International Marriage

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Ruth

Todd

Todd: So, Mark, um, you mentioned that your wife is Japanese.

Mark: That’s right.

Todd: Ok, and how long have you been married?

Mark: We finally got married in April of 1998 but it took us a while to get to that stage.

Todd: Ok, well,what’s it like being in an international marriage?

Mark: I really enjoy it. There are different challenges, I mean any marriage has got challenges, and just having different cultures and different backgrounds and different languages, despite the fact that we both speak both our first languages. Yeah, it has different challenges but that makes it fun.

Todd: You said that your wife speaks to you in Japanese and you speak to her in English?

Mark: No it’s fifty-fifty really. It really depends on what we’re talking about: if we’re watching an English movie or something on TV in English we’ll speak in English; if we’re reading the Japanese newspaper and we find something interesting we will probably speak in Japanese.

Todd: Ok, well, actually, how did you meet?

Mark: Through my room mate in Japan, how many years ago now, probably about 15 years ago…

Todd: A while back

Mark: …introduced us. Yeah, it’s been a long time.

Todd: That’s cool. Is there anything that’s hard about having an international marriage?

Mark: I suppose it means that you’re always away from one person’s family. I suppose that’s the hardest thing. I’m in Japan now so I’m a long way from my family; when we lived in New Zealand before, my wife was a long way from her family.

Todd: That’s tough, that is tough. So how long did you live together in New Zealand?

Mark: We were there for about 4 years,…I think. Yeah, yeah, approximately 4 years in New Zealand.

Todd: Now, have you lived in any other countries together?

Mark: No, no, not together, it’s either been Japan or New Zealand.

Todd: Do you have any plans as to which country you’re going to settle in?

Mark: Now that sounds very permament to me!

Todd: So you never know?

Mark: Never know.

Todd: Alright, thanks a lot, Mark

Comprehension Quiz

Read or listen to the text and answer the questions below.

1) Mark got married in _______. 

 a) May, 2008

 b) May, 1998

 c) April 1998

2) Mark says an international marriage has different _______. 

 a) challenges

 b) challengers

 c) champions

3) If they're watching an English movie, Mark and his wife speak _______. 

 a) English

 b) Japanese

 c) English and Japanese 50-50

4) Mark and his wife met through _______. 

 a) a colleague

 b) an introduction agency

 c) a roommate

5) The hardest thing about international marriage is _______. 

 a) inability to communicate

 b) one person being away from their family

 c) differences in culture