More

The ChallengeTo love, honor and cherish ’til death do us part. He’s from India, I’m American. He’s kind and gracious, I’m sarcastic and extroverted. His first language is Hindi, mine’s English. He grew up Hindu, I grew up Catholic. Oh yeah, I’m a morning person, he’s not.

The Blog Itself

I want this to be a place where I can post funny stories and happenings that arise from having an intercultural marriage without a shared mother tongue. I want to entertain and find/provide support. I would like to share with the world how, despite our myriad differences and confused communication, Varun and I are brought together in Jesus.

Because I have a huge mouth and tend not to have a high filter, I’ve thought through some parameters for this blog. I won’t post anything without permission and consent of those in the story, I won’t write anything that is hurtful, unkind or racist. I’d like this site to promote understanding and grace in interpersonal relationships by sharing with transparency and sincerity our own story.  Realizing that laughter is the best medicine, the humor I use is to be funny to both Varun and I, and recounted in love. Although the phrase ESL betrays my western leanings, our cultural differences are highly valuable to me.  Our goal is to laugh while we sift through our varying cultural ideas and discard the junk and cherish the gems.

The Author

Crazy enough to submit my life to public scrutiny, but smart enough to marry my best friend.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

12 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. Mindy
    Apr 18, 2010 @ 21:56:24

    Love you, Meels (and your blog too ;)

    Reply

  2. Evelyn
    Jul 26, 2010 @ 15:30:12

    finally dropped by your blog! I guess this will be one way of staying in touch with you guys…

    Reply

  3. Michelle
    Oct 20, 2010 @ 04:07:48

    Nice blog :)
    The recipes are leaving me hungry!

    Reply

  4. Eunice
    Oct 22, 2010 @ 17:32:02

    I just found your blog today, its hilarious. Cant wait to read more. PS. I hope we can hang soon!

    Reply

  5. kusum
    Nov 14, 2010 @ 05:03:32

    fantastic……!!!
    i enjoyed reading all d blogs….especially d gift bag…n…d musical recitals….
    my friends too found them v interesting .
    nice pics too …..overall well written…n…v entertaining .
    u have gift of writing…nicely expressed…n…presented…!!!!

    Reply

  6. Jean
    Apr 02, 2011 @ 14:44:32

    Congrats. for having founding soul mate! May you both grow together and support each other’s growth.

    I’ve been with my partner (originally from Germany as a kid). So he knows more German and hasn’t lost as much his mother tongue as I have lost alot of mine (Chinese). I’m Canadian-born, so the cultural differences really are quite minor for us. We actually share similiar backgrounds –children of immigrant parents, both of us are first-borns, both of us each from poor, working-class families, etc.

    Occasionally, yes my blog posts do reflect a touch on cross-cultural boundaries, tastes, etc. But more on stuff perhaps other people may not know unless one lives in a particular country for awhile, knows someone well as a friend or family member born into that culture/straddling that culture…

    Yes, I do write about food and some cross-cultural influences. The world is most amazing if you allow your heart and mind to be abit more open. I believe there is a soul mate for nearly every good person …..that person maybe from a background, somewhere you never dreamt of.

    There is also someone in this world, not in the same year/era who looks like a shadow twin of oneself. Once upon a time, I nearly freaked when taking subway in Toronto: I saw a South Asian version of my German-Canadian dearie!

    Also @ http://thirdwavecyclingblog.wordpress.com

    Reply

  7. DramaMama
    Jan 01, 2012 @ 14:00:26

    Hi! I’m an ESL teacher and I stumbled on your blog =) I’m enjoying it! Thanks for being willing to share your stories!

    Reply

  8. Trackback: Where Do Babies Come From? « ESL Marriage
  9. Ana (Ana Travels)
    May 01, 2012 @ 09:33:29

    I’m in an intercultural marriage too: I’m Argentinean and Hubby’s a Brit. Oh, and we live in Texas, so that’s a third new culture, like a third person in our marriage haha!

    I think that the biggest hurdle in your marriage is probably that you’re a morning person and he isn’t! I find that most of the time these little differences cause more trouble than having cultural backgrounds :)

    Reply

  10. Patrick McDermott
    Aug 01, 2012 @ 23:19:38

    Great blog! It’s really made me smile this morning.

    I met my Iranian wife 10 years ago today in Geneva. I’m British and we’re now living in Singapore.

    Reply

  11. Trackback: What I Learned: About Marriage From Rubbermaid Storage Boxes | Tim and Olive

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!

Categories

Visitors

  • 61,833 hits