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Off topic: Those living abroad: how is your home country portrayed in the local media?
Thread poster: Marion Lurf
Marion Lurf
Marion Lurf  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:53
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
That's fine Jun 10, 2006

JaneTranslates wrote:
Sorry, I know the question was about media portrayal, but I can't get into that and avoid politics.
quote]

That's absolutely fine, the question was about both medial portrayal and public perception anyway - and leaving politics aside, a lot of ideas people might have of one's home country are influenced by the media, so it's somehow connected. And I also think it's more entertaining to read about personal experiences with comments people make. Thanks for your contribution and have a nice weekend!

[Edited at 2006-06-10 22:31]


 
Ritu Bhanot
Ritu Bhanot  Identity Verified
France
French to Hindi
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India in Cameroon Jun 11, 2006

All the things that I heard in Cameroon...

Indians are rich (well some are. But then we have poor Indians as well)

No slums in India (well... everyone knows there are)

you are white so must have money (well... no Idea how/ why they say that)...(look at my picture )

we have a lot of river blindness in our country, can you help (I was just a translator/ interpreter for World Blind U
... See more
All the things that I heard in Cameroon...

Indians are rich (well some are. But then we have poor Indians as well)

No slums in India (well... everyone knows there are)

you are white so must have money (well... no Idea how/ why they say that)...(look at my picture )

we have a lot of river blindness in our country, can you help (I was just a translator/ interpreter for World Blind Union)

I guess after being with me and KG (an HR person/ trainer from India) they must have added:

Indians are vegetarians (both of us were)

Eat strange food (we were so sick of the bland food that we bought a bottle of Indian pickle to eat with our ricewhich we left for the hotel)

And I was really surprised to see that some of the biggest supermarkets in Cameroon were owned and run by Indians (eg. Mahima)... we went to this supermarket and thought wow sounds Indian but no... not possible... and 85% of the products were of Indian origin (and if some Indian companies saw the products these people will be in a soup... for trademarks violations)... and 90% of the employees of this particular outlet were Indians.



And most people in Cameroon think that it's owned by someone from Cameroon (I mean native of Cameroon)

I was really happy to get that bottle of pickle though... Cameroon is not the right place for an Indian vegetarian as far as food is concerned!!!
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Yolande Haneder (X)
Yolande Haneder (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:53
German to French
+ ...
No rain in Britain? Jun 11, 2006

Marion Lurf wrote:

Mark, I have to agree, British food is not as bad as people say - except for one thing: proper BREAD!
And the weather is fine, too - at the moment we have sunshine and 26°. I don't know why some people in Austria still pity me because it always rains Britain, in fact, I've only used an umbrella twice in 3 years!



Well, i may say you were lucky. I have been living for 3 years in London (september-june) and I was not lucky enough to get often 26° (or maybe 2 times and then people are overall laying on the green places).

The wind blew up my umbrella 2 weeks after I came over in september - i must agree, I never used an umbrella but not for the same reasons.

British food is not bad once you get used to it. Some people can cook very nicely but others are thinking that a meal should consist of baked beans with tomato on a piece of bread.
I have never seem so much international food than in London.

I guess would I make the choice once more, I would have gone to Southampton.

Yolande


 
Fan Gao
Fan Gao
Australia
Local time: 19:53
English to Chinese
+ ...
oh British bread!... Jun 11, 2006

...actually I must admit I originally come from the island of Jersey which is alot closer to France than it is to the UK so I was bought up on French Bread which I sooooo miss!

Yes, beans on toast is a bit of a classic, which although not very classy is actually very tasty.

It does make me smile though when I try to explain to the Chinese some of the British classic dishes like Toad in the Hole, Shepherd's Pie and Lancashire Hotpot!

