愛情無國界
卷首語
作者：by Jesse Hunter
I’ll never forget when I first saw the picture of my future wife， Zhao Nan， online. I was sitting alone， in my Guangzhou home， considering leaving China forever， when suddenly I got a message from a stranger looking to improve her English through online correspondence. I thought nothing of it， until I clicked on her photo， and all at once I was completely entranced. She was sat at a desk， at a school in north China， her adorable face framed perfectly by her shoulder length， chestnut brown hair. I knew， right then， that I had to get to know this girl， if it was the last thing I did.
After a few months of deep conversations （and not-so-subtle flirtations）， revealing our respective life stories， I’d already fallen madly in love， though we hadn’t even met in person yet. When she eventually came to Guangzhou， and we met face to face， I soon realized that this was， indeed， my soul mate. After a year of courtship， and two of engagement， we finally tied the knot last February.
There have been moments of uneasiness， of course； meeting each other’s family and friends， and learning to respect the other’s culture. But these have been， without a doubt， the happiest years of my life.
In this month’s first feature， In China， Mixed Marriages Can Be a Labor of Love， we see the struggles that AfricanChinese couples face， even in a modern metropolitan city like Guangzhou. In Double Happiness： Cross-Cultural Wedding Plans， two people， from two very different cultures， find common ground over a simple cup of coffee. And in My Chinese Wife： DNA Envy and the Dinner Conversation， we find out what one Chinese wife thinks are the ideal features in a foreign husband.