Dating Someone from a Different Country…

Because it’s mid-February and love is in the air, we caught up with six of our very favorite international couples and asked them to tell us about what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone from a different country.  From language barriers to cultural challenges to really great “how we met” stories, here are a few of highlights:

L & S
South Africa and USA
At our first proper dinner date, I was talking and talking – as we all know I can do – and he sat there and sat there – as we know him to do – and at times he just nodded and at times I thought, wow this guy has little to say. But after we got engaged he came out with the truth, that he didn’t understand 80% of what I was saying, due to my strong South African accent!  yip!! His love was blind! (or in this case, deaf?)

K & R
USA and Argentina
People always ask me if we speak English or Spanish at home. Honestly, we speak our very unique brand of Spanglish, where neither one of us gets through an entire sentence using just one language. It doesn’t help either of us improve our second languages, if anything it’s bad for our communication skills, but it’s inevitable. The upside?  A pretty constant stream of hilarious attempts at speaking the other ones’ language. Think: “male bondage” for “male bonding” and “this beer tastes croppy!” (hoppy) and my personal favorite, “stuffed muffin”…as in “that guy is a total stuffed muffin!” 

K & S
USA and Spain
The struggles of having a cross cultural relationship are very real. We face mistranslated words, misunderstood jokes, etc. But the rewards are far greater. He had also spent much time in the U.S. before we had met and it’s our mutual love of each others’ cultures and countries that make our relationship so strong and so special. We both especially love to speak each the other’s native language when we Skype so much so that we actually argue over whose language is getting the most time.

P & T
USA and Argentina
The night we met we were in a very packed bar and after making some small talk he told me he practiced Mauy Thai. I immediately asked that he teach me Mauy Thai to which he replied he’d be happy to another time. However, I was insistant on him teaching me right there in that very moment in that very packed bar. After multiple playful kicks and punches, causing somewhat of a scene in the bar, he invited me to dinner.

G & J
USA and Argentina
My boyfriend is Argentine, born and raised. When I relocated to Buenos Aires for a few months, I decided it was time to introduce him to some classic American delicacies. After all, I knew how difficult it was to get certain ingredients, and I didn’t want to go without certain things if I could avoid it. Three foods stole a piece of my boyfriend’s heart. First, maple syrup. When I made him try it the first time (after making such a big deal over how freaking amazing it is), he was completely unimpressed. Weeks later though, he was halfway through the giant container. He would drink it if he could! Next up, cream cheese. Now, Argentina has something kinda like, but actually not really at all like cream cheese. You can find the Philadelphia brand in a handful of supermarkets but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg. But I splurged on some Philadelphia, and we started putting it on our tostadas during merienda (Argentine snack time!). Now he puts it on everything, especially in sandwiches where cream cheese as a condiment wouldn’t even occur to me – ham or salami and double cheese (sliced cheese and cream cheese), bacon and cream cheese, chicken and cream cheese. And when he’s not putting cream cheese on it, he’s probably putting barbecue sauce on it. Or using barbecue sauce as a dip. BBQ sauce rounds out the trio of just-can’t-live-without-it yanqui deliciousness. I mean, I love BBQ chips, but actually dipping potato chips into a bowl of sauce? Never would have thought of it! Chinese stir fry needs more sauce? BBQ! Only a can of peas and beans in the house? Add some BBQ sauce and you’ve got dinner!

A & H
USA and Sweden
When people find out H is from Sweden and I am from the U.S. the next question they ask is where did you meet? We kind of smile (because we know what is coming next) and say South Africa. The usual response is “Oh yeah. Naturally!”  We love our story and our time in Cape Town with Connect is always going to have a special place in our lives. Editor’s note: these two lovebirds met as participants on our Cape Town program back in 2007 and are now married!

Are you in an international relationship?  Tell us about it in the comments section below!

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