Germans can be ignorant too

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More often than not, Americans are criticized as being ignorant of other cultures and peoples.  Yet Europeans or Germans can be just as ridiculously ignorant (obviously).  Some examples collected from German PhD students this past week: 

- Really, Japanese food and Thai food are the same... right?  Rice and stir fry, right?
- All Asians smile when they have no clue
- I didn't know there was a difference between Japanese and Chinese - I thought they could speak to each other


While at lunch with colleagues, I was told that Vietnamese and Thai people were essentially of the same culture.  Actually, a negative stereotype was being perpetuated.  I attempted to explain that they have different histories, and are separated by Cambodia and Laos.  Why bother?  I was shot down in the vain of 'Americans are so politically correct all the time'.  Oh well, maybe they're right.

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