Category: Love in the Tropics

As prices continue to escalate in Indonesia for basic items such as food (current prices have been increased by 60% since 2007) and gas which is now a whopping Rp6.000 a liter, one has to wonder how this will affect all relationships let alone the bi-cultural couple? Gone are the days when someone could walk […]

My ten year old son is a beautiful blend of American, Puerto Rican, Spanish and Indonesian. When I asked him about what he thinks the best thing is about being a product of mixed parents he replied, “I like all the experiences that I’ve had in both cultures. I get to do and see so […]

Most of my past articles have focused on western women who are married or in a serious relationship with Asian men, so I thought it would be interesting to get the other perspective. I asked a western friend of mine who is in a committed relationship with a Japanese woman what he thinks about the […]

It has been an interesting journey to share my thoughts and feelings with all of you about being in a bi-cultural relationship. I’ve talked about the ups and downs, mis-communications, spiritual diversity and the yearnings that we all share for a clearer understanding about how those of us who are in bi-cultural partnerships can succeed […]

I just finished a three day juice detox which was much harder than I had anticipated it would be. On the first day I drank four different juices which consisted of a variety of vegetables or fruits that stimulate the release of one’s toxins. By the second juice I found myself feeling quite ill; my […]

Our Astro vision crashed last week and when I called to ask them to repair it, I realized that I was no longer interested in watching repeats, mediocre movies or hearing the screeching sounds of cartoon characters on the Cartoon Network. It was time to make a change, so I said with conviction, “Never mind […]

Today I was contemplating what I would write for my column for this issue and nothing came to me until I did offerings and prayers, otherwise known as Sembahyang in Bahasa Indonesian. I had a difficult day that I wasn’t able to really share with my husband, yet when we did our prayers together, it […]

When we look at our traditions from western cultures like Australia, Canada and the USA, we realize that there are few which have existed as long as some of the ancient traditions which continue to thrive in Asian cultures like Bali or Java. In the USA, people celebrate Thanks Giving – a day of remembrance […]

Caroline and Ronnie have been happily married for more than ten years and have two boys, ages eight and six. Caroline is a lover of dancing and is very creative, while Ronnie is more of a low key guy who is good with budgeting and managing the staff that work for them. Caroline sat down […]

Many of my friends who are also in bi-cultural relationships would agree that being married to someone from another culture certainly has its challenges. Most of us came into our relationships with different religions or spiritual practices than our respective partners. In addition, the Indonesian law requires both people to be the same religion before […]