[Rebekah]

I'm interested that you find it annoying, as a Korean, to be mistaken for a Chinese person. I lived in Korea for almost three years, and everybody automatically assumed I was from the States (I was born and raised in Canada). They next asked if I was Russian. Some of my Korean friends asked me how we could differentiate between the 'Americans' and the 'Russians', as we lived in a major port city, Pusan, with lots of sailors from Russia. The best I could do was the following: facial bone structure is more telltale than eye shape or nose size, and if they're tourists, clothing brand names and fashion styles are a dead giveaway. Now that I live in Australia, I can spot most visiting Koreans, and Japanese a MILE away, because I've become familiar with their dress styles, and some basic physical attributes. In Australia now, though, as soon as people hear my accent, they also assume I'm from the States. So, it's best to stick to the general terms: Asian, North American, South American, European, African.... you get the picture. Coming from a multicultural country, I usually don't look for 'ethnic' signs first, I just assume you're Canadian or Australian (when in-country) until proven otherwise.

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Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

It's not just in Southeast Asia. I was born and raised in Canada, and not only my family, but about 90 percent of the other homes I visited were shoes-off, or at least visitors would offer to remove them upon entering. I always thought the shoes-on thing was only something Americans did when I was younger, but now that I live in Australia, where most people seem to wear their shoes in the house, I see that I was incorrect. I am constantly trying to get visitors to remove their shoes! I lived in South Korea for three years, where shoes in the house, and at many restaurants, is an absolute taboo. I found no religious reasoning - only what my mother said: for cleanliness. You walk around all day in your shoes, stepping in what amounts to sewage, chemicals, garbage, whatever, and then wear them around the house, where children may play on the floors, where people sometimes sit down - touching it with their hands, where you drop stuff and then pick it up? No thank you!

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Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

I'm glad that you and your family perceive less racism in Canada - it gives me some kind of pride in my upbringing. On the other hand, don't be fooled, it definitely does exist in Canada. Different areas will bring out different attitudes, different family backgrounds, too. I think perhaps there is a different heritage to Canadian racism - there wasn't any slavery, so the inherent 'division' was never entrenched in law or as accepted practice. I've often perceived, from a distance, a difference in how African Americans view themselves within their country and culture, but don't understand the mechanisms behind this. Is it the history? Does it have to be that way? Is it just in the South, or the North as well? One of my biracial Canadian friends spent several childhood years in Africa, and doesn't seem to identify with any of the 'American' African cultural ideals. Geography and history seem to be really important somehow...

User Detail :  

Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

It's done in a lot of Asian countries, too. I tried it out while travelling, and it's not too bad when you get used to it, but everything has its place - do it in some areas and you just look like you're - ahem! - trying to use the toilet!

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Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

I recommend you go with the sunblock/sunscreen, too. Although many people assume that darker skin equals protection against cellular damage and skin cancer, it is really no guarantee. While you are at less risk of many superficial types of skin cancer, serious melanomas aren't likely to play favourites - so wear it and think of it in the same way as choosing not to smoke - for your health. Encourage all others on your team to wear it, too, and not the 'tanning lotion' type - 30plus SPF.

User Detail :  

Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

Your posting is the most hilarious thing I've seen in ages. The fact that you associate nose picking with 'whites' really highlights to me the fact that many people in the States think very literally in terms of ethnicity, and can be blinded to humanity. I've lived in North America, South America, Asia and Australia - I've taught international students from all of the above, as well as Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the 'subcontinent', and the South Pacific Islands - and I must say, nose picking is a universal hobby. It's not so much which ethnicities do it (we ALL do) as which individuals deem it OK to do it publicly.

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Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rebekah]

I was recently interviewing someone for an English language exam and he had a red dot, and like you, I was curious. I just asked him after the interview. Apparently it was related to a blessing/religion. No big mystery. Catholics have their holy water, some Buddhists monks their shaved heads....

User Detail :  

Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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