Apr
10
Cross-Cultural Relationships
It's quite a common assumption that just because you both speak the same language, that there are not serious cultural differences. I spent ten years with guy from a very British family who had come to the USA to work as librarians. Our connection came partly from his need for quite a bit more demonstrative affection than was part of his former UK culture. But when we would visit his parents, (and it took awhile for this feature to dawn on me,) suddenly we weren't touching at all!
Even if you share values, there are many assumptions about how values are communicated that are quite different among those who come from different cultures or subcultures. For instance, rubbing up against the UK culture revealed to me that my assumption about politeness was quite different.
Even if you share values, there are many assumptions about how values are communicated that are quite different among those who come from different cultures or subcultures. For instance, rubbing up against the UK culture revealed to me that my assumption about politeness was quite different.
