Whether they're in church or signing their child up at school, the most frequently asked question Edna Rodriguez and Aaron Hall hear is, "Are you two together?"

Though they give off all the signals of a married couple, most people take one look at Rodriguez, who's from the Dominican Republic, and Hall, an African-American, and don't make the connection.

"That's a question we really get a lot," said Rodriguez, who works as the director of career and educational services for the Latin American Association in Buckhead. "I've gotten looks at church, followed by people asking if we're together. And I'm not sure if it's a question they'd ask other people."

Being a woman of one ethnic minority married to a man in another minority is something that still raises a few eyebrows, Rodriguez said.

"When I'm with my husband, things tend to be more difficult," Rodriguez said. "You go to the bank and they look at your check and ID twice. When we registered our son at school, they asked if we lived in this district and I thought, `I wonder if they do this with everyone.' I shouldn't have to think that, but I do a lot."

The first time the couple toured Cross Creek, the Buckhead condominium complex where they eventually moved, they were followed by the security patrol.

"I guess they thought we couldn't live here, but it's never happened since we moved in," Rodriguez said. " It does feel a little strange when we go to the club [at the golf course cafï], but we're used to going places where we're the only minorities. And we haven't had any problems living here."

Samuel Heredia, an employment counselor with the Atlanta Latin American Association, talks with Edna Rodriguez, director of career and educational services for the organization.

Those sorts of odd experiences and questions tend to make her a bit paranoid, Rodriguez admits. "I wish the whole city and country was a place where we didn't have to think about it, but sometimes reality makes you."

At home, a marriage between members of two different cultures comes with all sorts of challenges, Rodriguez said. And some of them can be very personal.

"We definitely have culture issues we have to deal with," she said. "For instance, I think he thought I was going to stay home and cook and clean. It's not surprising, because most people think Latino women are geared toward the house. I'm very into my family, but I'm not very domestic.

"The whole issue of family itself is a little different. Generally, Latinos want to be together as much as possible. It's impossible for me because my family is all over the place. And we tend to be a little more protective of our kids; we had to come to an agreement on our child-rearing issues."

The couple's 5-year-old son, Samuel Hall, was the motivation for buying a home in a predominately white community. He was recently enrolled at Jackson Elementary, one of the city's top-rated schools.

"The school's academic reputation was the pull, but I was happily surprised to see more diversity than I expected, " Rodriguez said. "There are a handful of Latinos and some Asians."

So far, the details of diversity have been lost on her son, Rodriguez said. And she's not in a hurry to change that.

"I've been trying to tell him he's Dominican and black and he says he's Atlanta, Ga.," she said with a laugh. "Right now, I want him to socialize with everyone and not think about color. He doesn't have any of those ideas yet - which is great. Kids make friends with anybody without any preconceived notions. I really want him to enjoy that for a little bit before I have to explain it to him."