Jersey Girl and the Sikh

Jersey Girl and the Sikh: Our Story

Every single day when I check my stats, I am blown away at the sheer amount of women searching for answers about their Indian boyfriends culture, family or devotion.

I too used to search for these same things before Manpreet and I were engaged to be married. After our visa denial, I discovered a group of women who are all in a similar situation.  We started a “support group” of ladies who navigate the questions regarding our uncommon love story of East meeting West; so I understand your confusion and desperation… believe me.

Jersey Girl and the Sikh was created as a project for my university. I had no intentions of keeping up with the blog; it was mainly used for a grade, when something weird happened… people liked it.

I had been scared of backlash from the “Cultural Appropriation Police,” and did not want to promote the page in any way. I feared that I was offending the Sikh community by writing about my experiences, but instead I found I was welcomed warmly, with a similar sarcasm and sense of humor.

So, welcome to Jersey Girl and the Sikh. I’m the Jersey girl…

I am married to a wonderful Sikh man from New Delhi, India. If you don’t know, Sikh guys wear a turban (though he does not); we are an unlikley couple to say the least.

What I have learned is that, Indian relationships with an “outsider” are incredibly confusing, and it seems the entire world is looking for answers on how to cope.

There are many questions about arranged marriages, in-laws, cultural differences, the immigration process, and even horrific things such as honor killings.

I was once THAT GIRL as well, but have recently been awarded a masters degree from the “University of Hard Knocks” in “Inter-Cultural Relationships with an Indian Man.”

Thousands of people were signing up to my original blog; oddly most were from India, Nepal and Thailand.  Like an excited voyeur; I would go through each of their FaceBook pages to peek into their lives… believe me, I saw some pretty crazy things out there in the “real world” outside of our American bubble.

Partners of Indians

Then, one day Manny  “liked” my page.

He was different right from the start. His eyes were soft and gentle; his profile photo showed him sitting on the floor holding his dog.  I was intrigued by his sweetness, so I sent him a friend request.

He and I became very close friends who spoke daily about whatever was on our mind. We discussed past relationships, even our fears and dreams. We slowly found that we started to depend on each other for many things like advise, a good venting session and even for a deep belly laugh.

We could not get enough of each other.

Our online relationship was very genuine and real to us, but the rest of the world seemed to doubt it.

On my end I would hear horror stories; people tend to mistrust then see it necessary to guise their own fears as overt “concern” for you. “He wants a green-card,” is something a lot of people are thinking, weather they say it or not.

Sadly, you can see it in their eyes.

I find it bizarre that someone can meet a guy in a bar one night, sleep with him, then introduce him all their friends and no one bats-an-eye; they blindly accept it.

But me?

Nope.. I have spent years vetting this man. There are no “red flags,” yet people are “concerned.” It makes me laugh… and cry daily.

On Manpreet’s end there tends to be a completely different sense of mistrust and adaptation in India, but thankfully NOT from his family. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have married a man with a family I am simply obsessed with.

Theirs is a beautiful and ancient culture with beliefs, traditions and superstitions dating back thousands of years.

Only recently, they are finding themselves thrown into this new global economy. His culture is trying to adapt, but the world is evolving so rapidly they seem to be stuck in this in-between state of progress and history.

Needless to say, a relationship like mine and Manny’s is a new phenomenon, but the world will adjust… or not.

We really don’t care, we just want to be together.

I have created this category on my blog for the thousands of relationships who are going through something similar. Ours is a hard path to choose, but also one of the most beautiful.

My life has all come full circle, and I feel the need to share it with those who are still in the midst of the desperation, confusion and torment of an inter-cultural relationship.

After learning a great deal about Indian culture in the last three years, I have come to realize that I will always be learning and never fully understand it… but it has certainly enhanced my world like I could never have imagined.

 

We did it!!  See wedding pics and follow our story below:

Your Boyfriend is from India?  pt 1—>HERE

Your Boyfriend is from India?  pt 2  —> HERE

His Indian Parents Don’t Accept You? —> HERE

Jersey Girl and the Sikh—> HERE

My Big Fat Sikh Wedding: Prelude —> HERE

My Big Fat Sikh Wedding: Showtime —> HERE

My Big Fat Sikh Wedding: Indian Astrology —> HERE

My Big Fat Sikh Wedding: The Dress —> HERE

Surviving Long Distance Love—> HERE

Open Letter to my Husband—> HERE

Our Story, Retold —> HERE

Culture Shock: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly —> HERE

Culture Shock: What to Expect?-–> HERE

Culture Shock: Six Months in America —> HERE

Culture Shock: Manny’s First Christmas —> HERE

Culture Shock: The First Year—> HERE

Our Honeymoon: Rishikesh India—> HERE

K1 Fiance Visa: The Process—> HERE

K1 Fiance Visa: The Inteview —> HERE

Cr1 Spousal Visa: The Timeline —> HERE

Cr1 Spousal Visa: Interview Questions —>HERE

A Journey to:  New Delhi—> HERE 

A Journey to:  Jaipur India —> HERE

A Journey to: Dubai UAE —> HERE

Our First Diwali—> HERE

Giving Thanks, Shukryia  —> HERE

Being Sikh in America—> HERE

The Indian Grocery: Natural Products—> HERE

A Path to Happiness—> HERE 

True Love Lives Quietly —> HERE

Buddhaful Britt: Most Interesting Travel Blogger —> HERE

Buddhaful Advise: As We Think, So We Become —> HERE

Buddhaful Advise: Inner Peace —> HERE

Buddhaful Advise: Everyday Stress —> HERE

SUBSCRIBE HERE to follow our journey at BuddhafulBritt.com

 

namaste.

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