International Dating Discussion forum

Deciding which country to seek love in is a tough but enjoyable decision. While this book explores romance in Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, you can use these techniques to look for love anywhere on the planet. I hope this information will arouse your curiosity, and eventually, when you meet her in person, your ardor.

Before you decide where to look, start thinking about how to look. My advice is to develop a game plan. This book will help you develop a method to achieve your goal. Some factors to consider are your personality, independence, financial flexibility and whether you’re interested in friendship, a love affair, marriage, or all of the above.

The kind of personality you have — your lifestyle, religion and general attitude toward life — are the most important considerations when looking for a woman from another culture. Different women from different countries have different personalities and customs.

Of course, anything I state about the characteristics of women from a particular country are based on personal experience, what I’ve heard from others, and research. There are exceptions to everything I say. For example, the people of Malaysia are a combination of four or five different cultural and religious traditions. Don’t expect every woman in each country to be similar. There are striking exceptions, so be alert for them.

You can find a good woman in any country but you may have to look long and hard. For example, some Thai women only want to marry Thai men, while some Filipinas don’t want anything to do with Filipino men. Korean women aren’t easy to meet, as they may be the most submissive and over-protected women in all of Asia (although this attitude is rapidly changing, especially in metropolitan areas). Malaysians are a complex mix of Indian, Chinese, Thai and native cultures, but they speak English well and are open to marrying Western men.

Before making a decision on which country or countries to target, I recommend that you research the history, culture and customs of countries that interest you. I hope to give you some ideas about where to look, but the world is your playground. There are so many countries in the world, and the map seems to change daily. It is estimated that there are thousands of cultures to choose from with a vast diversity in customs, languages and race.

A list of nations is found in any good world almanac, along with brief information about the country. An encyclopedia has more detailed descriptions of each country and its peoples. The encyclopedia is a surprisingly good source of information for men interested in seeking love overseas. These resources give some hint to the kind of woman you are likely to encounter: her customs, religion, temperament and eating habits. A good travel guide will also have helpful information. Most libraries have books on all major countries. Hopefully, understanding something about her country will help you make a decision on which country you are most likely to find a woman you can love forever.

The CIA World Factbook is an excellent reference on the economies, politics, geography and climate of every country in the world. It is available in the reference section of the public library and on the internet:

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

Of course, there are some things a book can never tell you, These can only be learned by seeing and touching the woman you desire.

The kind of lover you’re looking for may help you decide which country to search. You’ll have a tough time finding this topic in the library. While it’s difficult to make a judgment on what type of love-making customs prevail from one country to the next, the Philippines and Thailand do have some distinction in this area. Both countries are more open in their attitudes toward love and sex than are, say, Korea and Malaysia, and both have identifiable styles.

Other considerations will be your interest in her culture, her English-speaking ability, her role in your family, her religion and her attitude toward other religions.

The lady you seek may not live in a city. She may paint umbrellas for a living in Northern Thailand, attend college on a tropical island in the Philippines, weave fishing nets in a coastal village in Malaysia, or work as a secretary for a huge conglomerate in downtown Seoul. A woman who grew up in a major city is a lot different from one who’s been growing rice in the provinces.

A city woman has assimilated western cultural influences. She enjoys nice clothes, shopping (many are tireless when it comes to this pastime), restaurants, movies and other typical urban pleasures. She will see her husband as an equal partner rather than as head of the household. Adapting to a western culture shouldn’t be too difficult for her. She’ll spend time talking to friends on the phone and be familiar with home appliances we take for granted.

A girl from the provinces will have simple pleasures like sewing, talking with friends and decorating her home. Her idea of a food processor will be a mortar and pestle and a sharp knife. She may have difficulty understanding a new and complex culture. She may be overwhelmed by all the consumer items she only dreamed of, like a nice car and beautiful clothes from department stores.

Some countries have tiny English-speaking populations. If you visit these you might need experience teaching English as a second language before you can really get to know a woman.

Even so, some people claim that couples who speak different languages quarrel the least. Consider the challenge and responsibility you’d take on marrying a girl who speaks little or no English. Undoubtedly you’d both learn a lot about body language. Spending time with a lover you can’t talk to (or argue with) can be a memorable experience. Being her partner and mentor while she adapts to a new culture and gradually learns a language, assuming you take her home and marry her, can be a great responsibility.

The information she is exposed to would be, to a great extent, your decision. You could influence her to become a baseball fan, an opera aficionado, a gourmet cook, a tennis buff — you name it. That’s not to say she would necessarily pursue the interests you hoped. Still, the situation would make your role extraordinarily influential. At the same time you might even be raising a child in a multi-lingual environment. This is a challenge that only a strong-willed and paternal man should take on.