Cross -Cultural Marriage

Love and even patience are not enough to maintain marriages made up of people from different cultures. There are circumstances that may be interesting and encouraging at the beginning of the relationships, but can easily turn into conflict and frustration; leading to a divorce. For this reason, it is important to know that when you get married, you are not only marrying the person you are marrying his or her culture as well. Major cultural differences such as raising children, communication, and nutrition can end-up by dividing a couple and even destroying the possibility of having a successful marriage.

 Raising kids in a different country that is not their country of origin, can be difficult. Parents typically want their children to grow with similar scenarios than the one they experienced. It is already challenging for a couple from the same nation to travel to a different country and raise their children because kids can be highly influenced by their school community. In a cross-cultural marriage, the idea of raising children in a different country can be extremely catastrophic for the entire family. Imagine a Colombian woman, marrying a man from Finland and raising children in the United States. Even though we know the US is a diverse country, the family is clearly going to face frustrations, because there are cultural differences that will not allow them to feel entirely happy. The mother on the other hand will allow her sister to pick up their children from school, because She had an emergency at work; while the father will probably be mad because Finland men do not believe in the importance of extended family, and even the school will have a problem because in the US only parents or legal guardians can pick up children from school. The scenario presented is only one example of the different problems a cross-cultural marriage can have while raising children. However, there are multiple more such as the importance that is given from each parent about relatives or significant activities performed during the weekends. In this case, it will be hard to determine if the family should all go and have lunch on Sunday with the grandparents because the mother is Colombian or if the family should stay at home because nuclear family is more important for men in Finland.

Communication is another barrier a cross-cultural marriage will find extremely difficult to overcome. In a cross-cultural marriage, there are not only language barriers, but on top of that, there are also different expressions and tone of voices that can be interpreted differently. It is important to try to understand jokes or special words, that can be hard to comprehend because everyone has different personalities. However, for cross-cultural marriages, it’s going to be even harder to accept communication barriers. For example, for a Finland man it’s unusual to give a blessing every morning and for a Colombian woman, it’s completely the opposite. In this scenario, both are going to be affected because the woman can feel frightened because a blessing was not given and the man could feel forced to do something completely strange for him.

Nutrition can also be a major difference in a cross-cultural marriage because the food is not the same in each country, not even within the same region. There are different food preferences than can be hard to tolerate, different ways of preparing a meal, and even different times to have dinner. For instance, the woman will be used to eat fruits every morning with her breakfast, while the man will want only a black coffee because of his culture, but the only thing available will be bagels because they all are in the US.

Some people may say that regardless of someone’s culture or even if a couple shared the same nationality, there is a still a chance for fights and differences within a marriage. Others may feel that what truly matters are for people to feel appreciated, to understand the differences and to work for a common goal. Even though I can agree with the statement, the problems are going to be bigger for cross-cultural marriages than for those who were born in the same country.

Divorce rates in cross-cultural marriages continue to increase due to the major differences that were presented. It is important to remember that under every marriage, dealing with differences can be a challenge. However, people in marriages with the same culture are more likely to understand and solve problems with each other. 

Cures for homesickness

Living abroad is an amazing experience. However, for people who decide to move to another country, it is a challenge. Not only is being away from close family and friends what makes it a challenge; it also requires a lot of strong self-motivation. A Survey by Gallup estimated that eighty percent of residents in the Americas­ express a desire to migrate permanently, but they do not decide to move only due to their own desire; they have many other issues involved in that decision. Because of making that decision, people can face anxiety, loneliness, and depression due to the fact of being away from close family and friends. Staying connected with home­ wherever you go, creating a new home, and finding a support group are great solutions while living abroad.

People who are living abroad have the challenge of changing their language, their culture, and their typical food preferences.  For this reason, people begin to experience anxiety and the desire to stay at home. To provide a solution, people living abroad should consider making regular phone calls to family to be in touch with them. Phone calls can help to compensate for those difficult times of anxiety. At the same time, for Christmas, Mother’s Day or when anxiety becomes harder, the internet can be a useful tool of communication. Technological advances such as facetime and, skype give an opportunity to participate in important family events. As well as, people that are living abroad should collect letters before they depart for them to read when they may feel alone.  

Creating a new home ambiance as soon as someone moves in can be a chance to create new, loving moments. Thinking about warm places that smell like wonderful memories will help make your new home as your family home. Small decorations from your home country can also bring a sense from home. Build a family collection, hanging photos with meaningful memories, like some birthday pictures or graduation diplomas. These will help to shape memories in new your home and, to feel less lonely.

