I still remember like it was yesterday. It was in 2009, when my boyfriend (now husband) first introduced me to his Panamanian, Christian family. It was a HUGE deal for me and I was extremely nervous , because I wanted to make a good impression.
To give you some background, I am an absolute atheist, and being introduced to a religious family was a bit of a culture shock for me. Add to that the language barrier (back then, my Spanish was just passable, and communication was very limited!). My sister in law (my husband's younger sister) had never met me before that Xmas party, and had a present for me. When it was my turn to open her present, she took me by surprise: It was a very beautiful leather bracelet with a cross. My husband has no filter and tact at all, and just started laughing out loud, which made me feel like I wanted to hide in a tiny hole. When his family asked why he was laughing, he had to explain why it was so funny to him. I hated him in that moment, and thought that I had totally fucked up this get-together as well as my relationship with his family. Several years later we still laugh about this, and we are now closer than ever. We still joke about religion and are not judging each other for our beliefs. I love my in-laws for their open mind =)
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