Mark


 
Christine Schmit (X)
Christine Schmit (X)  Identity Verified
Luxembourg
German to French
+ ...
Luxembourg? Jun 11, 2006

Luxembourg?
"Oh, that's a city in Germany, right?"
"Isn't that a part of Belgium?"
"That's close to Switzerland isn't it?"
Some people can't believe that it's an independant country, others confuse it with Liechtenstein, others think it's a city in another country (I think I have heard Germany, France, Belgium, England, Sweden (maybe because I'm blonde), etc.). I can understand that people from other continents don't know about Luxembourg, but what really surprises me is
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Luxembourg?
"Oh, that's a city in Germany, right?"
"Isn't that a part of Belgium?"
"That's close to Switzerland isn't it?"
Some people can't believe that it's an independant country, others confuse it with Liechtenstein, others think it's a city in another country (I think I have heard Germany, France, Belgium, England, Sweden (maybe because I'm blonde), etc.). I can understand that people from other continents don't know about Luxembourg, but what really surprises me is that even a lot of Europeans don't know that it's an independant country.
When they do know about Luxembourg, it's banks, European institutions and the Grand Duke (most people think it's a king). And we're all millionnaires and live in castles

The standard questions I get every time:
How many inhabitants does Luxembourg have?
About 450 000.
WHAT???

So you speak Flemish/Dutch/German right?
Luxembourgish? Is that a language? Really???
And when I say that I grew up speaking 3 languages, people look at me like I'm a Martian!

As for media coverage abroad, it's non-existant, only sometimes EU conferences in Luxembourg and the luxembourgish soccer team loosing (again) 7:0 to Germany

And here's a luxembourgish joke to finish: Luxembourg is so small that when you drive there you have to be careful not to brake too late or you will already find yourself in another country!

Christine
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Marion Lurf
Marion Lurf  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:53
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Weather, food and small nations Jun 11, 2006

Yolande Haneder wrote:
Well, i may say you were lucky. I have been living for 3 years in London (september-june) and I was not lucky enough to get often 26° (or maybe 2 times and then people are overall laying on the green places).

Hi Yolande,
Even though we might have been lucky with the weather lately, in general I think it's more related to your expectations and to what you're used to. Since I don't expect sunshine all year round, I don't really complain about the weather either. I also think Scotland without any rain and fog would not be Scotland! (But I do miss our snowy winters...)
My first visit here almost 10 years ago was different, by the way: after having spent one week in sunny England, we went up North for 3 days, and as soon as we crossed the border to Scotland, it started to rain and didn't stop for 3 days!

As for the food here, I absolutely agree with you. In Edinburgh we also have many international food places. If you know where to go, you can easily avoid eating fish and chips all the time. And luckily they sell continental bread in some German, French and Polish shops.
By the way, Mark - is Chinese food in China very different from what you get in Chinese restaurants in Europe? That's what I heard, at least.

Christine, I liked your report about Luxembourg. I actually drove through your country last year and was amazed how small it is! We do like your football team, though, since it is one of the few teams the Austrian national team can beat


 
sarahl (X)
sarahl (X)
Local time: 01:53
English to French
+ ...
Large countries Jun 11, 2006

My friends in France don't seem to understand how large the US is.

-You're in St Louis, so you must see X (a friend in Chicago) all the time!
-No, that's a 6-hour drive.
-Then you must be very close to Y (in New York).
-No, that's a 12-hour drive.
-Oh I get it now, you must live near LA and Z.
-No, that's a 30-hour drive.

At which point the conversation ends, they just don't get it....
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My friends in France don't seem to understand how large the US is.

-You're in St Louis, so you must see X (a friend in Chicago) all the time!
-No, that's a 6-hour drive.
-Then you must be very close to Y (in New York).
-No, that's a 12-hour drive.
-Oh I get it now, you must live near LA and Z.
-No, that's a 30-hour drive.

At which point the conversation ends, they just don't get it.
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Balasubramaniam L.
Balasubramaniam L.  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 14:23
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER
An Indian in India Jun 12, 2006

India is a large multicultural, multilingual country and moving from one part of it to the other can give the kind of culture shock that moving to an alien country can give.

I am from Kerala, a southern state of India and when I was small, we moved to Lucknow in UP which is at the other end of the country (North).

Apart from the tribulations of an alien language (I spoke at that time only Tamil and Malayalam, while Hindi was the language of UP), alien climate (Kerala ha
... See more
India is a large multicultural, multilingual country and moving from one part of it to the other can give the kind of culture shock that moving to an alien country can give.

I am from Kerala, a southern state of India and when I was small, we moved to Lucknow in UP which is at the other end of the country (North).

