Meeting his/her family and friends :)

[PrincessJOE]

So, as it's gonna happen to me soon, i was wondering how it was for you
I am a tiny bit nervous, especially cos they wont speak my native language (i'll have to concentrate well ahah ), but i'm also very excited

Anyone who feels like sharing their experiences?

[ChibiFelicia]

I was pretty nervous meeting his parents for the first time. Knowing they're conservative koreans didn't help all that much. Im from a Chinese background and i know how my family are so i guess that helped. I wasn't too worried about the etiquette, it was how i dressed. I took ages trying to dress 'normal'. His dad doesn't speak english either so i had to learn a few things to say, immediately forgot them when i met them though. Him and his mum were my translators which was great.
Meeting his friends was great. I played online games with them for a year before we met face to face so it was like we sort of knew each other anyway.

[katiecat08]

I was nervous meeting his mom for the first time but after a while we felt very comfortable talking with each other. Now I was extremely nervous meeting his friends. But he said they all loved me so I guess it went well.

[princessmaria]

I have similar experience. My SO's parents don't speak my native language either. I haven't met his father yet, but I've met uncles, aunts, and his mother. I was extremely nervous at first, but they were very welcoming and kind. I was easily accepted into the family and they seemed really excited about it. I felt like all of my nerves were for nothing, but in retrospect I'm actually glad I was nervous because to them it showed that I cared about what they thought of me. I was lucky enough to have people who understood how I felt and it was quickly learned that I'm naturally a shy/quiet person which they wouldn't have known or been able to understand if I tried to hide those things. My suggestion is to just be yourself. Don't be afraid to be nervous or to even tell them that you're nervous to break the ice. Let them get to know you.

[CanadianGirl]

I was incredibly nervous before meeting my SO's family for the first time. I asked my SO so many questions to prepare, but he reassured me that his family was relaxed and they were happy that he was happy. Still almost puked before the visit..

My SO's family speaks Spanish, and when I first met them I didn't know a lick of it. They spoke a lot more English when I was over. They were extremely nice and welcoming His mom put together something vegetarian for me to eat, which I found pretty touching, since it can be a pain. I couldn't help being shy, but like princessmaria, I think they took it as a good thing. My SO's brother had gone through a harsh break-up, after getting engaged to a girl who basically didn't respect their family at all. I think the shyness made it pretty clear I was genuine. I always stop by whenever I'm over in Cali, and every time really is a pleasure. Fun conversations over dinner, played a hilarious game of poker and I got to know his brothers a little bit. I'm actually learning Spanish now, with the hope that I can learn enough to communicate with my SO's grandma.

I think that if you're nervous, you should ask your SO what you can expect, since he'll know best.

[kikidee]

im gonna be meeting my SO's friends for the first time in a few weeks. Good luck to you! Cant wait to hear all about it

[Sanja]

I actually felt pretty comfortable meeting my SO's mom because we speak the same language and come from the same culture. His dad passed away before we got together . I am friends with his cousin who introduced us, and I stay in touch with his sister through facebook because she lives in another country. I hope his experience when he meets my family will be as good as mine has been. Good luck to you!

[PrincessJOE]

Thanks everyone I'll let you know how it goes, i'm really excited

[MattDavies86]

Don't worry about it too much, just be yourself, when I first met my SO's Family, brothers, sister etc, it was for a special occasion, and no world of a lie I was the only foreigner in a 3day party of 150 Thai people lol! But I've never been shy, I tried to talk and got on with everyone I met, and her family approve of me so happy days lol. Met them all twice on 2 big occasions now and see them again soon (2months)

[80anthea]

Doing this myself in a couple of weeks time. I'm nervous, I've already spoken to him Mom but haven't met any of them in person. So I know exactly how you feel!

[Jade_Crystal]

I'm very curious now about your countries and how it would be like for you, as I'll be in a similar situation in a year's time from now. Luckily, my native has the same Latin foundation as his, so learning it is very doable for me, even in a month's time... I will be just a bit shy about speaking it with an accent or at times grammatically incorrect... and I'll surely stand out with formal grammatical speech anyway, natives using slang commonly and everything.

@Edit: And good luck!

[TwoThree]

It was during my second visit that I met my SO's family for the first time. We went to stay in their house for a weekend (they live in a different city from my SO's) and it felt kinda like a movie, you know, where they get the special china set out for tea, and bring the big albums to show you photos of your boyfriend as a baby/kid. It was amazing. They are absolutely lovely people and treated me as a princess. His father speaks English rather well and would ask all sorts of questions about me and my country. His mother's English is very basic but she made huge efforts to communicate with me and my SO and his brothers helped as translators.

As for friends, it took a longer time. I met a couple of them pretty soon, but the bulk I never met until this summer for some reason. A shame, because we got on pretty well, too.

[PrincessJOE]

Thanks everyone again It'll be someday next week, and I'm pretty excited even if i know im shy etc