My partner and I come from different cultures - here are the main barriers we face

• Author Sarah Wells details the "moments of cultural confusion" that have arisen in her relationship with a partner from a different cultural background.
• Wells, a Vermont native, writes how she and her boyfriend, who grew up in southern China, differ on matters of language, food, and perception of societal pressures.

My boyfriend and I were born less than six months apart, but over 7,000 miles away from each other.

While he was growing up in the modern cityscapes of southern China, I was discovering the world from within the boundaries of small-town Vermont. Our paths collided when we both started graduate school in Boston and have yet to disentangle.

While we both enjoy science fiction, dry jokes, and searching for the best lunch places in town, our relationship is not without moments of cultural confusion and things being (sometimes literally) lost in translation.