Apart from the tribulations of an alien language (I spoke at that time only Tamil and Malayalam, while Hindi was the language of UP), alien climate (Kerala has an equitable climate with practically no winter, while UP has extreme summers and extreme winters), and an alien diet (rice was the staple food in Kerala, while in UP it was wheat, I ate my first chapati after coming to Lucknow and hated it!), there were prepostorous perceptions of the South among the UPites to be tolerated.

Here are some:

Having come from Kerala, how come you are so fair?

(The perception among the Northerners was that everyone South of the Vindhyas should be black as coal.

You are a Madrasi, aren't you?

(To the Northerner, anyone from the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, were Madrasis. The truth however is that these four states are as different from each other culturally and linguistically as are, say, Italy and Germany).

[Edited at 2006-06-12 02:10]
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Fan Gao
Fan Gao
Australia
Local time: 19:53
English to Chinese
+ ...
Chinese food in China vs Chinese food in Britain Jun 12, 2006

[quote]Marion Lurf wrote:


By the way, Mark - is Chinese food in China very different from what you get in Chinese restaurants in Europe? That's what I heard, at least.


Hi Marion,
Yes that is true and came as quite as a surprise to me because I wasn't expecting it. I guess now I've been here for 2 years it's not hugely different to me now but I find it more oily here which is apparently supposed to be good for your joints!

Another difference is that Chinese food can be very spicy in China and I always just associated spicy food with Indian cooking. At my local Chinese takeaway in London there were never any spicy dishes at all.

I'll never forget the very first meal I had when I arrived! I was taken out by the school I was going to be teaching in and they took me and some other new teachers to a restaurant and ordered a complete banquet! There were alot of spicy dishes and alot of things I didn't recognise. I made the mistake of asking what it was to be informed that it was pig's intestine! After that I learned it's better not to ask. All I could do was be polite and try what I was offered so as to not cause offence.

Suffice to say I usually cook at home these days!
Best wishes,
Mark


 
EmmanuelleAn (X)
EmmanuelleAn (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:53
English to French
+ ...
French people in Ireland Jun 12, 2006

I remember that when I was in Ireland the widespread reputation about the French was that:
-French people are very proud, arrogant and chauvinistic
-They drink wine with with every meal
-They are "bon vivant", eat good food
Last but not least...when I was in university, French guys had a reputation for being good kissers and good in bed.
I know this is an old cliché but it is living on

[Edited at 2006-06-12 07:31]


 
EmmanuelleAn (X)
EmmanuelleAn (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:53
English to French
+ ...
Irish reputation in France Jun 12, 2006

Now when I was in Ireland, people in France thought I was living in some dangerous place and used to ask me questions such as "are you not scared of bombings and the IRA?" I was in Dublin for God's sake!
Apart from that, in France the Irish are portrayed as lovely and warm people and...heavy drinkers.


 
Ritu Bhanot
Ritu Bhanot  Identity Verified
France
French to Hindi
+ ...
Bala... Jun 12, 2006

well... that's true... for North-Indians (who have not travelled a lot) anyone from south is Madrasi.

It's simply the fact that Madras is probably the most well-known place in the south... but now that it's no more Madras (rechristened: Chennai), what do you call south-Indians...

Imagine, a couple of centuries later, will people really remember what a Madrasi really means?

BTW... as you speak Tamil, may be they were right when they thought that you were f
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well... that's true... for North-Indians (who have not travelled a lot) anyone from south is Madrasi.

It's simply the fact that Madras is probably the most well-known place in the south... but now that it's no more Madras (rechristened: Chennai), what do you call south-Indians...

Imagine, a couple of centuries later, will people really remember what a Madrasi really means?

BTW... as you speak Tamil, may be they were right when they thought that you were from Madras!!! Afterall, Tamil is the language of Tamil Nadu and Madras the capital of TN.

Anyways, when I tell people that I'm Punjabi they suppose that it implies that I'm also Sikh... though like all Punjabis I do believe in all the ten gurus and have been to Gurudwaras to pray (it's only a recent phenomenon and that too political to differentiate Sikhs from Hindus), but I'm a Brahmin.

And those who have read Gurugranthsahab and know history of Punjab are aware but then... anyways, Sikhs are the bravest of people. And I don't mind being called a Sikh or Bengali or Madrasi (as I have been confused with almost people of all states at some point of time), though I do correct people for the sake of identity... First and foremost, I am a human being and anything else comes later...

