Twelve years of America, and the trip that started it
In 2014 I flew to the US for the first time, to meet my then-boyfriend’s parents, family and friends. We’ve been back every year since, from coast to coast.
By Dee Gerodias Gilbert · Oct 10, 2026 · 8 min read
Some trips are about the place. This one was about the people. Back in 2014, my now-husband (then my boyfriend) invited me to go to the US for the very first time, and I met his parents, his family and his friends all in one go.
That first trip took in New York, Washington DC and Chicago. Since then we’ve gone back at least once a year: Broadway nights, a big West coast trip, black-tie evenings in the Midwest, Christmas in New Jersey, and now visits with our little one in tow. Here are some of my favourite moments, from that first summer to this April.
None of these trips started next door. In 2014 I was living in Singapore, and in 2016 I moved to Thailand, so every visit meant a journey of 20 hours or more, door to door. Only this year, after we moved to Madrid, did the flight finally get shorter.
- 2014 to 2016Singapore20+ hours each way
- 2016 to 2026Thailand20+ hours each way
- 2026Madrid8+ hours each way
Rewind to 2014
The original vlog from that first trip, from back before I really knew how to film. Forgive the camera work, and enjoy the memories.
Watch on YouTube →
Meeting a partner’s parents is a big moment wherever you are. Doing it on the other side of the world, in a country I’d only ever seen in films, made it feel even bigger. I was nervous in the way you only are when you really want people to like you.
I arrived as his girlfriend from the Philippines, and left feeling like part of the family.
I needn’t have worried. His family welcomed me with open arms, and his friends made me feel like I’d known them for years. That trip started a tradition, and every year since has added a new corner of the country to the map.
Sunshine, vines and glass
Our big West coast trip. Hollywood and Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, a day among the vines in Napa, then north to Seattle with friends.
Black tie and a dance floor
Back to Chicago for the Bean and a black-tie night, then Kansas City for its fountains, another excuse to dress up, and a dance floor I didn’t want to leave.
Curtain up on Broadway
As a dancer, I can’t visit New York without seeing a show. After Chicago on that first trip, it became a tradition: a night on Broadway every time we’re in town.
New York, New Jersey, and every season
Christmas lights and a tree farm in December, rooftops and markets in spring and autumn, sunflowers in summer. And in August 2021, a flight to Livingston just to get the Covid vaccine.
Now we’re three
These days our trips are slower, and so much sweeter, with our little one along for the ride. The same family that welcomed me in 2014 now has a new member to spoil.
This April we were back in Brooklyn, watching the sun go down over Manhattan, and I thought about that nervous girl stepping off a 20-hour journey from Singapore in 2014. This time we flew in from Madrid, the shortest trip yet. The US feels like a second home now, because of the people who made it one.
I’d love to hear about the first time you met your partner’s family, wherever in the world it was.
Warmly, Dee ♥︎
