Interracial dating through the Internet.....By Emma Wang

I have been reading with interest the articles (Can interracial marriages work?) on MYNIPPON regarding romance among people of different races. As an Asian immigrant in the United States, I was always intrigued by people of other races. I had nothing against Asian men, but being in the US, I felt that I should keep my options open and get to know other races/cultures. It was hard for me to socially interact with non-Asian men since I always ended up with my friends who were all from Southeast Asia. Many of them did not approve of interracial relationships and discouraged me from even trying. I was, however, determined to find out for myself what the fuss was all about. At this point, Internet came to my rescue. 

I posted my personal ad online and clearly indicated that I was interested in men of other races too. To my pleasant surprise, I heard from all sorts of wonderful men who were interested in dating me. I picked one, my current boyfriend, and he is such a great guy for me in my entire life ever. We have been together for almost 2 years now and now I am proud to say that I found love on the Internet.  Some of my friends initially thought I was strange to take control of my romantic life in this manner but I hear that many of them are now quietly doing it themselves, though I understand without the knowledge of their family members. (Related article:  Women win when dating online)

My experience tells me that even though we did not meet for six months (we only talked on the internet/phone), we tried to get to know each other well using technology. When we started to chat with each other online, I told him jokingly to move to Florida from Missouri, and once he did, I was scared because I did not know how to handle the situation. I was not sure when he came down to Florida that he would be the wonderful guy I had known over the phone. However, we spend enough time together for an year and I felt much more comfortable seeing him, being with him and even started thinking about a future with him.  

It may be easy for me to say now that though people from my country may see people of other races as outsiders, if you can deal with it then try to find love wherever you can. Communicate with each other well and you will find that it really does not matter where you were born and what language you speak - eventually we are all human beings with similar emotions. 

My boyfriend has now started to speak a little bit of Chinese by picking up words from me and other Chinese friends. It seems hard, though he seems to be enjoying doing it. Also, I have some problem speaking English even though I have been here in the U.S. for 7 years. Thus, we are patient when we listen to each other. I took my chance and now I am very happy. Just listen to what your heart tells you and go for it.

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