¶ … Activity Immersion It was fairly interesting meeting and exploring the personality, values and mores of my immersion activity patient partner. In many ways, it can be acknowledged that she and I had a fair amount in common, ate least in terms of culture. Her parents were Persian Jewish and Israeli, respectively, while my parents are both Persian. In that respect, there was definitely a similarity in values that can be attributed to a cultural influence that has a number of points of comparison between both of our lineages. The immersion experience activity conversation took place at an Israeli restaurant where my partner and I enjoyed excellent meals and were able to talk and get to know one another's backgrounds for upwards of two hours. I think it was fairly revealing that we each brought along companions -- she was accompanied by her boyfriend, while I was attended by my wife. I'm pretty confidence that the presence of each of our 'significant others' helped to ensure a relaxed atmosphere that was most conducive to revealing inner personality traits and facets of one's upbringing that inherently shape a person's cosmology, worldview, and the way he or she pursues the majority of his or her life.

It was very interesting to observe the role of and the importance of family in my partner's life, for the simple fact that her familial upbringing has been a little less stable than what most people would consider to be ideal. Yet, in a somewhat perverse way -- or, quite possibly, due to these exact circumstances -- this lack of stability seems to have solidified into a firm appreciation of and definite valuing in her existent family. It can definitely be stated that my partner lives in a decidedly matriarchic family structure since she currently lives with her mother in her mother's domicile. This fact is underscored by the fact that my partner's parents divorced not too long after she was born here in the United States. Her mother remarried another man who was Muslim and they had a daughter, my partner's younger sister, before they divorced in a situation that my partner visibly remembers as being fairly distressing. She described herself as being upset with the divorce and unhappy with what she had previously viewed as a stable situation.

Therefore, it can be widely viewed that this early lack of stability in her life has resulted in a sense of mores that regards familial relationships as a priority -- certainly for my partner, who spends a substantial amount of time and energy attending to her family. A perfect example of this fact can be in the relationship between my partner and her stepfather. She was fond of him both before and after the divorce and she largely considers him to be her father, probably more so than her paternal father, whom she rarely mentioned in a contemporary context. She recollected that he was very nice to her while growing up, and that even while he may not have physically lived with her and her mother following the divorce, his presence in her life as a paternal figure was more than sufficient.

It is quite possible that due to his love and the affection she has felt and received from her mother that one of my partner's primary values resides in caring for her family. She spoke quite frequently about several of her family members, and mentioned that she can frequently be found conversing with them on the telephone, or even visiting them in person. When she mentioned her family members during our conversation, she was fairly routinely mentioned them in the context of what has grown to be a family business for them (which happens to be fashion). In this respect, it can be evinced that her family has had a significant amount of influence upon my partner and the decision-making process in her life. This fact can be most...

One of the most revealing things about their relationship is that she has taken him home to meet both of her parents. Someone would not do such a thing if it was not important for him or her to gain a degree of approval and acceptance from her parents regarding what has and always will be a substantial part of someone's life -- his or her romantic relationships with other people. Furthermore, she will soon be going to Florida to meet the parents of the young man, which further indicates that they are looking to validate their relationship on a level that appears to be most important to them: through their families.
It should be noted that my partner became visibly nervous when the subject of her traveling to Florida to meet the young man's parents was broached. This was one of the few times during what was largely a lively, engaging, and insightful conversation, that she became shy, if not quite withdrawn. I am pretty sure that her reticence at this point the conversation is due to the fact that she views this stage of her relationship -- visiting the young man's parents -- as being of extreme importance due to the fact that her own values place family relationships in such a lofty standing. She more than likely wants his parents to take an affinity to her, not just for the sake of her relationship with him, but probably for the sake of one day possibly broadening her own family to include his.

It strongly appears that religiosity and spirituality are also important in the value system not only of my partner, but of her surrounding family as well. This fact may be implied through her choice of boyfriend, who as an American Jewish person, has a similar faith to hers since she is predominantly Israeli/Jewish. In this respect, her religion seems to have made a significant impact in her choice of a romantic relationship. Also, the importance of spirituality in my partner's life can be further gleaned from her parent's relationship. She stated that one of the primary factors behind the divorce of her mother and her stepfather was that of religion. The cultural differences surrounding this union were attributed to be the reason for the divorce since her stepfather is Muslim.

In terms of sexual orientation, it is quite evident that my partner is heterosexual, although what I find to be most interesting is her opinion regarding gender roles. Due to the fact that her mother has endured two divorces and my partner grew up largely without a man in the home every day, it may be quite possible that she is looking to fulfill some sort of void in her childhood/adolescent existence through her current romantic relationship. Statistics cite that those who grow up in divorced homes are likely to become divorced themselves, and it may be possible that my partner is attempting to account for this fact in her current relationship.

It is also fairly apparent that my partner places education fairly high in her system of values, which is rather immediately suggested by the fact that she is currently an educator herself. She teaches Hebrew to children who are between the ages of three and five years old. Actually, her appraisal of various aspects of her job are fairly indicative of her internal locus of control, which can be demonstrated by the fact that she feels constrained by the micromanagement of her actions and methods of teaching this particular language to her students. She yearns for the freedom to be able to express more creative methods of pedagogy, yet is hampered by the traditional, standard approach used to teach the language -- which does not account for differences in learning types and personality types.

In that respect, she appears to be focused…