another culture
by june06,Jul/19/2019
I had a long distance relationship with a guy I met online. He was from another country.
Yes, there were some cultural differences and a communication barrier. It is not easy talking with someone who is a native speaker.
I felt more comfortable in a casual conversation but there were difficulties with our humor and cultural references. It was frustrated sometimes.
It took us lots of time and patience. I was learning new phrases, he patiently taught me the meaning of new words.
To avoid misunderstandings, we tried to use simple sentences, using different ways to describe the same thing.
The main thing was that we tried to be open in discussing our feelings, thoughts and what is important for each of us. It helped us to get to know each other and built a relationship despite the language barrier.
It was a new and challenging experience for me. We are not together any more, and the language was not a reason of it.
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I was in a similar situation with my partner, who’s from another country. Once early on in our relationship, we planned to celebrate a traditional holiday from his culture. I didn’t realize how different our ideas of celebrating were. Where I’m from holidays are usually loud, with a big group of friends and family. Turns out, in his culture, this holiday was a quiet, spent mostly in solitude or with close family. This experience taught me a lot about how deep cultural differences can run, even in things as seemingly universal as holidays. It wasn't just about the language or the food or the music. It was about the entire approach to life
and celebration. It’s great that you both tried to be open and learn from each other. Even though your relationship didn’t last, it sounds like you gained some valuable insights and experiences.