Today everything on LPFC is about the love you can find in our favorite community: the Linkin Park Underground. The community gives us so many opportunities to meet cool people who share our interests and passions. Either online – on message boards, blogs and chats – or in “real life” – on Linkin Park concerts, meet ups and meet and greets – friendships are made and soul mates are found. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, we have several articles for you today, each telling the story of a couple that met through Linkin Park or the LPU. Those are awesome stories showing how Linkin Park might change your life fundamentally and the issues they had to deal with to continue their relationship. Long distance can be a motherfucker, but just like some ancient Greek dude once said “Love conquers all”! We hope you enjoy our Valentine’s Day special and have a great day today – no matter if you’re single or taken <3
First, we talked to Raissa (27, Netherlands) and Kai (27, Germany) who both joined the LPU at the same time, went to the same LPU events – but didn’t meet until September 2015.
For how long have you been LPU members?
– Kai: That’s a funny first question! We both joined the LPU in summer 2012, right after the release of “Living Things”. So maybe back then destiny already had an idea. 😛
And for how long have you been together now?
– Raissa: For four months now, but it doesn’t feel like only four months actually. It feels like we’ve known each other for many years already.
Have you ever talked on the LPU before you met in real life?
– Raissa: No, we have never met before on the LPU site (since I have never been really active on it…), but we do have seen each other two times before we actually started to get in contact with each other. The first time was at the LPU Summit 2014 in Amsterdam, and the second time was at the concert in Oberhausen 2 days later. Both times we actually cannot actively remember that we have seen each other! So maybe the saying is true: the third time is the charm.
That’s really funny! Where did you meet eventually and when did it it become “more” than just friendship?
– Kai: We actively met at Rock im Sektor, September 2015, for the first time. I think it became “more” pretty quickly because we both felt we were feeling attracted to each other. So only a few days later it already started going in that “direction”.
– Raissa: We started to get in contact because I took a photo of us together and I wanted to send it to him. To be honest I only wanted to send him the photo and didn’t expect anything out of it. Luckily for me, he kept on texting me all the time, and from there on the ball kept rolling. We started skyping only four days later and it was crazy! We had a Skype session for three hours and talked about everything. From that day on we almost skyped every day and just felt really attracted to each other but also very comfortable with each other. So, I think after less than a week already we started to have feelings for each other. Of course it only became stronger when the time passed before we actually had our real date one month later.
Was it “love at first sight” when you finally really met during Rock im Sektor?
– Kai: Tough question… I wouldn’t call it “love at first sight” in the traditional way. As I said before, we both felt very attracted to each other. From the very beginning I saw her and talked to her I already thought like “Damn, that girl is pretty!” And some time later at this event (as you can imagine, on festivals groups split and found each other again) when we saw each other again, she said “I was just thinking of you…” And I was like “Oh, okay…!?” 😀 That made her even more interesting for me. So I think it was “love at first sight” in a different way.
– Raissa: I don’t know if you can call it “love at first sight”, but I do know for some reason I really wanted to get to know Kai. My friend Nicky always talked so positively about him and I was very curious and eager to meet him. To be honest, when we met I didn’t even expect things to develop this fast and so deep, but like I said before, it just feels we’ve known each other for so long and it just clicks. It just feels right. So maybe it wasn’t love at first sight, but there definitely was a connection or a “thing” at first sight.
FYI (referring to the “I was just thinking of you”): I’m not a psycho. I’m just weird and I blurt things out without actually thinking about what I’m saying xD But actually I’m so happy he still liked me because of this because it means he likes me the way I am.
Kai, you live in Germany, while Raissa lives in the Netherlands. That must be quite complicated! How do you manage the long distance?
– Kai: Well, for me such a distance is actually a big deal… I never thought I could be able to handle a long-distance relationship, because I’m that type of guy who really needs physical closeness or, at the least, the feeling that this person is always “there” when I need her, or the other way around, when she needs me. But when you meet someone of who you are convinced she is THE one, then you firstly don’t really have a choice and secondly you even like doing it, because you feel it’s totally worth it! We skype nearly everyday, for hours, or at least call for a few minutes and keep texting all day… So in some way the other person is still “there”. And as often as we can manage we meet up of course. I stay at her place for a weekend or she stays at mine… Or if one of us has vacation for one or two weeks, this one just stays with the other one. Or we even both take days off to have vacation together. In March we’re going to Paris for a week. 🙂 So I think, even though it’s hard – we manage that distance-motherfucker quite good!
– Raissa: It is difficult of course and sometimes very frustrating, but I think we manage it very well. If possible, we skype everyday after work/school, and if one of us is too busy for skyping then we just make sure we call each other via WhatsApp before we go to sleep. I have some experience with a long-distance relationship so for me in the beginning it was less ‘hard’, but now mostly it just annoys the shit out of me. This is mainly because we have such fucked up schedules; him working during the week and I’m working in the weekends, and then we have side projects as well. At least after February I will have more time in the weekend since I gave up my parttime job, so I’m really looking forward to that. This is actually the first time that I feel so troubled with a long distance relationship, but I think it’s a very good sign. It only shows how much I want to be with the person I love 🙂
It definitely sounds like you’re doing the best you can! Do you have a solution for this problem? What are your future plans together?
– Kai: First we wanna try to meet up as often as we possibly can. Just use every chance to have some time to enjoy being “really” together. In the long run we have to find another way though, of course; find a way to live together someday. Raissa is already thinking of moving to Germany someday. Therefore she needs to refresh “ze German” language, of course. In our common routine there are 4 languages: English (which we basically speak with each other), German, Dutch and Chinese (yes, Chinese! She seriously speaks it fluently and teaches me some of it in between). So, since she is very good with languages and already is quite good in speaking German (my opinion), this won’t be a big problem.
When we got this managed (which we will indeed) and everything works out in the coming years, we just wanna go the traditional way in the future: Get married, have a place for our own, surely get some kids someday and also have pets… She wants a big fluffy dog.
– Raissa: FLUFF! 🙂
– Kai: So yeah, we will just see what future will bring. The one thing which is for sure that it will be OUR future, main thing is me and her being together!
Next up in our Valentine’s Day Special is an interview with LPFC’s own leading power couple: Lizzi and Paul who have quite the story to tell!
Melissa Wil says:
Raissa Walberg Thanks for the interview 🙂
Raissa Walberg says:
Thank you for the lovely interview as well! :*
thegeekgirltheory says:
this interview is so lovely. Reminds me about someone that I love. I met him on LPU’s site once I joint. But I met him in person (not in person actually, cause I didn’t say Hi) in Hong Kong Summit. sometimes I’m thinking it’s stupid but, the other times, I’m thinking it’s funny caused I’m in love with someone I never know personally, and he never knows about me too. And everytime I hear LP Songs, I always said “Thank God for Linkin Park and LPU, so I met him and in love with him”.
And I have no idea why I posted my story here. Sorry Addie, but your interview, great! Have a nice day! XD
Leon Ninkovic says:
So sweet?