Masala of Cultures

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ An Indian and a Colombian meet on a scholarship in the U.S. Here is how our love story began.

We were two exchange students from opposite sides of the world, and we never planned to fall for each other. Then we went back home, and a long distance came between us. 🌎

In this video, we tell you how we met, how we kept talking across two countries, and the big decision we made when we saw each other again. How did it all work out? You will have to watch to find out. 😉

Now it’s your turn. Tell us in the comments: where did you meet your partner? And if you are in an intercultural or long distance relationship, what is the hardest part? 💭

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:19 - First Meeting

03:40 - Friendship & Clashes

06:11 - The Ultimatum

08:57 - Long Distance Relationship

12:03 - The Reunion

14:13 - Long Distance... AGAIN

15:32 - The Decision

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ I told my Indian husband four scary Colombian stories to see if any of them could scare him. 👻

Aswin grew up with intense ghost stories in India, so he was sure nothing from Colombia would work. I tell him about El Mohán, La Llorona, El Silbón, and the brujas, and he gives each one a score from 1 to 5.

The first three are legends, but the last one is more real than I'd like, because it comes from my own family's farm. 🎃

Now it's your turn to play. Score each story from 1 to 5 as you watch, and if any story gets a 4 or a 5 from you, Colombia wins for you.

Tell us in the comments: which story scared you the most? And if you're Colombian, have you ever lived something real with brujería?

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

PS: Thanks to Luisa's uncle for making the whistles. Gracias tío por el silbido.

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - 1. El Mohán

03:43 - 2. La Llorona

06:05 - 3. El Silbón

09:32 - 4. Las Brujas

16:43 - Final Scores

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ I put two Latinas in four scary Indian situations, and they had to decide how to survive each one. 👻

Since it's Halloween season, we decided to stir up some spooky fun. Two of the stories come from my home state, Tamil Nadu, and the other two are famous throughout India.

In each round, I describe the situation, and the girls make their choice. Then I explain the legend behind it and reveal if they would survive. Sometimes, they even compared the stories to Colombian ghost tales, which fascinated all of us due to the similarities, despite being oceans apart. 🎃

Tell us in the comments: which choice would you have made? And should we create a Colombian version next?

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

00:00 - Intro

00:20 - The Flame in the Paddy Field (Kollivai Pisasu)

03:00 - The Bhangarh Fort

05:14 - The Backward Feet Test (Chudail)

08:19 - The Smashed Pumpkin (Kan Thirushthi)

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ Most Indians know Colombia from one show: Narcos. I’m Colombian, and my husband Aswin is Indian, so we decided to test if Aswin felt the same after experiencing the country.

Before his first trip to Bogotá, Aswin had a few ideas about my country. After four visits, he has a lot to say about Colombia. 🦋

In this video, I read four common myths about Colombia, and Aswin tells me if those myths ended up being true or not. We talk about Narcos, the weather, the cities, and the culture.

If you are curious about Colombia, or you want to see how two cultures look at each other, this video is for you.

Tell us in the comments: what did you believe about Colombia before this video?

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ Aswin grew up speaking Tamil. Luisa grew up speaking Spanish. We fell in love speaking English, a language that belongs to neither of us.

We used English for everything: jokes, fights, and saying "I love you." We said it all in English, long before we learned each other's languages.

In this video, we finally ask each other questions we never asked before. What do we lose when we speak English instead of Tamil or Spanish? Do we act differently in English than we do in our own languages?

One of the questions was hard to answer honestly, and we're not telling you what we said. Watch the video to find out.

If you and your partner also speak different first languages, this video is for you.

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

¡Hola Masala! ❤️ I quizzed my wife on 20 famous Tamil personalities.

She's Colombian, married into Tamil culture, and she went in with zero warning. We talked about actors, politicians, singers, and she had to name them and guess their profession on the spot.

Which Tamil personality would you throw at her next round? Comment below, we read every comment. 💬

Join us as we talk about love, cultures, long distance, and real relationship challenges.

Nandri, Vanakkam! 😄

¡Hola Masala! ❤️

In this new concept, we played Monopoly while having a conversation about migration, homesickness, and losing your identity when you move for love. 🎲

We're an intercultural couple, Aswin from India and Luisa from Colombia, and we kinda got raw. Grief for who you used to be. The weight of sacrifice. Missing home so bad it hurts.Which feeling hits closest to you? Comment below, we read every comment. 💬

Join us as we talk about love, cultures, long distance, and real relationship challenges. 🌶️Nandri, Vanakkam! 😄

¡Hola Masala! ❤️

This is the second time I've quizzed my Colombian wife about India. I expected these questions to be a little harder for her, but apparently I need to get better at testing her.

We covered superstitions, Indian geography, Tamil words, South Indian breakfasts, and some tricky cultural questions. Again, Luisa keeps amazing me with her creativity 😂

After passing through such a tough moment with the 7.4 magnitude earthquake, filming this was a breath of fresh air. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did recording this.

What new challenges should we make? Tell us in the comments 👇💬 We read every single one of them.

Join us as we talk about love, cultures, long distance, and real relationship challenges. 🌶️

Nandri, Vanakkam! 😄

¡Hola Masala! ❤️

One month after the earthquake, we wanted to share an update on our house, the reconstruction, and how we're actually doing.

The third floor (2nd in India) is still under plastic sheets. We haven't been able to start the reconstruction because the government still hasn't given us permission. We have to wait patiently as the situation is just beyond our control at this point.

There's something we didn't cover on camera: Aswin lived all this away from his family.

Facing a disaster in your partner’s country can be even more challenging. You love the place and are trying to make a life there, but when things get tough, your mind immediately goes to your family back home: your parents, siblings, and loved ones.

Words can’t fully capture how difficult it is to be so far from them during such a tricky time.

We want to take a moment to thank everyone who reached out or contributed to the reconstruction fund. We read every comment, and they really helped us navigate through these hard moments. 💬

If you've ever gone through something hard far from home, tell us how you got through it.

Join us as we talk about love, cultures, long distance, and real relationship challenges.

Nandri, Vanakkam! 🙏

Hola Masala,

The recent earthquakes in Colombia hit our home hard. The third floor took the worst of it and needs a full reconstruction. Right now, the roof is just plastic sheets, holding on until we can rebuild.

As an Indian, Aswin had never experienced a tremor of this magnitude, nor did he know what safety measures are like in our city. It was a scary moment, but we wanted to share the reality of living through it and how the community is coming together to rebuild our cities.

If you're in Colombia and want to help, you can send support through Bre-B Llave. If you're abroad, PayPal works too. Every bit helps us.

💛 Bre-b llave: @DAVILTL377

🌐 PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/LuTrujillo735 (Luis Trujillo - Luisa's father)

We're not asking anyone to do more than they can. Just watching and sharing already means a lot. Thank you.

We weren't able to share many details, like how my parents were in different places, and it took us hours before we knew they were safe, and also how Aswin's parents were scared having their son thousands of miles away.

When we recover physically and mentally, we will try to share more. Thanks for your constant support and concern.

Stay safe, everyone! 🙏