Life choices

Liu Tao, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, says he put up with his girlfriend Emily's lifestyle.

"I know she likes going to bars. But after we fell in love, she still went out frequently and sometimes got seriously drunk," he said.

He said Emily would frequently spend all their money. "If there wasn't any, she would use my credit card, but I prefer to save," he said. "If we married and she still spent the money like that, I would feel uncomfortable."

Liu told the Global Times that many Chinese students abroad have broken through a wall of culture and race to find true love. But they still fail to see any stable future.

Love mission

Deng Shuman, from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and a student at the Academy of Art University, married Chris Schubert, an American, last month.

Deng told the Global Times that the cultural difference was hard to overcome at first. She felt her boyfriend, being older than her, should apologize after they argued. But Chris emphasized equality, and said the one who was wrong should apologize.

"His honesty won over my parents," said Deng. "And his family love Chinese culture. On my mother-in-law's birthday, October 31, we celebrated by having hot pot, which is a specialty of my hometown."

Deng suggests that as long as there is true love, couples should persist. "Whatever difficulties there are, you should have patience, tolerance and a desire to understand. Thinking in the other's shoes is important," she said.

Hu Jie, the mother of a male student studying in Melbourne, Australia, told the Global Times that love is natural. She said she doesn't oppose international love, but hopes that students treat it seriously and learn to be responsible.