While studying abroad, Kaplan students can find English skills, new friends, and… true love?

Kaplan students Fiorella Morales and Donato Ponzetta, or Dony as friends know him, came to Kaplan Oxford to improve their English and set themselves up for successful careers. What they probably weren’t expecting, however, was to end up married!

Fiorella is from Venezuela, while Dony was born in Italy. Coming from different countries and even different continents, the two overlapped for five months while they were studying in Oxford. Although they weren’t in the same class, Dony noticed Fiorella and asked a classmate who she was. An introduction quickly followed. Fiorella’s reaction? “The first time I saw him I thought he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen.”

After completing their English courses at Kaplan, they both went back to their respective countries. Fiorella was worried the distance might prove too much to overcome. “I was scared because the time we spent in Oxford was amazing, like a dream.”

And yet, despite the distance, they never stopped communicating. “We would speak every day. When he would wake up, in Venezuela it was very early, around 2:00 am, so every day when I’d wake up I would find so many messages that made me feel sure about us. After I finished work at 6:00 we would speak again.” After six months of this constant back and forth, Fiorella moved to Italy, and Dony proposed five months after that. The rest is history.

The happy couple got married in a beautiful ceremony in Italy which Fiorella’s family was able to fly out to attend. Currently living in Berlin, they’re putting their Kaplan education to good use speaking English every day in their jobs, as well as German.

What is the language of love? Although they both speak English, German and their native Spanish and Italian, it’s Italian that has become their usual language of communication with one another, although they do also sometimes speak Spanish together.

While we can’t guarantee you’ll find the love of your life at Kaplan, you’ll certainly improve your English skills. As for the rest, well, you can never be sure what the future might hold!