Foreigners in America, what is the most insane question you have been asked about your country?

quantumrat · 8 months

Finland? Which state is it in?

huntingbears · 8 months

Not really insane, but for some reason the fact that I'm Asian and speak with a New Zealand accent was massively confusing. I was asked on multiple occasions whether I was in fact speaking English.

Riali · 8 months

Not quite the same, but on the topic of cultural misunderstandings:

I work in a Primary school in China. At one point we foreign teachers were told that we had to teach our classes an English song for a performance. The conversation then went like this

Foreign Teacher: "Sure, no problem, any particular type of song?"

Chinese Teacher: "One about, you know, loving China."

FT: "We can really only teach English songs, we'd be worse than useless teaching them to sing in Chinese."

CT: "Yes, an English song, about Chinese National Pride.:

FT: "Umm, I don't think there really are any, how about a different kind of song?"

CT: "What? There must be songs like that. Don't you know them?"

FT: "How many Chinese songs do you know about loving America? Or England?"

CT: "None, that's ridiculous, why would there be songs like that?"

FT: Facepalm

We did finally convince her that the songs she wanted simply didn't exist, but it was uphill work for about 15 minutes.

Edit: I've just remembered, I ended up teaching them Three Little Birds. Fun was had by all.

amanojaku · 8 months

Being congratulated on good english skills is always worth a giggle. I have also been asked whether we have electricity, and how it gets there from the US. I'm from Australia.

StJude1 · 8 months

The one that left me gobsmacked was "At what age can you get your elephant-riding licence in South Africa?"

I was wearing a suit at the time.

adtaylor · 8 months

I was once asked why I didn't have the stereotypical 'British' accent.

They didn't believe me when I said every 5 miles there is another accent.

Evernoob · 8 months

I'm Australian living in the UK and have been asked several times something similar to: "Oh, you're Australian? I know an Australian guy called Tom. Do you know him?".

Turns out I knew him.

mayihavesomebread · 8 months

"Do you have cars in Ireland?"

I'm not kidding.

I've been asked like five times.

generic_human_1979 · 8 months

It's not just Americans (or even just Westerners) that make ridiculous assumptions about other countries. I'm British, and I lived in Thailand for a couple of years, and people would look at me in disbelief when I told them were there no tigers in the UK.

BTMPL · 8 months

Not me, but a friend of mine just told me he had this conversation in the US:

So, where are you from?
Wales.
... the fish?

TGP-Matt · 8 months

One girl in a bar: "Are you British?" "Yeah. English, specifically." "You can't be both." "...yes I can." "No you can't. England isn't part of Britain." "What is, then?" "Europe." "And what do you think is the capital of Britain?" "London, right?" "And London's English, madam." "Yeah, I know, what's your fuckin' problem?!"

My head asplode.

puredwige · 8 months

One girl asked me if we had color TV in Switzerland.

My cousin takes the cake, however: she was studying in Miami, 20 years old, and consequently had a fake ID: She just scanned her Swiss passport, changed her year of birth and reprinted it. Upon going to a night club, the conversation went like this:

bouncer: What is this?

My cousin: This is is my passport from Switzerland. Switzerland is a poor African country so we don't have enough money to have real passports.

Bouncer: ... Ok go in.

[deleted] · 8 months

Went through the US this summer (Mid-west and California). Some amazing questions or situations included:

Being complimented because of our proficiency in English and then asked whether we speak English in England whilst being sold a train ticket.

A girl chastising us in Santa Barbara University thinking we were faking our British accents. A family in Nevada being shocked that we didn't carry guns with us, while also trying to say how safe they felt in their small town.

Often being asked if we knew people by name from England (the whole 'Do you know John Smith?' idea), but once being asked specifically 'hey, do you know John from England?'

A woman being completely unable to comprehend that we didn't have to wake up in England at 5am or whatever it was, to watch the Royal wedding. It started at 10am-ish in England and she had no concept of time differences across the Atlantic.

pipsquillion · 8 months

"do you have rape in England".
"yes, but i don't really go for it much myself"

Coolabananer · 8 months

*– Where are you from?

