, 2012

Order her some Victoria’s Secret panties for Christmas, I later brought them with me to her on our trip to Europe.

February 5, 2013

Buy ring sizers to check on her size.

March 16, 2013

Ordered silver and stones to start making an engagement ring prototype for Phuong.

April 4, 2013

Phuong books our connecting flight from Amsterdam to Rome.

April 16, 2013

Phuong books her flight to Amsterdam and from Rome back to Hanoi.

April 18, 2013

I book the cruise with Royal Caribbean.

April 25, 2013

I book my flight from Knoxville to Amsterdam and from Rome back to Knoxville

May 8, 2013

I spend the first part of the day taking finals for university class, then drove to the airport to catch my flight from Knoxville to Detroit and then over to Amsterdam.

May 9, 2013

I arrived in Amsterdam before Phuong and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Burger King in the airport. Yuli, Phuong’s friend whom we were staying with, met me at the airport and drove me back to her apartment so I could get a quick nap and shower before we went back to meet Phuong. The first thing Phuong did upon meeting me was give me a kiss, and we went back to Yuli’s to rest before going out with their old college friends that night. Once we were up and rested we all three took the metro to Amsterdam and went to a Mexican restraint for dinner. I met some of her old Rotterdam classmates, a Spanish couple who were recently engaged, as well as some others. The talk that night revolved mostly around their recent engagement, as well as Phuong and I. We returned with Yuli and met another old friend at her apartment before heading to bed for the next day.

May 10, 2013

On the tenth Yuli had to leave for work so Phuong and I decided to be lazy and sleep in a bit. Once we left it was nearly time for lunch so we took the metro into the city and grabbed some food at McDonald’s. We spent the day exploring the city, with Phuong being sure to bring us by the red light distract a number of times so I could see it for myself. After that we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. With full bellies we went to a local bar for a drink and some local music. Phuong was allowed in no problem, but they did stop me and ask for my age, something I still find rather amusing. We didn’t stay long as Phuong hated the music, they were celebrating the anniversary of Bob Marley’s death soon and played only his classics.

May 11, 2013

The next day we stayed with Yuli and two other classmates since it rained and we couldn’t go out to the town of windmills. We enjoyed Yuli’s cooking and some company with their friends on our last night.

May 12, 2013

We left early that morning and caught the metro to Schiphol airport to leave for Rome. We ate breakfast at the Burger King and I withdrew some extra cash for our cruise. After making it to Rome we caught a bus to the train station, but we just missed our train and had to wait for the next one. I was very nervous we would be late but Phuong seemed pretty confident. We managed to make it in time with a few other stragglers. Once inside to immigration control they took our passports and about halve of the staff looked over Phuong’s with curiosity and bewilderment. Finally they allowed us to board and we went to see our rooms and explore the ship before our luggage arrived.

May 13, 2013

Our first port was the one Phuong seemed most excited about. She researched it some before and kept talking about it until the day we went there. When we arrived we joined an Italian and a Spanish couple for a cheap taxi ride into Taormina. Once there we did a bit of sightseeing and took some photos, the usual tourist approach. We didn’t have time to see too much though the entire place was so very beautiful and scenic. We had made friends with the other two couples and ended up joining them on other excursions to cut down on costs. The fact we spoke over five languages between all of us was also something that could prove to be very handy.

May 14, 2013

On board the ship.

May 15, 2013

Greece was the stop I was most excited about. We decided to try and go on our own this time and walked to the train station so we could go to the acropolis. Phuong doubted my navigation skills and insisted on asking for directions many times despite my abilities. We made it into the acropolis and viewed all of the old monuments before stopping at a small local restaurant for lunch. Once we returned to the ship after yet another long walk and train ride.

May 16, 2013

Turkey was the country Phuong and I were probably the least interested in overall for our trip, myself especially due to most of the negative views about Americans from the countries that are in that area of the world. However it wasn’t that bad, perhaps because we stayed in a tourist area the entire time. We went with Carlos y Laura and the Italian couple to see the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as well as Ephesus and some old Turkish baths. Once done we went back to our ship for lunch and Phuong insisted on going back out so she could purchase a souvenir, although I was quite worried we were going to cut it close and miss our ship.

May 17, 2013

Crete was our final port and it was by far the smallest of all of them. We took a bus into the city and walked through the market, which was pretty much all that was even there. We walked out and came closer to the sea again to see a beautiful lighthouse, old Turkish bath, as well as an old fort. It became windy rather quickly and it was obvious that a storm was coming in. We made it back to the port and once we departed we were advised by the captain not to go on the upper decks due to the high winds.

May 18, 2013

On ship entire day.

May 19, 2013

We returned to Rome and took a train back into the main part of Rome. From there we made it to our hotel before relaxing a bit and then heading out to explore Rome.

