the difficulties of international marriage
why you should look for the girl or boy next door
Why is it so hard to make an international marriage work? First of all,
there’s a simple biological explanation. It’s not natural to want to get
along with diverse others.
“Cultural differences have created human problems since recorded history
began,” says John Stewart, interpersonal communication professor at the
University of Washington and editor of the book Bridges Not Walls, a book
about interpersonal communication. “Sometimes it seems as if the strongest
tendency we humans have inherited from our non-human animal forbears is fear and
hatred of anybody different from us. So it’s definitely a challenge to bridge
cultural differences.” ...
Proponents of arranged marriage claim that arranged marriages are more successful than other marriages. They hold that the spouses in an arranged marriage begin without any expectations from each other, and that as the relationship matures, a greater understanding between the two develops, aided by their often similar socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. In contrast, they feel that persons who enter into a marriage for romantic reasons often begin with unreasonable expectations, with little room for improvement but a great chance of failure. ...