Funny stereotypes about expats
They seem funny now, after all these years, but let’s face it, it hasn’t always been like this. The same questions on stereotypes labelling your ethnic group were very annoying. Especially because those heavily promoted by mass media were most of the times negative. Thank God, years have passed, our lives settled down and the change for the better we were hoping for really happened. So we can now remember all the stereotypes that were once making our blood boil and laugh together.
Here are a few stereotypes about different peoples challenging expats coming from those countries:
All Brits know the Royal Family
A British expat knows it best: at some point, they are asked if they personally know the Royals. Bizarrely, many US citizens seem to believe that Queen Liz 2 is best mates with all of her subjects. To a newly arrived expat it can seem a bit…, odd.
Indians Speak Hindu — oh, um, Hindi!
Unfortunately, many foreigners make the mistake of confusing religion with language in India. Hindu is the religion, and Hindi is the language — but you may be surprised to find that many Indians don’t actually speak Hindi. This is particularly the case in south India, where they speak languages of Dravidian origin. In fact, Hindi isn’t even taught in many schools. Every region in India has its own language. Hindi is spoken in its purest form in north India. It will be a second language to many people elsewhere in India, and English is widely spoken across the country.
All Colombians dance like Shakira
Colombia is a country full of world champion dancers, so it’s no surprise that Colombians can move. But even though plenty of Colombians have been dancing since birth, sometimes hips do lie and not all Colombians can perform like Shakira.
Canadians are born with skates on
While it’s true that more than half of the players in the NHL are Canadian, Canadians don’t all spend their childhoods shivering in hockey arenas. First of all, hockey is an expensive sport to get in on, and they say that they not all rolling in cash. Secondly, there are plenty of other ways to entertain themselves outside in the winter — curling, anyone? (No, seriously, they love curling.)
Chinese people are quiet
While Chinese students who study abroad are, most likely, the quiet, studious type, this is often far from the case in China. As surprising as it sounds, they love to yell out answers and laugh at the top of their lungs. At the grocery store, you might be confused whether people are being friendly or fighting. It wouldn’t matter if they were discussing their most recent Chinese chess match, or planning the next world war, they like to do it so everyone can hear.