May 20, 2013

We took the metro to the stop near the Vatican and were able to skip the horribly long line thanks to having ordered ahead of time. Once I received our tickets we went inside. It was quite beautiful, however there were way too many people and it was so crowded you couldn’t enjoy much of it. We took the shorter version of the trip which still included the cathedral and basilica, however I didn’t get the chance to see Michelangelo’s creation of Adam, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to go in the first place. It was a nice experience though, even if the Pope didn’t happen to be there when we were there.

May 21, 2013

We spent the next few days in Rome just relaxing and enjoying the sights. We made sure to check out as much of the major landmarks as we could, and did a great deal of walking. Our hotel was really close to the main terminal, but we usually either walked or used the metro as the buses didn’t work out well with our routes. We ate classic Italian cuisine every day and explored some small nearby park far away from the crowds and large tourist attractions. We spent one of the days there almost entire in Vatican City inside of Rome.

May 22, 2013

Flights from Rome back to Knoxville and Hanoi

July 17, 2013

Phuong and I discussed marriage and our future many times however I never actually came out and asked her officially to marry me yet. I wanted to wait until I at least had a ring prototype that could fit her or to show her before doing so. I asked her over Skype, and she did take a moment to respond. She asked me if I was sure, and I told her yes, to which she smiled largely and said yes. Although I have already asked for her hand in marriage, and knew we would be tying the knot for some time now, I am still very much planning on getting on one knee and asking her as well when I visit her in October. I worked too hard on her ring to not propose in person with it as well.

October 15-17 , 2013

After a long flight I finally arrived in Hanoi. Phuong picked me up at the airport late that night and we took a taxi back to our hotel. The next few days I was treated to street food and many sights around the city. The traffic was daunting at first but I became accustomed to it rather quickly. We met her siblings for dinner one night and enjoyed a traditional hot pot. After a few days around the city we boarded a flight for Da Nang city.

10/18/2013 – 10/20/2013

We spent a few days in Hoi An, and luckily we arrived at the night that the paper lanterns were all on display in the river. We explored the little town, which sadly was hit by bad storms before we arrived. We saw all the main tourist sights, and stayed at two separate hotels during our time there. The second one, while nice and more resort like, had some guests that Phuong wasn't too happy with. There were geckos everywhere!

10/21/2013 – 10/23/2013

Hue was my favorite city in Vietnam so far. I'm a history buff and seeing all of the old tombs and monuments was something that I really enjoyed. We saw the Forbidden Purple City, as well as a few of the old tombs and a Non La making village. The people here seemed quite friendly, with some helping us find out hotel and others taking a special liking to me, especially the older women according to Phuong!

October 23-26, 2013

Once back in the city we had already seen most of the major tourist sights. We did decide to visit a few pagodas and see some lakes, but mostly we were just enjoying our last days together. We left once for a trip to Ha Long Bay, and again to visit her parents in Bat Trang village.

October 25, 2013

This was our last major sight in Vietnam. We toured by boat and kayaked through some caves at a small fishing village. The landscape, especially the sunset was remarkable. On our way back to the shore I decided to re-ask Phuong to marry me, seeing as now I had a completed ring crafted and we were finally together in person. I wanted to make sure that after another bit of traveling together we both still agreed and wanted to move on with our relationship. She said yes once again, showing me that million dollar smile of hers. Now that I suppose we are finally more “official”, I was preparing for dinner with her parents and siblings the upcoming day.

10/26/2013

We went to Bat Trang on of the last days of my trip to see her parents and grandparents. I was still pretty nervous, having only seen her mother a bit on skype. Phuong and her siblings did a great deal of talking and translating, but to everyone's surprise their father knew a bit of English. When I met the grandparents I was happy to see that her Grandfather spoke French, and although I only know a bit, I thanked her grandfather after he showed us around his place while we waited for dinner. After a short time I finally was able to loosen up a bit as I could see her family had accepted and appeared to like me. We took quite a number of photos together, especially her father and I, mostly as we bonded, silently, over tea.

3/8/2014

Phuong and I flew into Ho Chi Minh City from Knoxville and Hanoi very early in the morning. We go straight to our hotel and sleep.

3/8/2014 – 3/10/2014

We spent these days around Saigon, seeing the major sights such as the war museum and enjoying the local food.

3/10/2014 – 3/14/2014

We flew into Nha Trang and immediately I was thrown off but all the signs in Russian. We did lots of tours in this city, seeing most of the islands. We especially enjoyed monkey island, although we had a pack of cookies stolen from us by the furry creatures.

3/15/2014 – 3/17/2014

Back to Saigon, we decided to take care of some stuff for the interview since we had time to kill. We went and had her medical exam done, since we flew in from so far away, they admitted us rather quickly, even though we were supposed to come back another day. We decided to see some of her family that were living in Saigon while we were in town. Once we got everything taken care of, we just rested and enjoyed the city before heading off to the country.

3/18/2014 – 3/19/2014

We went on tour of more areas around the river. We got to see honey bees, eat crocodile and emu, and even a water buffalo. It was far hotter than I had expected, but we did have a good time. We went to the Cai Rang floating market as well.