Tag Archive | "indian"

A Day in Our Lives – With Indian Inlaws

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

12 Comments

In a short few days the only hope I'll have in the blearly mornings is that it might just be Bagel Monday in the office. When I crawl out of my sleep coma, you see, sophisticated details like which day of the week it is are completely beyond me - any day could be Bagel Monday. My primitave mind is only concerned with two things: getting our dogs, Kajol & Panda to shut up and stop wrestling on my larynx and/or bladder, and what sustenance awaits me that might be a good enough incentive to get out of bed. This past month, though, Bagel Monday has diminished in significance, and glorious 20 Ounces of Ginger Tea Everyday (With Biscuits!) has replaced it as my main morning motivator. I love it when my in-laws are staying with us. Note that I didn't say visiting us - that would imply that Aditya's parents are house guests while they're here, while, as Baba says, it's their home too. Granted, our daily life changes some when Maa and Baba are here in Washington DC, the morning tea being just one example, but the changes are more minor than many people who hear my in-laws are in-town would expect. Since we're coming to the close of Maa & Baba's second extended stay out here (they were here last year in the late summer, and will be visiting once more this year), I thought that it'd be good time to write about the "typical day" in our household while Aditya's parents are here.

Continue reading...

South Asian Women and Nepalis in Intercultural Relationships – Speak Out!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

32 Comments

I've gotten a couple of requests from a few readers here at gorigirl.com that I was hoping all of you might be able to help with - consider it a community workshop of sorts. The topics of the day are intercultural relationships featuring either South Asian women or Nepalis. I think the people who wrote to me are most interested in connecting with couples of this sort, but any resources such as websites, articles, or books that people can recommend would be welcome as well.

Continue reading...

Wait… I Thought This Was MY House!

Friday, August 29, 2008

42 Comments

Aditya and I have both been pulling long hours at work during the past couple of weeks. Frankly, it's rare that we both get home before the night sets in. While we both have careers that have require long hours (my company's motto: "the hours here are flexible; you can come in as early as you want, and leave as late as you want"), recent project disasters have stretched our workdays beyond our version of normal. This is particularly unfortunate as Aditya's parents, Maa & Baba, are currently visiting us from India. Of course, they are here for two months, so it's not as if we won't end up having plenty of family time together - but I do wish they didn't have to spend so much time at our house by themselves. I worry about them getting bored; even Kajol, the energizer puppy, can only go for so many walks. I fret about all the interesting monuments and historic sites we aren't seeing in the evenings for lack of energy and sunlight. And I'm genuinely distraught that, at some point, they might break The System while we're away at the office.

Continue reading...

The In-Laws Have Landed!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

14 Comments

Among the suitcases (!) full of gifts, they brought me two large packages of Coffy Bite. This is our bedside table, as of three minutes ago. ... I daren't show you the carnage in the trash bin by the computer desk. (Don't worry - I will be posting LOTS more later - and regularly. However, I spent 13 hours at the office today, putting out metaphorical fires, and my brain is a little numb.)

Continue reading...

Like a Wheel in Motion: My Second Indian Wedding

Monday, August 25, 2008

19 Comments

NeoKalypso, my wonderful guest contributer, tells of her experiences at a friend's wedding. After a wonderful summer full of jungle hikes, tasty SE Asia food, and plenty of other adventures with R, I was blessed to top it all off in the most perfect way with my friend CT’s weddingYep, that’s right, our very own CaliforniaTransplant and I are friends in real life. After sharing so many similar perspectives on intercultural relationships we decided we had to meet. Our friendship blossomed and I volunteered to help her in any way I could on the day of her Gujurati Indian wedding ceremony. She took me up on it, sent me about a two page “script” and I was ready to help! From there…magic unfolded. The gods graced us with their presence…

Continue reading...

Indian Parental Problems: When Your Intercultural or Interracial Relationship Is Suddenly an Issue

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

86 Comments

A new reader to the blog, jbf, recently posted her personal story as a detailed comment in the post Initial Family Resistance to your Intercultural Relationship. Jbf's problem, however, is a bit different from the one highlighted in that post, so, with her permission, I'm hoisting her comment up into a post of its own, along with the comments from others that followed her original one. I'm sure she'd appreciate any further advice or suggestions you guys have. My own advice will be coming in the comments in a couple of hours. Of course, I'm not sure if I can do any better than what's been said so far - I'm very impressed with the level of thoughtful dialogue occuring here! Jbf's story & problems: I’m not sure if it is too late to comment on this, but I just came across it while searching for comfort in my situation. My friends and family have given me their support, but in matters of intolerance I do not know if they can offer anything more. I (a 25 yo white American girl) have been dating an Indian guy (born in America to Punjabi parents who moved here 2 years prior) for two years. I will call him B. We both hold graduate degrees and have careers. We met while in graduate school through mutual friends. We lived in different cities but found out that our parents lived only 15 minutes from each other. We quickly became close and decided to start a relationship despite the distance. I met his family very early on. They were receptive and welcomed me into their home. I even spent the night on multiple occasions. When he would come visit me he would bring small gifts from his mother, candles, potpourri, etc. I spent Christmas with his immediate family the last two years (I have not met extended family beyond cousins as dating is not a part of Indian culture). He graduated and started a job about a year ago. Within a few months of this we decided that when I graduated in a year I would find a job where he was and that we would move in together with the intent of being engaged within a year. Although untraditional it was important to both of us to be together in the same place before making such a commitment.

Continue reading...