– Sweden.

– Sweden? Oh, you mean Switzerland.

– No, I'm from Sweden not Switzerland.

– Yes, dear, but here in America we call it Switzerland.*

The last sentence was said in an extremely smug voice.

Oh, I've also had to convince people that No, I do not ride a polar bear to school.

Blokeybloke · 8 months

I was in Subway in bum-fuck Georgia getting lunch and there were two staff behind the counter, one a cute young blonde and the other a young guy. I placed my order and on hearing my accent the blonde said how much she loved the accent and asked where I was from. I said 'Australia' and she proceeded to tell me I spoke very good English for an Australian. She then asked what language we speak in Australia.....both myself and the young male cashier looked at each other and shook our heads and laughed.

lowmania · 8 months

"Where are you from?"

"I am from South Africa"

"But which country in Southern Africa?"

sqrt4761 · 8 months

I mentioned I lived in Edinburgh and got chatting to a couple who had been over for the festival. With a straight face they asked "Where did they store the castle during the winter?" (convinced that it was built every year as a backdrop for the Military Tattoo)

NotAnAmericanState · 8 months

Worked in California around 2000 (I was in my 20s), was discussing a potential lease with a landlord. Conversation went something like this:

you don't have a social security number ?
not yet, but I've asked for one
that's weird, considering your age, you should definitely have gotten one already
oh well, I had one in France, of course
ah, all good then, you can use that one; I have a friend from Arizona, and she was able to keep hers when she moved here

I was speechless for a couple of seconds, and then started explaining to her that France was an actual country, somewhere in Europe...

drak9 · 8 months

me being an australian, while traveling with a swede and dutch guy we find ourselves at a hooters

our waitress was well impressed by us being foreign and asked us to say something in our native languages

swede: goobagooba (or something)

dutch: im een noob (or something)

me: gday dingo dingo koala wallaby

she was well impressed :(

HeelsUpDickIn · 8 months

"Do you guys down in Australia use the Euro or American dollars?"

mcsmash · 8 months

Many questions.... Her (from the Appalachians): Where are you from?

Me: Ireland?

Her: That's in Michigan, right?

Me: Eh.....

Some Guy: So do guys have the movies in Ireland.

Me: What do you mean?

Some Guy: Like a movie theater, where they show new movies?

Me: Derp!

Then me having some fun...

Me:What the fuck is that?

Her: It's an orange

Me: Stop messing with me, just because I'm from Ireland

Her: No, seriously, it's a fruit, try it.

Me: Okay, but you better not be messing with me. (I bite straight into it without peeling it, then spit it back out in disgust).

Me: I knew you were fucking with me. It's not a fruit. It tastes disgusting.

Her: (Spends the next 30 minutes explaining to me about oranges)

ventunoanni · 8 months

When I was in the US, I got asked if I rode kangaroos to school and if I knew Steve Irwin. Naturally I told my host family all about the infamous Drop-bears.

mayihavesomebread · 8 months

I worked in the US for a while. Someone asked me where I was from and I explained I'd moved there from Ireland. She responded, Haha, where are you really from?

Puzzled, I responded, Ireland.

This went on for several repetitions and eventually she said, Everyone knows Ireland isn't a real place, it's a fairy land where the leprechauns live. Stop messing with me, I'm not an idiot!

It was the last bit that killed me.

MileageAddict · 8 months

It goes both ways. I was driving a rental car in New Zealand when I stopped for fuel in a rural community. When I went inside to pay, I ended up having a conversation with the clerk. When he realized I was from the USA, he asked me what kind of guns I owned. When I informed him I didn't own any firearms, he was perplexed and responded, "I thought it was mandatory for all Americans to carry weapons at all times." I told him he had been watching too many movies.

percafluviatilis · 8 months

An (English) mate on a year out in Buffalo was asked by a fellow undergrad if he took the bus to come to the USA... From England...

mjomark · 8 months

As a swede I get annoyed every time an american thinks that I am from Switzerland. Seriously, this has happened more than once.

