foreigners-rant #786

People act so funny when they discover you're from a foreign country. Perfectly intelligent people start babbling like idiots when in the presence of the foreign-born. After hearing the usual array of totally ignorant/borderline offensive comments, i've decided it's high time to write a faq for how to talk to those mysterious people from far away lands without sounding like a complete idiot.

What NOT to say:
"that's an interesting accent...are you from (insert name of completely unrelated country here)?"
(If you don't know, just ask where they are from. It's better than being completely wrong. Keep in mind though, the person could be third generation from the exotic land of New Jersey--it happens all the time).

"I remember the time we were in (completely different country)."
Umm gee that's nice...but I probably couldn't care less. And who knows, maybe it's a country my country was at war with...

"Is it true that in your country (insert random stereotype here)?"
It's good to be inquisitive, but think about the purpose you are asking the question...after all how would you like it if I said "Is it true all Americans (bad stereotype goes here)". Asking if you drive on the right or left is fine. Asking if it's hot in the summer is great. But you may want to think twice about some other areas of inquiry.

"wow your english is sooo good. You've been here for a long time I bet."
(How well you can speak English is not always the best indicator of time in the US. Sometimes people know tons of English before moving to the US...others have never been exposed to it before arrival. Others may have been in the US for years and still not have the hang of it.)

"do you know my friend (so and so)?"
(Although it's possible in particularly small communities, if you are living in a city with a population over 400,000 you can probably assume they don't know that person, unless they are students in the same school...and maybe not even then).

"I bet you miss the food."
(It's a valid thing to say, but keep in mind if you are stuck in a strange foreign city whose most ethnic options include taco bell and a chinese takeout restaurant, that just tends to make you feel homesick).

I doubt anyone that needs to see this ever will...but I can always hope.