142. Goes Together Like a Horse and Carriage

The last couple of weeks the subject for marriage has come up more than usual.  I had a conversation about marriage with my host family as well as with a good friend back home that is the same age as me.  Generally the subject of marriage just come up when I meet new people, the conversation generally goes like this?

New person:  Do you have a girl? (which asks if I am married or dating someone in the same questions)
Me:  No.
New person:  Why don't you have a Moldavian girlfriend?  Aren't they beautiful? 

OR 

New person:  Do you have a girl? (which asks if I am married or dating someone in the same questions)
Me:  Yes.
New person:  You can have one here too.  Aren't the women here beautiful?

A few days ago my host family and I were sitting down to eat a meal.  The conversation was started by my host mother because she sang at a wedding the day before and was saying how young they were.  My host that then said what he believes when it comes to the age you should get married.

Under age 21:  Lots of energy but does not know what to do or have opinions about many things.
22 through 29:  Smarter and understand the major things in life but is still learning, this is the time to get married.
30 and after:  The person is developed and probably will not change his/her vies, and is too picky to find a spouse.

This idea made me think of my freshman Sociology professor.  She was old (she taught my mom in college and was old then too), she lived as much time as legally possible in New York City without being a resident (she adored the city), and was steadfast in her views and opinions.  She believed that:

You should not marry anyone until after you reach the age of 28-30 depending on the person.  Studies show that the brain does not fully develop until around the age of 29, so she argued that if you get married at 25 you are taking a chance that as you and your spouse’s brain fully develops you two will become incompatible.

I think both ideas have interesting points, but I think marriage can work at any age, but the best time would be in the 20’s so that you can build the relationship and grow together while the brain/ideals are developing.

In Moldova, generally people get married fairly young, like after high school or during college (at least from what I have seen).  It is not too common to be a 25 year old unmarried woman in the village; the city is a little different.  Men generally get married a little latter (to younger women), so it is not uncommon to see single men up until the age of 28 or so.  But no matter if you are a man or a woman, after the age of 22, if not younger, the person will start to get a lot of questions about if they have a significant other and why they are not married yet.