Daisuke Ikegami's "International" Love.
United States is considered as a global village today. Take a walk on any college campus, and you can probably find students from almost every corner in the world. It is not uncommon to spot couples of different ethnicities walking hand-in-hand and chatting and laughing like any other "normal" couples. Outside America, in particular in Asian society, couples of different nationalities can easily catch the public's attention. It is true that such a special kind of relationship generally faces more difficulties and takes more effort to make it last. No wonder some people are amazed by the fact that the two people can actually stay together. Daisuke Ikegami is a Japanese who has come to study in the United States. He met his Taiwanese girlfriend in 2001 and the two has stayed together since then. Despite the happy times they spend together, their love has faced many difficulties. How does Ikegami overcome those problems? And, how does he consider this "international" relationship?.
Ikegami went on a date with the foreign girl when he studied in a language school. As an English learner, Ikegami couldnt speak English fluently at that time. He could only use some easy words, simple sentences, body language and some Japanese characters that are similar to Chinese characters to communicate with his girlfriend. Therefore, language had created a gap between them. "We were sitting in a cafeteria and facing each other without saying anything," Ikegami recalled the memory when they first had lunch together. The language barrier has led to other problems as well. Ikegami not only could not express his opinions on important issues, but also was unable to share interesting things in his daily life with his Taiwanese girlfriend. Unconsciously, they started to get used to hiding their emotion and skipping any topic that was difficult to express. As a result, the notion of being there and supporting each other disappeared in Ikegami's relationship.