-Where are you from?

-I am from Sweden.

-Cool, I love the alps.

AMostOriginalUserNam · 8 months

"Hey my brother lives in England too. Do you know him?"

Oddly enough, I do not.

foolfromhell · 8 months

I'm from India.

"Have you ever ridden an elephant to school?"

Worst part is, I have.

ColonelMusterd · 8 months

I am an American and i have lived all my life in the Philippines, however i visit the states every chance i get. When i was younger and went to summer camp i would get a lot of weird questions like: if i was sure i didn't live in Philadelphia was just mispronouncing it? Do i live in a mud hut or tree house? Can i have slaves? Are there cars/TVs/Air conditioning, escalators? i had a lot of fun making up answers.

mothman83 · 8 months

" so the canoe is the main form of transportation in Honduras right?"

"what? no! we have motorcycles cars buses..." " you have CARS ?!?!?!?"

hey guys Honduras is mostly mountainous and only the remote extreme east is wetlands/ flat jungle. So you couldn't really canoe everywhere even if you wanted to. and yes there are cars in Honduras.

iknowaguy · 8 months

I was asked if it was mandatory for all children to sell chiclets in Mexico.

pseudoart · 8 months

I'm from Denmark and went to Canada some ten years ago. This girl I were seeing asked if it weirded me out that she shaved her armpits and legs. Because, you know, Europeans don't do that shit.

roveboat · 8 months

Georgia, circa 1997. I'm from Finland.

"Are those the first shoes you've had?"

"Do you have microwaves in Finland?"

"Do you celebrate christmas in Finland?" - at which point I'd had enough and told the girl "Sort of, we kill newborns and drink their blood". She never talked to me again.

usa_experience · 8 months

Oh this is my favorite, just registered to add my experience.

I'm an Armenian guy in my 20s, sort of ambiguous looking in terms of country of origin (picture a light-skinned latino, I guess). I've lived on and off in the US of A since I was a teenager, and I've had the most bizarre and surreal experiences with the locals and immigrants alike.

About my ethnicity:

Are you from India / Iran / Israel / Italy / Russia / Germany / Poland / Mexico / Brazil? Can't remember all the places they've asked, but it pretty much spans the globe. This mostly depends on the amount of facial hair I'm wearing and if I'm tanned or not. Also, most of these people were sure they're right and were very surprised to hear Armenia. Some questioned my honesty.
Armenian? I thought Armenians are brown, like Indians.
Armenian? I thought Armenians are white, like Russians.
Armenian? But you don't look Armenian (I've heard this maybe a 100 times)
Variation: You're not Romanian, Romanians are white, with blue eyes.

About my religion:

Are you Muslim? You're not Muslim, are you (look of horror)?
Are you Jewish? No, Armenian. Yeah, Jewish Armenian? No. (keeps asking similar questions to figure out if I'm really Jewish).
Please join our post-Ramadan dinner or whatever (group of religious Muslims)
Please join our Hanukkah something or other (group of Orthodox Jews)
I've been called every Muslim and Jewish slur I know of, primarily in the Midwest.

About my country:

Do you have cars / roads / TVs / etc in Armenia? Name any luxury of civilization, they've asked it...
Is everyone in Armenia short / have same hair color / have a big nose?
Do you sleep with donkeys / sheep / etc.

From American teenagers, when I was a teenager:

Sieg hail / nazi salute / otherwise insulting my "Germanness"
Commie bashing / comrade / Russki / otherwise insulting my "Russianness"
Insulting my Arabic ethnicity in various ways

From various immigrant cab drivers:

Armenia? Is that in South America?
Armenia? Oh yes, a beautiful country in Central Asia (Indian dude)
Hispanic guy, speaking to me in Spanish. Me: I don't speak Spanish. Him: Why, you look dark and have dark hair etc.
Arabic guy, speaking to me in Arabic. Me: I don't speak Arabic. Him: Why, are you Iranian? Me: No, Armenian. Him: Same thing.
Armenian? You know, the other day there was a family, they said they're Armenian, but I don't believe them. They were dark and Middle Eastern.

