I&#x27;ve met some people from India who spent a grand total of 2-3 hours doing what people in the U.S. would call dating (spending time together; talking to each other) before deciding to marry them.<p>I think that <i>is really messed up</i>. Marrying someone is one of the most important decisions you can make in your life, especially if you&#x27;re planning to stick with them until you die.<p>I think you need to spend at least a hundred hours (preferably, even more) together with a potential mate, before deciding whether you want to spend the rest of your life with them. A hundred hours together could be a 60 or 70 dinner dates, and weekends spent together, which you could do in less than 6 months.<p>Everyone puts on a show in the first couple of dates, and it takes a little while to get to know who a person better &#x2F; for who they really are.