My Miracle Trip To Japan Meine wundersame Reise nach Japan Mi viaje milagroso a Japón Mon voyage miraculeux au Japon Il mio viaggio miracoloso in Giappone 日本への奇跡の旅 Moja cudowna podróż do Japonii A minha viagem milagrosa ao Japão Мое чудесное путешествие в Японию 我的奇迹日本之旅

- I went on a magical trip that changed my life forever, - Šel jsem na kouzelný výlet, který navždy změnil můj život, - Я отправился в волшебное путешествие, которое навсегда изменило мою жизнь,

and this is that story. a tohle je ten příběh. и это та история.

So, it's Labor Day Weekend 2016 Takže je tu Labour Day Weekend 2016 Итак, наступили выходные, посвященные Дню труда 2016.

and my friend tells me that she has an update on my ex. a moje kamarádka mi řekla, že má aktuální informace o mém bývalém. и моя подруга говорит мне, что у нее есть последние новости о моем бывшем.

So, I'm just like, oh my God, what's going on? Takže si říkám, můj bože, co se děje? Итак, я просто такой, Боже мой, что происходит?

Does he have a girlfriend already? Má už přítelkyni? У него уже есть девушка?

She tells me no, no girlfriend, so I am relieved, Říká mi ne, žádná přítelkyně, takže se mi ulevilo, Она говорит мне, что нет девушки, поэтому я чувствую облегчение,

but then she tells me that he recently went to Japan. ale pak mi řekla, že nedávno odjel do Japonska. но потом она говорит мне, что он недавно был в Японии.

That pissed me off so much To mě tak naštvalo Это так меня разозлило

because my ex does not like to travel. protože můj bývalý nerad cestuje. потому что мой бывший не любит путешествовать.

I had to book all of our trips together. Musel jsem si zarezervovat všechny naše výlety společně. Пришлось бронировать все поездки вместе.

We went to Puerto Rico, we went to Mexico City. Šli jsme do Portorika, šli jsme do Mexico City. Мы поехали в Пуэрто-Рико, мы поехали в Мехико.

It was all because of the work that I did Bylo to všechno kvůli práci, kterou jsem dělal Это все из-за той работы, которую я проделал

to plan these trips, планировать эти поездки,

and one of the big trips I wanted to do for us и одно из больших путешествий, которое я хотел сделать для нас

was to go to Tokyo. должен был поехать в Токио.

It's been my dream trip since I was a kid. Это путешествие было моей мечтой с детства.

So, fueled by Instagram jealousy, Итак, подогреваемые завистью в Instagram,

I ran back to my apartment Я побежал в свою квартиру

and immediately began googling trips to Japan. и сразу начал гуглить поездки в Японию.

I found round-trip tickets for $750, woo! Я нашел билеты туда и обратно за 750 долларов, ух!

Then I texted my childhood friend, Pat,

and I told him about this crazy cheap deal that I found.

He was down, I was down, 彼は落ち込んでいた、私は落ち込んでいた、

we decided to spend two weeks in Japan.

A month after we booked our flights,

my father was hospitalized

due to complications with diabetes.

I was with my dad at the hospital for most of the time,

and I assumed the role of the caregiver

because my mother is a nanny

and she does not have the same flexibility as I do

working here at BuzzFeed.

We received the heavy news

that he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

I never thought that I'd be in a situation

where either of my parents would have cancer.

I took my dad to two different oncologists

and they both agreed he needed a tumor removed

from his left kidney.

I somehow miraculously got him into

one of the best hospitals in the country,

but I was getting nervous.

The trip to Japan was getting closer and closer

and I wasn't at work a lot,

and I asked my boss at one point,

should I still go to Japan?

Is that okay?

She said please go.

You need to travel, get your mind off things.

And with my family and boss's blessing,

I hopped on a plane with my friend Pat

and we embarked to The Land of the Rising Sun.

We started our trip in Kyoto,

which is Japan's ancient capital.

It has thousands of temples and shrines.

So, we decided to book an all-day tour

so we could hit up all the important spots.

Obviously, at the time,

I had a lot going on in my life

and I'm also a very spiritual person,

so it was important to me when I was in Kyoto

to pray in these temples and shrines

and do it in a very respectful manner.

At the end of this tour, I'm totally nerding out.

I'm in the front of the group

asking all the annoying questions, raising my hand.

It got to a point where I was that person

holding the tour guide pole.

I was that tourist, and all of a sudden,

I noticed this cute guy and I think he's looking at me.

At one point, we locked eyes,

and then I looked away

'cause I just thought he was staring at me

'cause I looked crazy with that tour pole thing.

So, we're at the last stop of the tour

and it's this magical temple called Kiyomizu-dera.

It's absolutely stunning.

