Relationships
Couple’s love beats
cultural differences
fcaitor s Note: What follows is a
response by Moises Kaplan of
Colombia and Christina Hugly
of the United States to a series of
questions about their lives to
gether. They will be married in
ApriL r
Diversions: You come from dif
ferent countries, speak differ
ent languages . . . do you ever
have trouble understanding
each other?
Moises: Only the slang.
Christina: Basically no. Moises
had already lived in Lincoln for five
years by the time we got together.
Div: What’s the hardest thing
about living with someone from
a different culture?
M: You ha ve to accept the differ
ences associated with the different
cultures, sometimes it is a big exer
_ cise in tolerance and understand
mg.
C: The hardest thing for me is to
keep in mind that my references are
not necessarily the same as Moises’
and to keep on top of any potential
misunderstandings. Also, some
things are just different and you
have to accept those things in the
other person. You have to become
tolerant of differences. Less seri
ously, he has these long, humorous
conversations with friendsand fam
ily on the phone and I can’t under
stand a word of them, yet.
Diy: The best thing?
M: In part, it opens a new world
to you and in part it allows you to
see where you came from and who
you arc.
C: You get a very special view of
a world that is not your own, you
begin to feel more open and ac
cepting. This openness resounds
through other aspects of your life.
The process of learning and accept
ing is essentially a very enlighten
ing experience.
Div: How did you meet?
C: At the Zoo Bar, through some
mutual friends, listening to an Afri
can-American gospel band.
Div: How has your relationship
changed your social life?
M: It has lightened up my social
life. In part because it brings with it
new friends and activities that are
more satisfying and in part because
relationships with old friends also
becomes more satisfying.
C: Moises’ social group, when
we met, was made up primarily of
other foreign students. I have en
joyed meeting and becoming
friends with these people so much
so that I now consider some of
them life-long friends. I feel my
horizons have been broadened. It
has also been fun bringing Moises
into my social group, getting him to
be a Star 'I rek fan and finding that
there is no tension between the
two groups.
Div: What’s the hardest thing
for you to accept about each
other’s culture?
M: That social classes don’t ex
ist.
C: 1 ean’t imagine what it would
be like to live in a country that is so
violent and chaotic and to become
relatively accustomed to it. But I’ve
never been there so it is a difficult
question to answer.
-44
Yes, culture affects the
ways in which love is
expressed, it is mani
fested through differ
ent customs, rituals
and sayings... For
example, the word for
fat (Gordita) is a term
of endearment in Span
ish, which may not sit
to well with the aver
age American woman.
- yy -
Div: What is the -worst thing
about you own culture?
M: That social classes do exist.
C: You ask this in an election
year? In a nutshell I would say an
obsession with immediate gratifi
cation, be it economic, political or
social.
Div: What have you learned
about yourself, seeing yourself
reflected through the other’s
cultural viewpoint?
M: That I have a very strong
identity. One is defined by one’s
culture, by the place where they are
born, more than perhaps you
thought at the beginning. This helps
you to understand any difficulties,
to come to a universal understand
ing.
C: I began to understand that I
am far more entrenched in my
culture than I previously thought.
That I, in fact, view the world
through the particular vision of an
American.Coming to this recogni
tion has allowed me to think more
openly about issues, morals and
attitudes and to understand more
of who I am.
Div: You lack many cultural simi
larities, what do you have in
common?
M: The same version of family
values, we are both in thespectrum
of Western civilization. We both
give a lot of importance to the
intellectual aspect of our lives.
C: We have an affinity for each
other that is rather hard to explain.
Webothvalueourfamilies, humor,
education, art. We enjoy the same
pleasures and abhor the same situ
ations. We often agree in theory on
a given issue but we arrive at that
agreement in very different ways.
See LOVE orTTl
Michelle Paulman/DV
Christina Hugly, Nortamericana and student-at-large shares a moment with her fiance, Moises
Kaplan, Colombian citizen and doctoral candidate in Evolutionary Biology.
■ 1 . 111 ■
ALDUS SOFTWARE:
THE LOOK OF PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE
Aldus, ths Aldus PigiMditr, Psrsussion vtd FrtcHflnd m rsQistsrsd
tradamarks. and Sr^arPaH and IntaNOraw are kadamarka of Aldus
_ Corporator Windows Is I nglslirtd trsdsnwli of MkiosoR Corporsbon.
UdUS IlqgMaker and Mackdoah la a raglalarad kadamark qt Appta Comparer. Inc.
The most flexible, reliable and s,udent',Majnyv*"”10",ns»M'on*PO 'equatorpurchase
intuitive work environment for
writing, designing &
producing professional quality
publications.
PageMaker 4.2 for Mac $199.00
PageMaker 3.0 for Windows $199.00
Aldus FrssHsnd
Combines an elegant interface, powerful features &
superior quality to give you the easiest-to-use tool for
creating simple or sophisticated graphics.
FreeHand 3.1 for Mac $149.00
FreeHand 3.0 for Windows $149.00
■ Aldus SuperPalnt for the
Macintosh
An inexpensive, easy-to-use graphics
program than combines full color paint and
drawing features with image control.
SuperPaint 3.0 $99.00
Aldus Persuasion
Instantly transform your ideas into professional
quality presentation visuals. Slides, handouts,
overheads, speaker notes.
Persuasion 2.1 for Mac $125.00
Persuasion 2.0 for Windows $125.00
inteiiidraw _available at_
New category of drawing program with
features allowing you to visually 1^11H il W/A fwA
experiment, refine & draw your ideas. BIB B1 ^ MI
IntelliDraw for Windows $125.00
IntelliDraw for Macintosh $125.00 H fBtj pH I
1 3th & Q Street
