Marriage contains a lot of compromises...promises...and those unfulfilled.. unless both the partners are self satisfied with their lives and are independent before they marry, each one tries to complement his/her succes with that bond..there's always a tug of war in giving and taking..happiness therefore doesn';t exist there... Priortize what you want from life..plenty of sex, money, frends and freedom..and a spouse....kids and reponsiblities tag along... hmm... to keep your relationship healthy..in nepal we do have those festivals..the more the merrier...that way couples are forced to foregt the small things in life that most americans fight over... we have a society and a society is definitley a body of people..in nepal some categorize and sub categorize into castes and sub castes... but then if the couple is independent of the society i.e. working well for better life on their own..there won't be a finger that stands against them..its simple..live it and live it your way.. this is how it works to get around all these.... when i was li'l like in tenth grade my mom used to threaten me that if i don't get 80 in slc then i need to marry... so i passed..but then in 11th grade..my father said that i need to be a doc..i was good in science but then no wishes to be a doc and spending 8 yrs in books..so i skipped my chem exams got -6.. and then years passed by mom would always talk about marriage..so i finally told her i have a black bf. that im living with and no plans to marry.. she went at least you cud have gotton a cuter guy..and maybe your own skin color..then i dated portugeuse...fairer than me..she said she wud let me marry if he was from across the atlantic...ok then i dated an arab...she went at least he outta be from indian subcontinent..so i dated a Paki..then she went at leat the same religion..so i dated a Hindu Gurung guy..she went at least better than that so i dated several Newars..she went at least same sub language.. so i dated my own caste ..chetris..and she went at least he outto be as educated as you...then i dated a better educated person..she went at least he should have as much money as you..and similar looks.... Finally i found the perfect guy...educated, rich, smart, goodlooking, same religion, color and caste....I DATED MY COUSIN !!!!!! andmy dad goes hell NO!! you better get a black guy instead... Moral of the story : LET THEM BITE THEIR OWN WORDS