I am an olive complected Italian born and raised in New York. My boyfriend of 5 years is a dark "moreno" Dominican who moved to Florida at the age of 18. We have grown so much within eachothers culture in these years. He has learned to speak nearly perfect English- though his lovely accent is sadly leaving more and more everyday- and can chow down on some very Sicilian dishes... I have learned to speak Spanish (and even take it as part of my college courses), dance some very surprising merengue and can even cook a mean san cocho. The only barriers that we have run into because of our culture is the fiery and passionate temper that comes with BOTH cultures...Also, Italians are typically raised with the mindset that the women run the household and have complete say-so... And while he fits the Dominican "machismo" stereotype VERY well... we tend to butt heads in that sense. The last issue I can think of is that though both of our families are delighted for us to to be with eachother, I sadly find that his family and friends are blatantly approving of me based almost entirely on my appearance... Their compliments have nothing to do with me going to school for my masters, my accomplishments, personality, or how well I take care of their son/brother/friend/etc... But the only compliment I can get is how much I resemble a younger Viviana of
Guerra de los Sexos!! Although nice, this is highly offensive and shallow to me because my family approves of him ONLY based on the happiness he brings to me. As uncomfortable as it makes me, I often wonder if this is typical???