From immigrants who probably should know better:

(Polish) Armenian? But you're mixed with German, right?
(Indian) Armenian? How do you say hi, salaam aleikum?
(Arab) Armenian? Dude high five, you guys hate Turks even more than we do. I knew this guy once, he wouldn't eat anything Turkish.. (goes on about Turk hate)
(Iranian) Armenian? We're brothers, one country man, one country.
(various) Armenian? You're lying.

I wish I were making this up.

Edit: can't get the lists right

Edit2: you guys are really scrutinizing this to the last detail, I was laughing while putting this together :) Also, I remembered a bunch more:

Someone with a PhD in Social Sciences: Do you speak/understand Aramaic?
Dude at a fast food stand, taking my change: How do you say thank you in Arabic? Me: I don't know. Dude: Why, are you Indian?

(Gotta love the false dichotomies)

Cab driver, picking me up at an airport in a large city: do you know a guy named <some weird name>? Me: no Him: he looks just like you

Edit3: One more and I'm out.

Dude from Ecuador: Armenian? Is your last name Nakashian?

M-M-M-Multikill · 8 months

"So why don't you Germans finally stop Hitler? He sounds real mean!" cited word for word, not a year ago.

Credit goes to a 19 years old girl in Potomac, MD. I've gotten similar questions ("Are all Germans Nazis?", "Do you hate jews too?") throughout the entire four years I lived in Potomac.

shuzbee · 8 months

"do you guys have television in scotland?"

bitch, we invented the fucking television.

edit: I understand that the television was developed over time in different forms by many different people, John Logie Baird being one of them, but in the context of how I was asked the question, I wasnt going to explain that a scotsman played a role in the development blah blah blah when i could say what is one of the most memorable lines in my life, and makes me smile every time i remember it.

TeleSavalas · 8 months

Do you know the Queen?

I always answer yes to this, as far as im concerned, if you're that daft I'm duty bound to fill your ears with as much bullshit as I can.

Kaelrox · 8 months

South African Here. Got Asked: "Do you know Nelson Mandela?" "Do you ride lions to school?" Decided to play along with that last one.

BiohazardBlaze · 8 months

I'm an Australian and I once had to explain to a Canadian about how our seasons are opposite.

This was not the worst part.

He then asked if, since we have winter in the middle of the year, do we have Christmas then...

PintOfGuinness · 8 months

My friends family from Scotland emigrated to Texas, in the airport the lady taking the tickets overheard the two kids chatting and said "isn't that amazing your kids can speak English so well?".

wosmo · 8 months

ugh. Spent 5 years in the US ..

Was asked what language we speak 'there'. Was also told I was a "good immigrant" because I bothered to learn the language. I'm English ..

(edit) Also found a strange amount of people who couldn't fathom that we don't celebrate July 4th in the UK.

tatowtot · 8 months

I'm Malaysian. During an interview for a fellowship at a university, a panel member asked me if we still lived in trees, and if so, how did I manage to get an Internet connection to apply to the university. :/

Christ_on_a_bike · 8 months

Not in America, but my girlfriend (now wife) while summer working in UK was asked if she is worried about her mother. When she asked why she should be, she heard: "With all this war going on in Poland, she propably is in great danger."

jorgtron · 8 months

Norwegian here. A girl asked me if we had we had salt and pepper in Norway.

I told her no, "..because the roaming polar bears make transporting spice too dangerous."

tiddle-tapps · 8 months

Im welsh and was asked on a greyhound bus where i was from. I told them Wales, UK - Where Tom Jones and Ryan Giggs are from (usually the only welshmen americans know). She then asked what the funny little language i was speaking and i told her Welsh. She pointed at me in a very angry manner and shouted over the bus that i was a liar and was talking shiiiit about everyone behind their back. I enquired why she thought this - classic reply. "You wanna know how i know y'all lying? Fact is only three languages are spoken in Europe. English, French and korean! So f*ck y'all and get out of my country"

Bonus karma if you can guess which state i was in at the time!

