Site Areas
Wedding Centre
Health Club
Marriage Clinic
Chapel
University
Citizen's Centre
Coffee Shop
Admin Centre

Contents
Articles
Books
CDs / Videos
Tips
Services

Resources
Forums
Membership
Contact Us
Site map
Link to Us

Search

Free Tell A Friend from Bravenet


In association with:

Marriage books and much more from Amazon.co.uk

Celebrate your marriage with flowers!

Set up your Wedding Registry!

Marriage and divorce advice from justask.org.uk

Take our Demographic survey

Family Friendly Site

   Home  > Marriage Clinic > Pressures in Marriage > Faith differences > Articles

Thinking of marrying someone from another culture?

By Bill and Carol O'Hara

It's exciting but......

Marrying someone from another nation can be exciting! There are so many things that are new and different, interesting and challenging. These same things can be a source of frustration and conflict, misunderstanding and hurt. Before you marry someone from another nation, take a look at this list. Perhaps you will see some things here that you have not considered.

We are not trying to convince you that marrying someone from another culture is right or wrong. That is something you will have to determine for yourself. But the Word does say that a wise man calculates the cost before beginning construction on a house. Hopefully this will help you consider the cost of cross-cultural marriage.

Are you willing for your children to not really know your parents?

Marrying someone from another culture means that one of you will be living outside of your home nation permanently...which means that you will not be able to see your family very often. That means your children will see very little of one set of parents (their grandparents).

Are you willing for your family members to not be able communicate well with your children?

Not only will your children not have the opportunity to know one set of grandparents very well, if there is a language barrier, one set of parents will not be able to really communicate well with your children.

Are you willing to take the time to explain why something is funny to you. Have you considered that you might get tired of having to explain jokes to one another? Are you ready to just accept the fact that you won't be able to share each other's humour?

Marrying someone from another culture means that you will have a hard time understanding each other's humour. Things that are funny to one will not be funny to the other. You will have to explain the humour to one another. (Example: Jokes from TV shows, childhood games, comic strips)

Are you willing to let go of some of your traditions and celebrations?

Marrying someone from another culture means that one of you will not be experiencing your cultural traditions and/or national celebrations.

Are you willing for your children to grow up with a different set of family traditions than your own?

Marrying someone from another culture means that one of you must be willing to not give your children the cultural traditions and national heritage that you have.

Are you willing to live in your spouse's home country indefinitely?

You need to be aware that the day may come when you may need to move to your spouse's home country.

Are you willing to lose your place in society?

You may need to consider that the socio-economic class one holds in one culture, may not cross over in another culture. For example, a well educated man from Latin America may not receive the same respect he enjoys if he lived in the United States or Australia.

Are you willing to face the possibility of being prejudiced against because of your spouse's nationality or colour?

Have you considered how both of your cultures view cross cultural marriages? Light skinned people marrying dark skinned people may be perfectly OK in Venezuela, but frowned upon in S.Korea.

Are you willing for your children to grow up with gender role models you don't approve of?

Growing up in another culture means that the gender role models for your children may not be what you would consider to be good role models. (Example: Machismo in Latin America, outspokenness in American women)

Have you considered how the "home court advantage" may effect your marriage relationship?

You may need to consider the effect of the "home court advantage" on your marriage. If a foreign man marries an American woman and they live in the United States, she would be cast in the leadership role in some aspects of their relationship. (She would better understand the language and protocol of the nation) Whereas if they lived in his nation, he would be able to lead out more effectively in their marriage.


Bookmark and Share
Printer Friendly
More From this author

Related
- So what if you aren’t the same religion?
- Thinking of marrying someone from another culture?

Hot Picks
- 6th National Relationship Education Conference
-
- Take the Couple Check-up!
- Marriage first aid
-
- Marriage help for friends
- Deepen your love & marriage

Discuss
- Marriage Help
- Marriage news from around the world
- Coffee Shop Chat - have some fun!!
- Marriage Problems - ask for help!
- Visit the Index

Copyright © 2001, Missions and Marriages.


 2-in-2-1 Today
Take our Couple Checkup - put your relationship on strong foundations by checking out the strengths and growth areas!
Difficulties communicating? - 55 cards to improve your couple communication
What people say about 2-in-2-1 - we thrive on your feedback!
Couples Wanted!! - for TV and press enquiries - tell your story!
Cyber sex and Internet addiction - is the internet threatening your marriage??

Top

Copyright ©1999-2024 2-in-2-1 Limited. All rights reserved. Disclaimer Privacy Statement