Once upon a time mixing race and culture when it came to matters of the heart was tragically forbidden. The heart is going to love who it loves. And when it comes to finding happiness no one should be stopped by different cultural backgrounds. It can be loud and confusing to learn and navigate a loved one's family and all that comes with it. History is imperative in knowing your partner. It's also highly educational and hilarious!!!
Redditor u/haunted-shark wanted to hear from all the lovers out there, about what it's been like to be mixed in race, in their love story and how they learned about one another's histories by wondering.... Interacial couples, what shocked you the most about your SO's culture?Rice Away....
Not my relationship but my sister is french and is dating a Chinese guy. He buys so much rice she told me she could hold a siege for a whole year with it and she keeps texting me stuff like 'can you believe it???' with pics of kilos and kilos of rice he just bought. bumblebee_helee
Food Tears.
GiphyI'd never seen someone cry tears of joy eating good pasta until I met my Italian girlfriend. JMES241
"person who is old
Calling everyone an uncle or auntie when you mean "person who is older." The number of actual relatives is much smaller than the number of family members.
[edit: I love that apparently this happens everywhere except for white middle America. I first got it from my Chinese in-laws] oftenfrequentlyonce
I'm southern US and allllllllll my parents close friends growing up were "Uncle This" or "Aunt That" everything else was reserved for like just adults in general. RobotDeathQueen
Wabbly....
GiphyJello. So many kinds of Jello. Every person in the surrounding South Dakota farming community brings a different kind of Jello to social gatherings. YoureDelightful
Because we hug...
My boyfriend is half Japanese, and his very un-emotional relationship with his mother, and his father too, was a huge shock to me.
My parents are european immigrants from the Balkans, and they're incredibly affectionate. My brother and I are affectionate with each other and will hug anytime. I hug my parents nearly every day (before the pandemic). I grew up holding hands with my cousins in public, but my boyfriend absolutely hates PDA of any kind. We've gotten into numerous arguments about physical affection in public or even at parties around our own friends. Naturally he thinks my relationship with my family is very weird. Because we hug... QueenYmir
Don't Listen.
When I was dating a Mexican, I'd go to his family parties and they would play the most foul mouthed gangster rap. Screw tha police blasting at a 5 year olds birthday. Abuelas and abuelos up and dancing to it.
I made a comment about how liberal his parents and grandparents must be. He said "oh they don't know English. This absolutely wouldn't fly if they knew what it was about." ohso_happy_too
Hands free.
GiphyOooh being so touchy touchy. I'm Asian and she's Hispanic, 'nuff said.
Also what surprised us was the foods. There were so many things present in our opposite cultures but used in a lot of opposite ways. Like certain ingredients used savory in one culture and sweet in the other and so in. But a lot of ingredients in common. ThaiChili
Bye Nanna.
Black British with a Jamaican family. Married to a white British guy.
Was most shocked by funerals. When we had his nanna's funeral I was shocked that people were invited and only immediate family. We did the funeral, then went to a pub and there were sandwiches, cakes, tea etc then everyone was heading home by 5.30pm.
Jamaican and Caribbean funerals are NOTHING of the sort. People turn up because they knew the deceased person years ago. Some people don't even make plans to go to the funeral they arrange to go to the "after". There's hot food served like a properly catered function in a hall or centre, there's sound systems set up, and people dance. Also sometimes a couple old men in hats playing dominoes. There's also usually a "nine-night" so nine nights after the person passes away you hold a big party essentially to chase away bad spirits. Lots of music, drinking, food, smoking, etc.
I told husband about this and his face was a picture! AliceLovesBooks
Counting Coin.
Money management. I was quite surprised that when we got married, we were supposed to give away half of the cash we received as gifts to my SO's cousins. I was then instructed that it was rude to have a savings account. If we had extra money, it should always be given to the family as gifts. Not happening. MyDogIsaGargoyle
Everybody's Business.
I'm white that married a Mexican. The biggest thing for me was that EVERYTHING is a family affair. Like, I call my family every other week or whatever, but my husband's family does everything together. My first taste of this was when we were dating, and it took the whole family to switch out his mattress for a bigger one. I was like, you couldn't do that yourself? He looked at me funny when I said that. petiteandpale16
So Close...
The EXTREME family closeness. I'm black, but my family isn't particularly close - we live in different states, we talk probably weekly, I don't know the daily ins and outs of their lives. My wife's family though - my god. Take a wild guess at their ethnicity. I'll give you a hint - 90% of her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins live in the same five mile radius in El Paso. redooo
Just Say Hello.
