hahah I got asked for the 2nd time by a colleague: Can you read this?  is it German?

Me: no, I think its Dutch

Colleague: Can you read it?

Me: hahaha no

Colleague: But I thought you were European?

Me:  errrrr

hahah Australia  ..yeah sure = European, and yeah sure regardless of that ….all Europeans can understand ALL European languages… because that makes sense.

The 1st time this happened was when a high level manager asked me to translate into 5 different foreign languages (all European) from Chinese.

And I was like….errr, but I don’t know those languages.

But they’re foreign languages, and you’re a foreigner, he said matter-of-factly.

Me:  hahahah , * then a look for which I realised he was serious*
errr but that’s not how it works.  I only know English & Chinese.

I can recognise which ones are which, but just because I can do that, it doesn’t mean I know how to read them.

That’s one of the first times that it kind of hit me that Chinese people really DO just think all ‘European’ looking people are the same.
And think that all the culture and everything is completely shared.

Of course it would be silly if WE were to think the same about them.  ie. Japanese, Chinese & Korean as being all the same, despite the fact that THEY actually do share common language points as well as historical & cultural points.

But perhaps ‘foreigners’ only know that because they’ve travelled a bit, and a more open to the world.  Or perhaps not really open, just not as closed as China has been, and in some respects with thinking….still is.

It’s another case of ‘us & them’

I’m astounded when I come across this, however you’ve got to realise that for many colleagues, I’m the first foreigner that they’ve had proper contact with.  So in a way .. .I can kind of understand this.