Part of the magic of the AMIGOS experience is to find yourself in an unfamiliar place with complete strangers and realize that you are surrounded by friends after-all. Over 46 summers, an untold number of incredible friendships have formed through AMIGOS, and occasionally (without breaking any standards of conduct, of course) something more blossoms. For a Valentines Day treat, we've tracked down 5 couples who found amor in AMIGOS.

1. Bill and Cathy (Anthony) Arnold

AMIGOS History: Bill and Cathy have played almost every imaginable role - Volunteers, Project Staff,  Chapter founders (Atlanta - early 1970s), Trainers (Washington, D.C.) , Fund Raisers,  Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board, and AMIGOS Foundation Board Member (Bill). "But the most challenging role," Cathy says, "was being the parents of a Volunteer.  When our daughter, Elizabeth, our only child, went to Ecuador in 1995, we were terrified!  But observing the way the AMIGOS experience brought her enhanced self-confidence and leadership skills was amazing."

Wedding Date: December 23, 1970

Their Story: Bill and I met the summer of 1967 in Guatemala when I was a Volunteer and Bill was the Country Director/Route Leader.  He drove to our village once a week in a truck  to deliver the mail and to bring us supplies.  Our project in those days focused primarily on building latrines and inoculations.  I had just graduated from Memorial High School in Houston, TX,  and Bill had just graduated from an Economics Graduate School program in Amsterdam.  I fell "starry-eyed in love" with this handsome, older Cornell graduate.   Of course we didn't break any of the AMIGOS rules as Volunteers (but not for lack of trying), and we didn't start dating until that Fall when we were both attending the University of Texas in Austin.  But I will always be indebted to AMIGOS for introducing me to the most wonderful man in the world - my husband and best amigo for over forty years!

2. Tamara Jazbec and Bradley Seelig

AMIGOS History: Tamara was a Volunteer is '91 and '92, a Project Supervisor in '94, and an APD in '97, and Brad was a Volunteer in '92 and '93 and was a Project Supervisor in '95 and '97.

Wedding Date:  July 6, 2002 in Croatia

Their Story: In 1992, Brad trained with the Peninsula Chapter with a vet Volunteer mentor named Justin Sears. That summer Brad went to Ecuador as a Volunteer and Justin went to Oaxaca to serve as Project Supervisor. When a letter from Ecuador reached Justin in Oaxaca, he was thrilled and took the letter with him on his route to share it with another Vet Volunteer who had served with him in Ecuador the prior year. "Justin came on route one day grinning from ear to ear (people who know him can picture this I'm sure)," Tamara says, "He was really excited and told me he got a letter from an AMIGO back home who was in Ecuador.  The letter was from Brad who had been assigned the same town and family that Justin had lived with the summer prior.  Justin read me the letter from Brad describing Brad's arrival into town and ... seeing a photo of Justin up on the wall.  It’s always been strange to think that Justin read me a letter of Brad’s in high school before we ever met and now we’re about to have our 10 year wedding anniversary and we’ve known each other for half our lives."

Both Tamara and Brad went to Lewis and Clark College and even had a class together, but did not officially meet until they simultaneously ran into a mutual AMIGOS friend while walking on campus. The rest is history. A few years later they started dating and in 2002 they were married. Looking back, Tamara reflects "As cliché as it sounds I wouldn’t be the same person today if I hadn’t gone on an AMIGOS program or four ;)"  

3. Lindsey Benitz and Danny Broderick

AMIGOS History: Lindsey was a Volunteer in Honduras in '99, a PSup in Bolivia in '01, and an Associate Project Director (APD) in Mexico in 2007. Danny volunteered in '98 and '99, served as PSup in Honduras in 2000, and lastly as an APD in Paraguay in 2003.

Wedding Date: August 8, 2009

Their Story: Lindsey and Danny have actually know each other since they were assigned to sit in the same group in their 6th grade homeroom class in Palo Alto, CA. "We've been friends since then," Lindsey explained, "But we got to know each other much better while training together with the Peninsula Chapter in high school." They were both Volunteers the first year of the Valle, Honduras project in 1999. They flew to Tegucigalpa on the same flight and hung out together on the beaches of Amapala at midterm. When Lindsey got dengue fever, Danny was as supportive as he could be (all within the AMIGOS rules of course!). They traded route mail that summer, and continued to write each other letters whenever one of us was on a project with AMIGOS. "AMIGOS exposed us to and increased our awareness of the world beyond where we both grew up," Lindsey adds, "Today, we both work for socially responsible companies where we put to use cross-cultural and Spanish language skills on a daily basis. As Amigos we built a wonderful shared network of friends, and our common experiences on AMIGOS shaped our values and brought us closer together. AMIGOS also prepared us for being great travel buddies. Who knows if we'd be married if we hadn't done AMIGOS together!"