 People mostly say that is common to look around them and not see anything or anybody. Places look empty and it is hard to try to have friends or finding someone to talk to. Making new friends during the first days it’s important or even trying to start a new conversation with a friendly person at work, talking about the weather or a place to have lunch, will help to have someone to talk to. Foreigners should try to become part of groups at the gym or at different churches because it will drastically change their time living abroad. Joining clubs will motivate and encourage them to overcome those overwhelming days far away from home.

In conclusion, depression and anxiety are emotions easy to feel when living abroad as people are unfamiliar with new territories. However, if someone would like to transform those unpleasant feelings into great experiences, they need to become emotionally stable. To do so, practicing all the suggestions previously provided will help travelers with homesickness while living abroad.

Money: Pesos Vs Dollar While Living Abroad

Decisions that can drastically change someone’s life are never easy decisions to make. Getting married, starting a new job, or purchasing a house are some examples of the different scenarios someone can see as challenging. Those are scenarios that even though someone may plan to obtain a positive outcome, it is only at the end that you could analyze the results. Living abroad is one of those difficult decisions some can make because there are a lot of differences in terms of finances and costs of transportation, and even foods are some of the problems in a new country. 

Money is a critical factor for someone who wants to live abroad. For example: when traveling to Colombia, you need to have Colombian pesos or in the U.S. you need U.S. dollars.
There are multiple factors that need to be considered; one of them is the currency and the ability to understand how to spend money in a different country. People who live in Colombia and decide to move to the U.S. need approximately 3 times more money because U.S. expenses are higher than in Colombia.

Another crucial factor is the cost of transportation. Almost everyone knows that time is an important resource; especially when it involves being on time for work or for school. For someone who is going to live abroad, taking public transportation is a good option. The U.S. has a public transportation and its cost approximately three dollars per route. However, it does not cover all places. On the other hand, Colombian transportation covers all the city for eight hundred Colombian pesos., which is approximately twenty-two American cents.

Living abroad involves important changes, food is one of them. Most of the times, American people eat outside their homes. A meal prepared at home could be around five dollars per person. This is significantly different from Colombian food that when is made at home could be around three dollars (This is two thousand-seventh hundred Colombian pesos.)

Someone who is going to live for a long period in a different country needs to learn the different types of currency in which the country operates and how it converts to the individual’s currency country of origin. Also, it is important for someone to learn how to spend the money because it is a completely new country, the individual needs to learn which places are cheaper, how the transportation works, and which foods to eat.

 

Living Abroad

Living abroad can be a life- changing experience. In 2013 the United States received more than 4.1 million international students, all who identify themselves as having a life changing experience. There are several reasons why these students decide to live abroad and the main factor that influences them is the idea or learning a new language, getting to know a different culture, or simply exploring the world.  After hearing multiple stories from students moving to a foreign land to continue their education, we can understand that these are changes that can ­drastically transform someone’s life. Some of those crucial changes include: learning a new language, adapting to a new diet, and learning how to be away from their family and home.

Learning a new language is a skill that may be fundamental when trying to find a job or to communicate with people from other cultures, but is a skill that requires a lot of commitment and effort. When someone decides to move to another country, learning the language that is primary in that country is completely different than learning a language just as a hobby. For example, when someone studies French in New York, it’s going to be extremely different than if the same person ­travels to Paris and tries to communicate in the city with actual native speakers. In fact, only the people who have traveled around the word would identify this as a challenging situation, making the idea of learning a new language is a truly life-changing experience.

Water might seem simple and normal, regardless of the country you are. But, the truth is that every single food or drink can drastically change every time we move geographically. For example, Fruits in the Caribbean are way more sweet and diverse than in North America or even Europe. That is the main reason that living abroad is a life changing experience because not only tastes, and flavors vary; combinations, alternatives, and choices changes as well.

Leaving your loved ones is always going to be a hard situation, especially for people in cultures that family is their number one priority. Living without your loved ones means not having them close to share daily moments or family members to talk with as soon as we arrive home. Despite the lonely moments, some people decide to live abroad to explore new things or to try to find better opportunities. Unfortunately, those are situations where you must sacrifice family and take a plane far away from home.

Living abroad ­­ certainly can be a life changing experience because learning new cultures, languages, and characteristics that change someone’s point of view. It is not only after you living abroad that you understand the different cultures and subcultures there are all around the world and how everyone can have different styles to do the same task; some will greet a person by kissing them on the cheek and ­ others by waving their hands across the room. Living abroad is not an easy experience you should be opened minded and emotionally strong, but it is an experience that is totally worth the try.