Changing Our View Of National Stereotypes.

by Englishman 8 Replies latest jw friends

  • Englishman
    Englishman

    Has this site changed your stereotype viewpoint of people from other countries?

    It has me, almost as much as when I have visited foreign countries in person. I have found the French to be friendly, the Germans generous, the Portuguese personable. I've visited much of Europe, and once outside the main cities have met the real 'salt of the Earth' types of people.

    'Course, for the places I don't visit, like Australia and America, I have to rely on the media for my opinions. Oz is full of Paul Hogan lookalikes gropin' their Sheila's whilst muttering "Nah pooftah's!" between glugs of the amber nectar. In Yankee land nice people live in California (which is full of available blondes), everyone else lives in NYC and shoots one another. Or not.

    Then you come to a site such as this, where people talk about many things other than JW's, and you realise that none of us are very different, despite our country of birth. Americans aren't mouthing off all the time about how big their cars are, they are just as concerned about their families as us Brits are. Aussies engage in foreplay other than the 'Brace yerself, Shirleen' variety and have sometimes amazed me with their sensitivity. I never realised how wickedly funny the Norwegian sense of humour was until I came here.

    So, my own stereotyped opinions and viewpoints of other countries has changed, quite massively in some matters too. I've met real people here and been enriched by the experience.

    How about you, now that you have been in contact with some 'foreigners', have you had to make some adjustments to the way that you view people from other countries? Tell us how you would feel about visiting some of these places, where appeals to you, and why?

    Englishman.

    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....

  • ashitaka
    ashitaka

    Aye, i agree.

    ashi

  • Mindchild
    Mindchild

    Englishman!

    Rather interesting and delightful post. I personally love cultural diversity and totally get off on meeting people from different cultures and trashing my own stereotypes of what I expect they will be like. While I haven't had the opportunity to travel the world yet, I have enjoyed meeting and working people from more countries than you can shake a stick at and I find that as you said you realise that none of us are very different in the ways that count but we of course have different "flavors" that make some of us taste rather funny:-)

    Personally, I think both Brit's and Aussie's have such a great way of expressing themselves and wish I could add a bit more spice to my own lingo. I also feel that this board is a great way of opening ourselves up internationally to see what people are like in other cultures. Not as good as actually going there but much better than watching the Travel Channel on the tube.

    Adios Amigo,

    Skipper

    All great deeds and all great thoughts have ridiculous beginnings--Albert Camus

  • TR
    TR

    Eman,

    A wonderful observation! And I agree.

    In Yankee land nice people live in California (which is full of available blondes), everyone else lives in NYC and shoots one another.

    It's the other way around. There are so many places inbetween those two places as to stagger the mind. Many different climates, landscapes, people, etc.

    TR

    The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
    —Edmund Burke

  • tyydyy
    tyydyy

    I learned just how small the world really is.

    I also used to think that they spoke different languages in all those countries around the world. Boy was I wrong! So far, no matter what country they are from, everyone who posts here speaks english.

    TimB

  • outnfree
    outnfree

    lol@tyydyy!

    E-man,
    I hope I disabused a certain awesome twosome of the 'ugly American' stereotype just this past weekend in Toronto.
    I know I was impressed that they didn't end every sentence with "eh?"!!!
    Up with Canadian-American relations!!!

    outnfree

    In dealing with fear, the way out is in -- Sheldon Kopp

  • HappyHeathen
    HappyHeathen

    Englishman,
    Even in the U.S., we tend to apply regional stereotypes to each other. People from the east coast think all Californians eat nothing but health food while catching some waves on their surfboards. People from the west coast think all mid-western women wear big hair and go bowling. And, of course, all New Yorkers are loud-mouth bullies. It only takes a few cross-country trips for you to realize that everyone here is fundamentally the same and those regional differences are rather enjoyable.

    I would so love to visit England. I have been an anglophile since the age of 6 and have studied all the royal families back through the middle ages. I'll make it over there yet!

    HH

  • larc
    larc

    I always thought that the English were a quiet, sedate, reserved people. From being on this board, I can see that you are a pretty lusty bunch. I would love to visit London and its environs. It would not be any more expensive than for me to travel to California from here in the midwest.

    The only people I have visited enough to form any impressions are Canadians. They strick me a quieter and more polite than us folks in the states.

  • Englishman
    Englishman

    Hey Larc,

    Come over and stay with me for a few days, I can promise you some interesting evenings!

    Englishman.

    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....

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