There are these two stones

and they're actually called the Love Stones,

and legend goes that you must close your eyes

and walk from one stone to another stone,

and if you're able to walk from one stone to another stone

with your eyes closed without any help,

that means you won't need help finding love.

However, if you walk from one stone

to the other stone and you need help,

you will need help finding love,

whether it's a matchmaker, your mom, Tinder,

you're gonna need help.

So, my friend Pat walks from one stone to the other.

They're about 60 feet apart, and he is flawless.

I do it and I'm a hot mess.

I trip, I stumble.

(people talking)

- [Man] Yeah!

- In other words, I desperately need help finding love.

Before we knew it,

it was time to head back to the tour bus

and go back to our hotels.

So, as I get back in the bus,

I notice that that really cute guy

who I thought was checking me out,

he was sitting in the back of the bus too.

It was weird because he definitely

wasn't sitting in the back of the bus

throughout the whole day of this tour.

So, I hear him talking about traveling

and where he's been in Japan,

so I turn around and start talking to him,

we're hitting it off.

He introduced himself as Josh, I told him I was Alexis,

and then I quickly introduced him to Pat,

but I made sure to say this is my friend Pat

so he knew I was traveling with a homie and not a boyfriend.

So, then I gave my Instagram handle

and I told him to follow me, which he did.

I became friends with this girl named Molly from Australia,

and we made plans to hang out that night.

So, I figured I'd ask Josh to join us

'cause he's also an Aussie.

Why not?

Molly, Josh, and I meet in the hotel lobby that evening

and I lead them to this really cool ramen place

that I found on Yelp.

We had a great meal and decided to get drinks afterwards,

which is where things took a turn.

After a few hours in the bar,

I proposed that we do karaoke

because Japan is the birthplace of karaoke.

You know that chemistry you have

when you go out with a crush?

Your arms are brushing each other,

your legs are rubbing next to each other,

and you feel that spark in the air.

That's how it felt singing with Josh.

Molly finally leaves to go to the bathroom.

The second Molly leaves the room,

Josh and I begin looking at each other

and we just start immediately kissing.

4:00 a.m. rolls around and we leave the karaoke bar.

After we dropped of Molly,

Josh and I headed straight to his hotel.

The next morning,

we woke up together and ate a hungover lunch at McDonald's.

We ended up spending the whole day together

and we really opened up about our lives.

He tells me that his parents are both cancer survivors,

so I told him about my dad's recent cancer diagnosis

and we really really really bonded over that.

Josh and I spent 36 hours together,

and the only reason we stopped hanging out

was because he had to go back home to Australia.

I still had a week left in Japan,

so I finally met up with Pat again.

Remember him?

All the while, Josh and I kept talking on WhatsApp.

It felt like he was my boyfriend even though he wasn't.

Eventually, my trip to Japan ends

and I'm back in New York City.

A few random guys from my past asked me to hang out

and it frustrated me.

These (bleep) boys were playing themselves.

I hadn't heard from them in months

and they just started popping up from my trip after Japan,

and it just gave me clarity that

really the only person I wanted to be with was Josh.

A few days later,

I was on the phone with Josh and I just told him the truth.

I was like, look,

I only want to be with you and no one else.

Oh my God, I was feeling the same way,

but I was gonna wait until Christmas to tell you that,

he said.

It felt really nice that we were both on the same page.

So, we both laughed and decided then and there

that after 36 hours of hanging out,

he was my boyfriend and I was his girlfriend.

Fast forward to a month later,

my father was about to get surgery

to have his tumor removed.

My father is a man of God and I grew up in a Baptist church

and I really respect and love the power of prayer,

but nothing had prepared me for my father's surgery update.

A few days after surgery,

my father's doctor called

and he said that my dad's tumor was benign.

I thought back to two things

I distinctly prayed for in Kyoto.

First was my father's health.

I prayed for a speedy recovery,

like I wouldn't be the optimistic woman that I am today

if it wasn't for him, so that was a really...

It was a really important prayer in Kyoto.

The second thing I prayed for in Kyoto was true love.

So, here I am in my mid-30s,

and I prayed to find true love no matter my age.

And I was like, if I find true love in my 40s or 50s or 60s,

I'd be okay with it.

I just wanna find the right person.

I'm sure you're wondering

what's going on with Josh and I now.

Well, I ended up going to Australia

to meet his friends and family

and he came to New York City to meet mine.

Less than a year after we met,

he moved to LA and we got engaged.

Exactly a year after we met,

we went to the Beverly Hills Courthouse and got married,

and it only cost us $90 to get married.

What a steal!

I never gave up on love and it led me to where I am now.

I hope the one thing you can take away from this video

is to do the same.

Don't give up on love.

(upbeat music)