Two-culture couples need to understand themselves first

People planning to marry others from another country must know themselves before they can really understand the cultures of their future mates.

So says U.S. Navy Cmdr. Manuel Mak, a Chinese-American and chaplain at the Veterans Affairs Regional Medical Center in Danville, Ill.

In Japan to share his expertise, he visited Yokosuka Naval Base and Naval Air Facility Atsugi before concluding his tour at Sasebo.

He conducted the Asian-American Diversity/Biracial Marriage and Dating Workshop on Thursday for base chaplains and program managers to help inform and counsel base personnel. A Friday workshop was for people planning a multicultural marriage.

“To succeed in such relationships and to understand the person you marry, you must first learn to know yourself through a process of developing emotional intelligence,” Mak said. “If you don’t understand how your culture has influenced your life, you can’t understand the other person.”

Read the full article: Two-culture couples get words of advice from chaplain