GiphyMy wife had to deal with Korean people who will frequently comment about your appearance as a greeting.
My aunt meeting my SO: Hiiiii nice to meet you! your face is so small. fire_escape_balcony
Tick-Tock...
Being late to social gatherings is so ingrained in their culture that showing up right on time is considered rude. She has literally made me pull into a parking lot and wait so that we were at least ten minutes late to dinner at Tita's house. And we were still the first ones there by far. nails_for_breakfast
It's All Relative.
Sooooo much family. She is Samoan. It feels like every Samoan seems to be related. poisoop1or2
I LOVE big families, though! I came from a family in which my grandma is a child of 9 siblings and whenever we celebrate cny I would literally be able to meet my "nephew" whose 25 years older than I am due to how many cousins we have.
So, how does it felt like to meet so many family members though? I've asked my cousin's wife about this and she said she was pretty overwhelmed at first; what about you? haunted-shark
Well I moved country and went to live with her family at one point. I was the only white guy around. Yes it was overwhelming but I couldn't have been made more welcome. I have met and forgotten hundreds of relatives. Yes, I too have nephews that are a lot older than me and refer to me as Uncle. Great people with warm smiles and hearts. poisoop1or2
I Do!!
Weddings.
My fiancé (Irish) and I (Indian) started planning our wedding. We're both wanted to go for a small wedding and we sat our parents down and told them about it. I gave my fiancé a heads up to let him know that we'd have to operationally define what a small wedding would be to my parents because to them small would be like a 100 people.
He didn't take me seriously at first, but when we finally got down to it and told my parents, they came up with a guest list of just their friends and my family of about a 125 people.
As a compromise, we've finally arrived on 20 people for the wedding and my parents are throwing us a party after with whoever they want to invite. It was like a war negotiation. acidgreencanvas
Cheers...
GiphyThey can drink. Like, seriously. Holy Crap. (Scandinavian, specifically Norwegian, Irish and Swedish). JohnGrant88
Cant' Go Just Anywhere....
A black women's hair is expensive and takes foreverrrrrr. Plus you can't go to any old salon for it. ChloeCohn
Even if I wanted to go to any salon it sadly isn't super possible. Despite going to cosmetology school, many stylists still do not know how to work with hair types that aren't traditionally white. My town has mostly white salons and only less than 5 women available who can do black hair. It's absolutely been an expensive struggle but the final look pays off when I can find a woman to do the job. Blue_Bloom
"Oh you're HUNGRY!"
GiphyI learned very quickly that when you are eating food at my Greek SO's house, you always leave a little bit on your plate. If you don't they'll say "Oh you're HUNGRY!" and pile 5 times as much food onto your plate. svenson_26
So Blunt.
Hispanic culture has zero version of political correctness. They are extremely blunt. "Hey you look like you got fat" isn't uncommon.
The people have a better view of life in many ways than I grew up. Much more family focused. carnagebestvillain
Pride!
My biggest surprise is the huge amount of Polish pride someone can have considering that they don't speak Polish or have been to Poland.
Her biggest surprise is that we play hide the money anytime we go to a relative's house. Also, the arguments that ensue when trying to pay the restaurant bill. krsparetime
Big Loud Love.
GiphyI'm half Spanish on my mum's side, we never really got on with my dad's family (which is sad, because some of his more distant relatives are amazing people), so I was raised in my mum's culture.
My husband's family are lovely people, but how their family works is so strange to me. When they talk to each other, it's how I'd interact with a work colleague I don't see very often- polite, cheerful, but never touching on personal subjects. They seemed horribly embarrassed when we called them to announce our engagement (we live on opposite sides of the world).
I was a bit offended until I got to know them better, they do care and they are warm- they just don't express it like my family do.
I did warn my husband about my family, but I don't think he really understood. We are LOUD. Loud enough that if you want to talk, you shout over everyone else. There are a lot of us. We are all up in each other's business. Our family will subsume you if they like you- he gained 5 aunts and uncles and 10 first cousins without asking for them. 80s-Dayglow-Kitten
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- Non-Americans Disclose Their Biggest Culture Shocks When They Arrived In The USA - George Takei ›
- Americans Break Down The Biggest Culture Shocks They Ever Faced When Visiting Europe - George Takei ›
- People Describe The Things They Learned About A Different Culture Or Religion That Shocked Them - George Takei ›
- People Divulge Which Things Europeans Aren't Ready To Hear - George Takei ›
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap DierenartsenGiphyWhat Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPostGiphyWho Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIFGiphySleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphyIs That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphy"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & GraceGiphy"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
