My name is Nurana, I am currently living in Baku -the fascinating capital of Azerbaijan. I work as a freelance translator, English speaking instructor, and training & development specialist in one of the private companies here in my country.

I am pretty sure that some people may find my story a little bit strange because of cultural differences. So let’s get started, shall we? I am 28 years old and I have been dating my boyfriend for more than six years, he’s actually officially my husband now. Two years ago we decided to get married but unfortunately, his dad passed away. Traditionally, when someone passes away in my country this person’s close relatives should wait a year before having a wedding party or any other parties. So we waited for a year. After a year we got engaged and started planning our wedding, we even applied for registration of our marriage. Then suddenly, our government officially declared the first COVID-19 case in our country, and all wedding parties were immediately cancelled.

Some may ask, what is wrong with this story? Let me tell you, here in my country we are not allowed to live together with our partner until we officially get married and hold a wedding party so that everyone knows that we are married. In our case, because of COVID-19, no one is allowed to hold a gathering of even 50 people, which means we have to wait until the end of the pandemic, and no one has any clue about this date.

We have been waiting for so long, we really have been through so much stuff and now we can’t live the life we dreamed of just because of COVID-19. Fun fact: We are now an officially married couple living separate lives and praying for the pandemic to be over.