4. Aamir and Kristen (Highum) Alavi

AMIGOS History: We both had been involved with AMIGOS for a few years at that point and we supposedly attended the same Project Supervisor training in 2003, but we didn't meet until a couple of years later when we both ended up at IO.

Wedding Date: October 8, 2011

Their Story: We never had the chance to volunteer or work abroad together throughout our AMIGOS experiences. Instead, each of us transplanting to Houston to work at the International Office was like our AMIGOS experience together. During that time, we recruited and trained project staff together, swapped ideas on planning new projects, and shared stories about our travels to Latin America. Being in Houston for 3 years was like our AMIGOS experience where we made life-long friends, learned new things, and discovered a new town together.

5. Jennifer Langdon and Joe Crownover

AMIGOS History: Joe was a Volunteer in 1990, a PSup in 1991, and the Project Director (PD) of the Ecuador Project in 1992. Jen was a Volunteer in '89, a PSup in '91, and the PD in Paraguay in 1994.

Wedding Date: October 16, 1999

Their Story: Jen and Joe first met when Jen was the training director at UT Austin and invited Joe to speak to her trainees about his AMIGOS experience the prior summer. "My various AMIGOS experiences taught me that I can do anything," Joe says, "While I realize that’s not literally true, that belief has been incredibly powerful in enabling me to do things I’d otherwise shy away from.  Rather than say “I can’t”, AMIGOS prepared me to ask myself “how can I?”  Building on this, AMIGOS helped me to extend to others the belief that they can do anything, provided I can create conditions for success and learning.  This served me while at AMIGOS whether working with field staff to quickly evacuate an entire project in Ecuador – or in supporting young leaders to bring to the Board the challenge of involving Latin American youth.  But it’s also served me in all of my subsequent work at Shell.  Key to my success has been a fundamental belief in the possibilities that each person represents.  That’s one of the many gifts AMIGOS gave me. 

For us as a couple, not only did AMIGOS literally bring us together with each other and with our “tribe” of dear friends, but it also fortified a sense of shared values – service, global awareness, the potential of youth.  The experiences we had both together and separately instilled in us a desire to live and work internationally.  As we embark on a move to the Netherlands at the end of this month, we feel truly privileged to begin to give our children this gift."

Jen adds, "We have two fantastic kiddos- Taylor (age 9) and Garrett (7).  As I hear what comes out of our mouths as parents, I have a new wave of understanding how much AMIGOS influenced us.  “Graciously eat what you are served.  Use “I statements”.  No amorous conduct!”  Even on a recent beach vacation with AMIGOS field staff alumni Catherine McKay Araiza and Steve Hinnit and all of our families.  As Cat and I planned the logistics, we laughed and realized we needed a mini-CALM plan for beach safety with so many kids.  AMIGOS habits continue to serve us well!" 

When asked about his favorite story about the 2 of them in AMIGOS, Joe responded, "One of my faves is when I was regional director for South America and supervised Jennifer as project director in Paraguay in spring 1994.  Pre-romance of course! (Jennifer pops in to add, "Despite the fact it was almost 20 years ago, Joe still occasionally thinks he “supervises” me.  I quickly correct him.") Our initial survey was Jennifer’s first visit to Paraguay and the weather was incredibly hot!  Jennifer was dressed to impress in suit, hose, heels.  Many of the places we were meeting key contacts had no AC or at least we had to be in the heat to get between meetings.  Finally, we got to the offices of Martin Burt, our International Trustee at the time.  His office was nicely cooled and he had a beautiful pitcher of terrere on his table. Cold water, colorful herbs, beads of condensation on the pitcher.  We were both so thirsty. Martin took some terrere, drank it, then offered me some.  He then offered Jennifer some.  She drank it, returned the cup and said “Muchisimas gracias”.  Then Martin took some, offered me some and we passed it back and forth for the remainder of the meeting.  Jennifer was meanwhile licking her dry lips wondering what happened. It wasn’t until after the meeting that I burst out laughing and told her that the custom in Paraguay was to say “Gracias” only when you no longer wanted more." (JL note:  “Ahhh… Trust. The foundation of any successful marriage.”)