Anthony Beauchamp, Tony to his friends, walked the halls of Campbell Hall, yelling out her name into the air.
“Amy! Amy!”
He continued through the building, looking for his RA. He had locked himself out of his room again, an unfortunate consequence to how he would leave his basement room: through the window. This was not the first time his window had closed on him, forcing him to look for someone with a key. Unbeknownst to him, his RA had a different idea.
Junior Amy Beauchamp (then Amy Smith) was sitting in the common room watching a Trailblazer’s game, trying to relax with some friends.
“I got kind of tired of it,” said Smith. “I would sometimes hide so he couldn’t find me!”

She could hear someone calling her name distantly, and so could everyone else.
“I didn’t say anything, and no one else in the common room said anything either,” said Smith with a chuckle.
It was the Fall term in 1992, back when Linfield University was Linfield College. Smith, a reserved anthropology major, studied French and became an RA for the room benefits. She decided to study abroad to England that term. What Smith didn’t know was that senior Tony Beauchamp had also signed up for the trip. He was an English major with a speech communication minor, and a boisterous speech and debate personality who loved sports.

What they both didn’t know was what would happen over the months they spent abroad in this strange new place.
Both were excited at the prospect of being able to travel with the fourteen other students to England. The plan was to live in Canterbury for a short period and then move to a more intensive study program in Nottingham.
“I saw that this opportunity to go overseas was available, so I sacrificed graduating in four years to go,” said Beauchamp.
In the few weeks the group spent in Canterbury, there was plentiful downtime. The group was small enough that they traveled around, exploring the town together.
Through this exploration, Beauchamp and Smith began growing closer, so much so, that a two-day whirlwind trip was organized. Smith wanted to see her friend who was living in Paris at the time, and Beauchamp was game to come along. Of course, Smith was adept with the local language and Beauchamp had no experience of it at all. The tables were now turned, as the more bookworm-like Smith had to take the lead and translate every sign, menu item, and conversation for the more outgoing Beauchamp.
In one incident Beauchamp, who was waiting outside a grocery store for Smith and her friend to shop, was approached by a Parisian police officer. He began to be interrogated (for what was later revealed to be looking suspicious) in a language he did not understand. Thankfully, Smith noticed the commotion and saved Beauchamp from the growing crowd of officers and onlookers. They ended their trip together in Paris by drinking a cheap bottle of cheap wine together at the bottom of the steps to the Sacré Coeur Basilica.
Their short time together in Paris cemented a blossoming relationship between the pair. Gone was the friction that existed in Linfield. Sadly, Smith received some terrible news when they returned to the college.

Her beloved cat, Patrick, had passed away. Beauchamp was with her in the laundry room of Canterbury College when she received the news. He comforted her through the passing of her childhood pet throughout the rest of their time in Canterbury. Then, it was time to leave for break before heading to their next location: Birmingham. Smith and Beauchamp decided on their last night together before heading their separate ways to take a late-night walk. So, in the cobbled and narrow streets of Canterbury, they went on their first date.
The pair said their goodbyes and went on their separate ways for the three-week break. Smith took the chance to travel around England with two friends, taking whatever trains they wanted, stopping at every place they wanted to. They even traveled up to Scotland and soaked in the small towns and mountainous terrains. Beauchamp, on the other hand, started a whirlwind trip around Europe culminating in a surprise rendezvous with his father in an English hotel. When he received the news that his father was going to be waiting for him, he was in Venice. This was after staying at his friend’s ex’s house in the Italian Alps. He rushed across Italy and France without knowing any of the languages to meet his father in time.

Both arrived in Birmingham, England in time for classes to start. Beauchamp’s father had forced him to drive across England for the experience of it, so he arrived in a rental car.
Smith arrived rested and ready for the new term. However, a question had plagued both of their minds since leaving Canterbury. Would the other want to continue down this path?
The answer was a confirming yes. They started officially dating in the first weeks in Birmingham, a large industrial town nestled in the West Midlands of England. Here they attended classes and took all the time they could to travel. On one such weekend, they traveled to a small area in Scotland called North Berwick. Smith had already visited there over break with her friends and returned to show Beauchamp the sights. That evening, they had sat down for dinner at the waterfront bed and breakfast. Beauchamp, without realizing it, tucked both his shirt and his tablecloth into his pants when he sat down. He realized this too late, as when they got up to leave, he took the tablecloth, table, and dishes all with him.
“It made such a commotion in front of everyone. I’d say that kind of cemented our relationship, enduring that embarrassment. Somehow, she didn’t leave (me),” said Beauchamp.
They used their remaining time well in England, visiting France again and seeing Melissa Ethridge live when she came to England. The latter ended with Smith and Beauchamp desperately catching a slow-moving train, only to return to campus in the early hours of the morning exhausted.
Finally (and sadly) it was time to return to Linfield. The group, having experienced almost everything one can in England, boarded their flight back to the USA. As they stepped off the plane, they got to meet their respective parents who were waiting at the terminal. After warm greetings and even warmer goodbyes, the pair split to go to winter break in their respective hometowns. Of course, they kept in close contact with each other, calling and writing letters. Again, the same question arose in their minds. Will this last? Will returning to the place they called their second home break the bonds they broke in a foreign place?

It turns out that love can adapt to any situation. After returning from winter break, they decided to stay together. Their separate lives became one, each appreciating who the other truly was. Smith loved Beauchamp’s outgoing and boisterous nature. Beauchamp loved her ability to defend her own conviction, no matter what anyone else said. Two completely opposite people, drawn together in a place which neither knew. They both state that if they had never gone on the trip, they would never have gotten together. They got engaged four years later, and went on to have two children.
“It was the perfect situation,” said Beauchamp. “It was totally something out of a movie, a rom-com meet cute between two completely different people. We would have never connected like that if not for England.”
“We would’ve never dated if it wasn’t for the trip,” said Smith, “But I wouldn’t change a thing.”