I would like to comment on Dr. Monika Williams' article on Psychology Today 'Colourblind Ideology is a Form of Racism'.
Colorblindness is an approach to race ideology according to which the best way to eliminate racism is to treat everybody equally, regardless of their colour or race as if those differences didn't exist. According to the autor, this approach itself equals to racism.
Continue reading "'Colourblind' ideology. A Form of Racism?" »
In this time of the year, when almost everyone is occupied writing down their presents lists and deciding where and what to spend, some, instead, decide not get but to give.
I think that getting involved with charities, especially in this time of the year, can be a wonderful presents, to ourselves and to the ones we help. Never done anything of the kind?
On the overall, it's always advisable to start such commitments within institutions or organizations. They indeed provide the best advice, a technical expertise and also security frame, when needed.
Naturally, International Couples have an edge when doing charity! Yes, since most probably this Christmas you will be travelling, why not help others in your partner's country as well? It would be a rewarding Christmas and a way to leave the world a little better than you found it!
No matter what your faith or creed is, the Christmas period is usually seen pretty much anywhere as a family period and as a moment to get together with your beloved ones. As it happens with those family spread across countries, international couples are faced with a dilemma: where to spend the holidays? There's not a flawless method or some magic rule that works always, but there's problably a number a "approaches" that can help you get out of an embarassing situation without hurting anyone.
If your families reside in the countries of origin, then you've got to come up with a nice and easy solution accepted by everybody and, most importantly, something that works every year. The first no brainer would be to spend your holidays once with your partner's family and once with yours. All nice and cozy, no complications, since it happens where it happens. I mean, once you've set up the rule, the game's done, you don't interfere with the rules. Naturally, this approach works best when your family is not divorced (or at least they are on speaking terms), they live together etc...
Picture Courtesy of www.blondetraveler.com
But when the going gets tough, when your families interfere and try to "influence" the decision, then, as usual, romantic getaways come to our rescue. Spending Christmas in a nice resort or location just the two of you is wonderful. And the quality of the time that you will spend wih each other makes up for the distance from your families. Can you imagine how wonderful it is to lock yourselves in a nice mountain, a country resort, a spa or on a beach? I'm not suggesting this should be the rule, but sometimes it works, just to ring the changes.
But the more fufilling way to spend the Christmas holidays, would be to forget the 'where' and concentrate on the 'what'. Trying to help others, the less fortunate and the poor, spending even an hour a day doing charitable work is a concrete and emotional approach to this time of the year. Being international couples, it gives us the chance of doing charitable giving in also more than one country or across two cultures, the best way to spend a thorough Christmas!
