Relationships

Benefits of Intercultural Relationships

The moment you begin an intercultural relationship, is the moment you begin to learn more about the world. You will start experiencing new foods, listen to new music, learn new games, practice new sports, acquire new words or a new dialect, or read new literature that you might never had access to before. In some ways you gain a new "history" as you learn what it means to belong to a new cultural group.

The difficulties involved in forming, maintaining, or ending an intercultural relationship may help you acquire new skills. According to Docan-Morgan, the skills we develop in all relationships are exaggerated in intercultural relationships. Docan-Morgan postulates that our newfound understanding of another culture will likely make it easier to relate and to feel close to people from many different walks of life. In other words, our intercultural relationships result in new insights and new ways of thinking that we can apply to every relationship.

Intercultural relationships also help us rethink stereotypes we might hold. Martin and Nakayama point out that the differences we perceive within our intercultural partners tend to be more noticeable in the early stages of the relationship. Because these differences can seem overwhelming, the challenge is to discover the things that both partners have in common and build on those similarities to strengthen the relationship.