Hi all, this is my first post here.

I am in a two year long relationship with a man from a culture different from my own. We live together in his country. We love each other and want to get married, but we have a big problem that must be resolved before marrying. In fact, if we don't resolve it soon I am afraid it will be the end of us!

I consider myself a very good communicator, and have studied communication skills. He also considers himself a good communicator, but we can not seem to communicate with each other!

Any time we try to talk about anything important, it ends in a fight. I believe this is because we have very different approaches to talking things out. We are both so frustrated that we do not know what to do any more.

Couples counseling, right? Well I would like that, but we live in a small country where we are well-known, and he is uncomfortable revealing our private issues to someone. He does not believe they will keep things confidential. We are not religious, so going to see a religious counselor is out of the picture.

I am so frustrated that I am crying nearly every day now. I really want to hear from people who have had similar problems, not just "my husband won't talk to me" as that is not our problem at all.

Is there anyone else here who has had to deal with communicating with a partner from a different culture?

Maja