Navigating cultural differences in romantic relationships

(Will and Hannah are sitting down in their home facing the camera)

Will:
Definitely wasn't a great feeling, knowing the person I wanted to be with, their family didn't accept me.

Title card: Navigating cultural differences in romantic relationships

(Raúl-Xavier and Daniel Ramirez are sitting down outside of their apartment facing the camera)

Raúl-Xavier:
Hi, my name is Raúl-Xavier. I'm 20 years old and I'm Australian.

Daniel Ramirez:
And my name is Daniel Ramirez. I'm 24 years old and I'm from Colombia.

(Dani and Eric are sitting down in their home facing the camera)

Dani:
I'm Dani.

Eric:
I'm Eric and I'm 22 years old.

Dani:
And I am 23 years old and I am half Mauritian, a quarter Swiss, and a quarter French.

Eric:
I am Indian, so fully Indian, as Indian as you can get.

Will:
Hi, I'm Will. I'm an Aboriginal man from the Mununjali clan, and I'm 21.

Hannah & Will:
Hi, my name is Hannah, I'm a white Australian, and I'm also 21. And we're from Brisbane.

Title card with Dani's voiceover: What were your first impressions?

Eric:
No, well, you were a bit, um, bit scary, to be honest.

Dani:
(laughs).

Eric:
Um, in Year 10, so I was sort of like, "Ooh, better watch out for this one."

Daniel Ramirez:
I talked to him and he didn't reply back, so I was like, "Maybe he can't talk."

Will:
Yeah, she picked me up in her dingy little car.

Hannah:
My dingy car. My first car I bought. Oh God.

Will:
(laughs).

Title card with Hannah's voiceover: What relationship challenges have you faced due to cultural differences?

Daniel Ramirez:
The language barrier (laughs). 'Cause of course, my first language is Spanish, so sometimes I have to just translate whatever he says, or I just don't understand. It's like, it's really hard.

Eric:
Dani grew up in a family where it was very much open communication. You know, as they got into an argument, it was very much talked about then and there. For me growing up in my household, a lot of the arguments or friction we had with each other in the family was brushed under the rug and not spoken about.

Hannah:
My family made it known from the beginning that they weren't going to be accepting of me dating someone who was Aboriginal.

Will:
I mean, I'd faced, like, stuff like this before, also coming from central Queensland. Offhand comments, backhanded compliments, stuff like that, but yeah, I think it was a bit different this time.

Hannah:
Yeah.

Title card with Will's voiceover: How have you embraced or managed these challenges?

Raúl-Xavier:
Learning to have more patience with one another I think is really important, and I think that's one way that we sort of face these challenges together.

Dani:
It sounds cliché but just lots of communication. I mean, I know you've probably heard people say, "Communicate, communicate, communicate," but it actually makes a world of difference.

Will:
Just by, you know, standing true to who we are in general, you know. I think you shouldn't let other people dictate your lives.

Title card with Hannah's voiceover:
What tips or advice would you give to others?

Daniel Ramirez:
Like, we are people and we are full of good and bad stuff. Again, we just have to understand that where the other person is coming from, and just take the best out of it.

Will:
Trust in yourself. You know, have confidence in you and your relationship.

Hannah:
If you trust your partner and you trust yourself, then your relationship will flourish.

Daniel Ramirez:
And don't go to bed without saying goodnight.

Raúl-Xavier:
(laughs). Totally. That's good advice.

(The ReachOut logo end card appears as Raúl-Xavier finishes his sentence)