The Western world (USA, Canada, Germany, France or Italy) has long been referred to as a "Melting Pot," a place where different cultures, races and creeds come
together to live and thrive as a community. All the world's cultures have something unique to offer, and the power of love bringing two people of vastly different cultural
upbringings together is often a beautiful occurrence. However, even in my own experiences, culture is sometimes a delicate and touchy subject, and for an intercultural relationship to succeed both people must come to learn, understand, and respect one another and their respective differences.
What is culture, reallyEverybody has some idea of culture, but in reality it is a hard concept to nail down. If someone goes to the opera and sips martinis, they might be considered "cultured." In reality, culture is a much broader term. Due to our upbringing, each and every one of us is a member of our own specific culture. Race, religion,
morality, musical tastes, education and thousands of other variables impact culture, but essentially culture is who you are, where you're from, and where you
feel comfortable. Fine then, but what are intercultural relationships This is less tricky. Intercultural relationships are simply two people from different cultures who have come together. For example, my dad is an atheist, while my mom is a devout Methodist. Believe me, they had some challenges rectifying these widely different worldviews!
One of my best friends, Max, is half-Ukrainian (his mother was a Ukrainian citizen. Now she is a German citizen who speaks broken German and his father is a German). They fell in love through a dating agency, and have remained together for over 20 years. Theirs is a truly amazing story of love defying all obstacles.
Yes, yes, but how do you make them work?
This question is a bit trickier to answer. To answer it in two words: patience and understanding. Do you remember my friend Max’ parents? His dad has been trying (hard!) for over ten years to learn Russian and even Ukrainian (as for me, Ukrainian is more difficult than Russian).
His mother has been nothing but patient with him, as any language is difficult to learn and Russian is one of the hardest. In return, his father helps his mom when
she needs to understand some difficult form or wordy piece of German literature.
They understand and respect their differences and shortcomings, and therefore grew closer as people and as husband and wife. Culture is a beautiful thing, and as with all beautiful things it deserves patience, love, respect and understanding. Intercultural relationships can be amazing, but will truly flourish with those four ingredients.
Sincerely, Inga