[Edited at 2006-06-12 13:25]
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Ines Burrell
Ines Burrell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:53
Member (2004)
English to Latvian
+ ...
Latvian in UK (and Portugal) Jun 12, 2006

I used to live in Portugal for a few years before moving to the UK. As I am very fair skinned and extremely blonde I for some reason was always mistaken for a Ukrainian (appart from one ocasion when upon having swalowed a scanning tube for stomach test, the lady doctor told me I must be Sweedish as I have such lovely features - and I was almost throuwing up then). When hearing I am Latvian, most Portuguese had a very blank expression and then they would say: oh, that is in Russia, yes? They wer... See more
I used to live in Portugal for a few years before moving to the UK. As I am very fair skinned and extremely blonde I for some reason was always mistaken for a Ukrainian (appart from one ocasion when upon having swalowed a scanning tube for stomach test, the lady doctor told me I must be Sweedish as I have such lovely features - and I was almost throuwing up then). When hearing I am Latvian, most Portuguese had a very blank expression and then they would say: oh, that is in Russia, yes? They were very surprised to hear that we Latvians indeed have a language of our own and it does not resemble Russian at all. But I lived in rural area where people were extremely nice but not very educated.
I suppose the thing I disliked most about being Latvian in Portugal was how I was treated by Portugues first when they foud out I was Latvian (oh, so you are coming from the third world country) and then how this attitude changed once it transpired I was married to an English guy (I was immdiately to be envied and admired). And my daughters name (and my surname) was mispronounced so heavily, it sounded almost African.
Now in UK my name is still mispronounced although it is a rather tranditional English surname. Most of the English know where Latvia is, although some people try to show their love for languages and say some words... in Russian.
I suppose people who have the most ridiculous concept of Latvia must be my kids who seem to think it is winter there all year round. But then again - they seem to think the same of Poland. Honestly do not know where I have gone wrong.
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NancyLynn
NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 04:53
Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
Canadian in the UK Jun 12, 2006

When I was a young girl (oh, way back when...) and lived in London, I encountered only mild reactions to my citizenship; as soon as people realised I wasn't American (Europeans generally cannot distinguish the Canadian accent from the American one) it seemed there was not much to say.
A few exceptions:
One snooty public-school graduate at the accountancy firm where I worked, on learning I was Canadian, sneered "stupid colonial". Not very impressive.
Another said "Canada, that's
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When I was a young girl (oh, way back when...) and lived in London, I encountered only mild reactions to my citizenship; as soon as people realised I wasn't American (Europeans generally cannot distinguish the Canadian accent from the American one) it seemed there was not much to say.
A few exceptions:
One snooty public-school graduate at the accountancy firm where I worked, on learning I was Canadian, sneered "stupid colonial". Not very impressive.
Another said "Canada, that's where they have all the forest fires"
Another said "I've always wanted to go to Canada... that's south of Mexico, right?"

The distance thing is truly incomprehensible to many Brits. One told me, "France is a big country, you know". I told him it would fit 5 times into the province of Québec alone, but Québec has a population of 7 million (then). I also told him (and I notice Sarah is doing it too now) that we don't discuss distance in terms of miles, but in terms of how many hours it takes to drive. This often comes up whenever Europeans come to visit. Many think that because Toronto is in Ontario, to come to me they should fly into the Toronto airport. But that's 5 hours away! Dorval (Montreal) is less than an hour away, even though it's in Québec.

I once had a visitor from Holland tell me that she was coming to Canada to visit her daughter in the Queen E islands (Pacific Ocean, British Columbia), then her other daughter in Calgary, Alberta (on the other side of the Rocky Mountains) and somehow drop in for tea with me in the afternoon! At the time I lived in the countryside near Ottawa, but going to the airport to pick her up, then driving her to my place, would be over an hour round-trip.

But what I remember most is that I was asked repeatedly how to emigrate to Canada. A Brit would say, "Ah, you're from Canada... how do you emigrate there?" I'd have to answer that my solution was to be born here...

And last but not least, a Brit in a pub, wishing to insult me, called me a Canuck... but pronounced in CaNOOK, (rhyming with tuque).


As for British food, when in London I frequented... the curry houses

Nancy
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Those living abroad: how is your home country portrayed in the local media?






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