International Relationship

Opposites Attract and More

This free relationship article involves the mysique of the international relationship and the issues of it opposites attract.

The old saying goes that opposites attract and this is very true if you let it, particularly in an international relationship.

To clarify... this covers everything from someone from Scotland dating someone from England to someone from America dating someone from Japan and all other combinations.

It is a guarantee that there are going to be significant differences between you as people, for that matter people who were born and raised in the same city, even the same street, or house turn out differently.

With an international relationship then the differences can be more fundamental and more radical but that is not necessarily a bad thing, it can even be a very good thing depending on your perception.

In relationship dating between people from the same place there are always different sorts of people -- an art student could date a scientist, a heavy metal guitarist could date a ballerina, you get the idea.

Part of the richness and diversity of humanity is that different people have different strengths and weaknesses - welcome to the international relationship. Some people can cook, some people find a microwave lasagne a difficult thing to prepare, some people can dismantle and repair a PC while some people still type with two fingers, some people run for the hills at the sight of a spider.

Differences and the International Relationship

Different strengths and weaknesses should not be criticised but embraced, a couple in which the two people are very different makes it even more likely that the strengths and weaknesses will be different and therefore more able to complement one another. Think about it this way, the person who can refit a PC blindfold - you could laugh and point and call them a geek, or you could rejoice in the fact that they can rescue your assignment that you need to hand in tomorrow from your PC when the harddrive crashes.

Differeneces also make it more likely that the relationship remains interesting as rather than finding out that you both like and dislike the same things and know the same things you can learn from one another. Being raised by families with different movie preferences, TV shows, foods, holiday destinations, activities or any number of things all contribute to this difference. But sometimes cultures can lead to what would seem like intimacy issues to another culture.

In a couple these differences mean that there is much that each partner can learn from the other if they are open to it. It would not be constructive to make fun of someone's tastes or preferences on account of them being different from yours, instead respect the differences you don't like and embrace the parts you do like.

If your partner's mother was a devoted fan of Chuck Norris while your father raised you on a diet of Science fiction movies there is ample opportunity to make fun of each other, but you can instead choose to give the tastes of the other person a fair trial rather than making snap judgements.

In an international relationship then the degree of difference can be more profound and more fundamental. As well as different strengths, weaknesses and preferences there are also cultural differences which need to be appreciated and treated with respect.

It is a sensible move to do a little bit of background reading to find out a few pointers so you can avoid an y cultural misunderstandings. The advent of the internet is a goldmine of information which may shed some light on differences that you can expect. For that matter, if you want to go the extra mile a trawl of the internet could let you learn a little bit of their language (if english is not their first language) as being able to come out with even just a few basics is a great ice-breaker.

With an international relationship problems can arise from something as trivial as blowing your nose - the japansese find the idea of owning a pocket handkerchief revolting that someone would blow their nose on something and then keep it. Something as simple as this could cause ruffled feathers and that is not good, particularly early on in a relationship.

An international relationship can make you realise how many aspects of your own culture that you make take for granted and consider perfectly ordinary may seem strange or confusing to the outsider. To the outside observer it might be considered odd that most Scottish people consider it a very masculine thing for a man to wear a kilt, which to the uninformed could be mistaken for a skirt and tradition dictates that wearing of a kilt must be accompanied by going without underwear.

Radical or unusual differences can be resolved through explanation, while trying to avoid being patronising, or declatations of "What? ...You didn't know that?".

An international relationship or dating capitalizing on that sometimes opposites attract have the potential to work out phenomenally but at the same time handled incorrectly can be a breakup waiting to happen. Respecting, embracing and learning about your differences can potentially lead to a successful international relationship.