GungleJym · 8 months

I'm English, moved to the US and someone asked me what it was like to have running water and electricity.....

MeinKraftt · 8 months

After an endless series of questions about what snakes I'd seen and what precautions Australia takes against its (apparently!) endless onslaught of taipans, I convinced my American friend's parents that I came to America to make a living selling my blood. Australians put up with so much dangerous wildlife, you see, that we develop an immunity to all poisons, making our blood very valuable.

omarei · 8 months

This is probably going to get buried but I'll share anyway. So I'm an Egyptian guy visiting California, and I got to chatting with some cute blonde girl and the dialogue went as follows:

Her: It's soo sad that you guys don't have windows!

Me: Umm, what do you mean? We do have windows.

Her: Really? No way, cause I've seen pictures of pyramids and I've never seen a window on a pyramid.

BITCH THOUGHT WE LIVED IN PYRAMIDS!

Semido · 8 months

Not the US, but still quite good.

My Argentinian taxi driver, picking me up at Buenos Aires airport, after we discussed my visit to a Guarani tribe (one of the few native tribes remaining in Argentina):

"Indians are a problem in Argentina. So, what did you do with all your native indians in France?"

Follow up: he was not joking. This came after a long monologue on the problems "indians" caused, and he clearly wanted to know how other countries had dealt with the "issue". I told him that we did not have "indians" in France because we were the "indians". His response made clear that he thought I was lying to him to make my country look better (for context, Argentinians like to say they have no natives in Argentina and all immigrants came from Western Europe because they think it sounds good).

Wienky · 8 months

Im from New Zealand and whenever my family and I go overseas we have alot of fun trolling other tourists. This one time in Thailand (2010) we managed to convince an entire American family that our village had just acquired a t.v. and we couldn't wait for the second season of Friends to come out.

sketamb · 8 months

New Zealand? Thats way up north isn't it?

Bajin_Inui · 8 months

"Do you guys like have like the same sun as us?" I kid you not.

Keroseni · 8 months

I'm Brazilian and that's happened not in America but Canada. A friend of a friend, after knows I'm from Brazil (more specifically from Amazon) asked me how I learn to use computers, TV and cars and if I use boats to go to work.

Of course I answered all the questions and explain also that the currency in Brazil is monkey testicles.

Giant_Enemy_Cliche · 8 months

I'm from Nottingham in England, and a friend of mine went to america on holiday and explained to a whole bunch of friendly and curious american's that Sherwood forest isn't actually real.

Then he came back and was like "haha, those Americans though Sherwood forest was real!".

He felt pretty dumb when we explained to him that it actually is a real place.

eyal0 · 8 months

Do you have July 4th in Israel?

Um, yes? Between July 3rd and 5th.

r0rsch4ch · 8 months

Not from another country but I once overheard an American say "Isn't it cold in Hawaii? You know...because it's so close to Alaska." He was 100% serious.

AndorianBlues · 8 months

To be fair, as a Dutchman, I must admit I'm fairly ignorant about the United States.

You have San Franscisco on the west coast, New York and Washington on the east coast, a whole lot of Texas in the south, some lakes in the north. Florida on a sticky outy bit in the south east. I couldn't tell you were much else is between the rocky mountains and the Atlantic. I probably can't even imagine how big your country is.

Or really, what it would be like to live in a state that is part of a larger union. As far as much of the world is concerned, the United States is run by 3 people: the President, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense (actually, under Obama, I couldn't even tell you who the Secretary of Defense is). And Arnold Schwarzenegger.

pixartist · 8 months

My dad was in the USA several times, and once he got invited to some steakhouse, and the people who invited him acted like he was from some desert tribe and had never seen a restaurant or eaten a steak. We are from Germany. Also Germans constantly report being asked by U.S. Americans if Hitler is still alive / ruling Germany.

hambone3 · 8 months

To be fair, as an American visiting in France, the people I met were shocked that my life was not a constant battle between cowboys and Indians (I'm from the midwest). They were also pleasantly surprised that I didn't have a nasal southern accent and that I could speak French.

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