If you could change your ethnicity....

[nd293]

Oh my goodness. Tell your kids that they are soooooo behind the times. No one says that anymore over on the east coast! :lol:Rosie

 

We don't even have shops that open after 6pm, or on Sunday, nor Daylight Savings, so expecting up to date slang of us on the west coast is a bit unfair. Don't they bring the updated slang list over by camel every other year or something?:tongue_smilie:

 

As Hannah says, some phrases are familiar to me as a South African, while there are plenty of other new ones. I especially love how many people here describe badly behaved kids as "feral"!

 

5 years in the Middle East left me wishing I could see the world of Arabic women from the inside. The shallow me would love to be an Israeli woman - the curly red or dark hair and olive skin that so many are blessed with is simply gorgeous. They even manage to make a drab army uniform look attractive. I'd be happy to be transported to anywhere in the Middle East or Mediterranean for a week.

Edited November 29, 2009 by nd293
Added my "cultural exchange wishlist"

[cin]

A toss-up between African American and Asian

 

I love the African American women and how comfortable they are with themselves. They are comfortable in their bodies, with their emotions and the way they worship! I LOVE gospel music and worship! I go to a somewhat stodgy Evangellical Church. I, myself am overweight, and would LOVE to be comfortable in my skin. And their foods!!!! YUMMY!!!

 

Back to being caucasian...The Asian women are so petite and beautiful. And their diet is so healthy. And my 2 daughters are Asian. And petite.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I get what all of you are saying. But there are beautiful women in every culture. And some of them have thick hair and thin shapely bodies! But there are ugly women in every culture too - with thin hair and fat bodies. With my luck I would change my ethnicity and still be plain (not ugly), fat and with thin hair. . . :glare:

[HSDCY]

I'd like to be Japanese for a day. My next choice would be Scandinavian.

[lionfamily1999]

I get what all of you are saying. But there are beautiful women in every culture. And some of them have thick hair and thin shapely bodies! But there are ugly women in every culture too - with thin hair and fat bodies. With my luck I would change my ethnicity and still be plain (not ugly), fat and with thin hair. . . :glare:

:lol: Oh man... that would be what would happen to me!

[sleepymommy]

I planned to wear saris when we moved to India, but they are so hot, and I just can't stand wearing any more clothes than necessary in this heat. I think what makes them hot is the full slip/petticoat (?) you have to wear under them.

Anybody BTDT? Do you have to wear the petticoat? Are they as hot as they look? What about cleaning the saris? Can you throw them in the wash, or must you handwash them? Are we talking a lot of work?

 

They really are quite comfortable and not very hot. I would suggest getting a sleeveless choli (bra-like top), there are many fancy ones these days that are almost backless as well. But to combat heat, get a plain one, not with much work. The petticoat is cotton. Get a really light material sari, like cotton or chiffon.

 

If your in India just send them out to wash, it's very inexpensive. Otherwise, they do need to be hand washed. I only wear sari's on special occasions so they don't really get that dirty.

 

My ex-husband was Indian and I wore a sari on several occasions... I did not wear a "full slip/petticoat"... never heard of wearing that under a sari. I think you might wear that under a burka???

 

No, she's right, a petticoat is worn under a sari. It must be worn in order to have something to tuck the sari into. Petticoats are most common, plus the bottom of the petticoat kind of goes out a bit, there is a strip across the bottom that flares, this helps lay the sari in the best looking way.

[IsabelC]

That, and I think that the fascination of a culture or ethnicity often comes from outside it more than in it. I've always been interested in Japanese culture, but if I'd grown up in it, I would probably take it for granted, kwim?

Yep, that's what I was trying to say. Culture is like permanent contact lenses. We always tend to see our own as 'vanilla', largely unnoticeable unless we actively try to view ourselves as an outsider would.

 

 

Also, it is often the case that our view of another culture says more about us than it does about them. Eg a white American woman who worries about her weight might look at her African American neighbor who seems less weight obsessed and conclude that she is more comfortable with her appearance. But the African American woman might be less worried about weight because she is busy spending heaps of time and a small fortune worrying about her hair, because that is more of an issue for her (according to Good hair).

 

We don't even have shops that open after 6pm, or on Sunday, nor Daylight Savings, so expecting up to date slang of us on the west coast is a bit unfair. Don't they bring the updated slang list over by camel every other year or something?:tongue_smilie:

:lol:

Edited December 2, 2009 by Hotdrink

[DawnM]

I wanted to be Chinese for a while. I wanted to marry a Chinese man. I went to a Chinese church for 8 years....alas, no Chinese men asked me out! So, I had to go all the way to China to get a Chinese baby.

 

BTW: Today he announced emphatically that he was NOT American.....he was CHINESE! No amount of explaining would do! :lol: I told him I was very glad he was Chinese and that was something to be very proud of.

[mycalling]

I'd try out being Russian. Odd pick, even more so because I hate non-stop snow.