• this world is not my home

What are your experiences with cross-cultural relationships, specifically in the romantic sense?

I'm not talking about racial issues, discrimination, etc. I'm more interested in issues arising from differing understandings and perspectives on important issues within a marriage, a family, or even in a dating relationship.

What has been hard? easy? fun? frustrating? Do you have any advice you would like to share with others who may be considering entering into a cross-cultural relationship, such as potential pitfalls to avoid, communication issues and how to overcome them, and so on?

Please share.

You know, relationships are difficult. Men and women do not process information the same way. Heck, put any two people in the same room for a while, regardless of their respective genders, and they will not always agree or understand one another.

When you add the differences in thinking styles, values, and so on from different cultures, there will be tension. This is not an if, it is a when.

If two people enter into a cross cultural relationship with that as foreknowledge and a mutual commitment to work through their differences when they arise, then a relationship like this can work. In fact, I would consider that an important foundation for any relationship, it is simply more so in a cross cultural context where misunderstandings and communication breakdowns can be expected to be even more common than in mono-cultural relationships.