Introducing Your Russian Bride To Family And Friends

By Author: Oksana Boichenko
Total Articles: 11
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After you and your Russian bride have been together for a while, you will reach a point of introducing her to your family and friends. As with any introductions of a new person who has become close to you, it can be a stressful event to handle. Even if your family and friends are supportive of your idea to date someone from overseas, you may still be nervous wondering if they will like each other, how comfortable your sweetheart will be, all of which can cause a lot of tension. This article gives you a few suggestions on how to prepare for this occasion and make it go as smooth as possible.
You will want to make sure that everyone involved is prepared for this meeting, and your Russian woman is no exception. One of the things you can do is help her get to know your family and friends in advance, long before they meet in person. Show her their pictures and describe what the people she will meet are like. Tell her the most outstanding things about each member of the family, which can help her make associations to remember them better. It is a good idea to share likes and dislikes ...
... of each person, information about their families, careers, etc. It is also important to help her remember the names of the people she will be meeting - coming from a different culture it can be a challenge, and it will save your sweetheart a lot of embarrassment and discomfort if she remembers everyone's names properly. If she is not fluent in the language, you should also take the time to teach her a few basic phrases, or slang words, which are used during small talk - it will make her feel more comfortable in the setting with people speaking a different language and give her a few ice-breakers for the conversation. Doing all these things will help you Russian lady feel more confident; she will be coming into the situation knowing what to expect.
Preparing your family is also an important step. Describe your sweetheart to them - share where she is from, tell them some things that you like the most about her, describe her most attractive traits, tell them how you've met. All these things will help your family and friends get to know her ahead of personal meeting and create a positive image of her, because they will see her through your eyes. It is also important that you take time to talk about cultural differences. Make sure your family and friends are aware of the language issues, if they exist: if your sweetheart does not know your native tongue, it will take an effort from all the native speakers (you, first of all!) to make sure she does not feel excluded from the conversation; if she has basic language skills, you might need to warn your friends and family that they should talk a bit slower, make them aware of differences in pronunciations and difficulties of understanding accents, etc. Share with them some information about the culture your sweetheart is coming from - what are some things unique to her home and family, what some of her home country traditions are, etc. It will not only make your friends and family feel like they know your Russian lady better, but also give them something to talk to her about when they finally meet.
Naturally, you will be the main conductor of the event. Being familiar with both parties, it will be up to you to make sure everything goes smoothly. Be prepared that it might be stressful and will require a lot of participation and patience on your part. Introduction of your Russian bride to your family and friends will require a lot of preliminary work from you: getting both sides of the equation acquainted with each other in advance, making sure you give both necessary information, etc. For example, as mentioned above, you will have to be the one to keep track of the conversation flow to make sure no one feels left out, trying to make everyone comfortable and avoiding awkward situations. Think in advance of the things you wouldn't want your family asking your Russian lady (and vice versa) because they might be considered offensive or impolite. You might want to prepare a few things to keep on hand in order to avoid awkward pauses: some family picture albums, etc. - things that can help get the conversation flowing.
Following these few suggestions will help you make introduction of your Russian bride to your family and friends easy and less stressful.