I guess it was not enough that I live and work cross-culturally, so I had to go and marry a man that not only is of a different nationality, he comes from multiple cultures as well!
You see, Maiguida grew up in Niger, but his family is actually European. So while he ate with a knife and fork at home, he's a complete natural when it comes to the Nigerien tradition of sharing a common plate and using one's right hand to consume a meal.
He is comfortable holding his wife's hand in public . . . and also walking down the street, hand-in-hand with a man. Because in the West, hand holding is a romantic act, but in Niger it is reserved for close friends of the same gender.
And while he is a natural cultural-chameleon, there has been one very surprising cross-cultural nuance that we have come to discover about each other in the short time we've been married. And we're struggling to get past it.
