tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850653771113511497.post6032489419851506495..comments2024-01-27T00:14:46.562-08:00Comments on On a Bike and a Prayer: Tell me about yourself.Gary Browerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785183613943463508noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850653771113511497.post-80397077634798625802015-11-06T07:06:14.293-08:002015-11-06T07:06:14.293-08:00Ethel, Thanks for your comment! I'm glad you ...Ethel, Thanks for your comment! I'm glad you found the reflection helpful!Gary Browerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05785183613943463508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850653771113511497.post-37386364547434826132015-11-02T10:06:35.640-08:002015-11-02T10:06:35.640-08:00Thanks, Chaplain Gary, for bringing up this topic....Thanks, Chaplain Gary, for bringing up this topic. I think I will share your comments with the members of my course, ENGG 1100: Exploring U.S. Culture. The class is for first-year international students, and we have talked about this very question "Where are you from?" Some of the students get tired of answering it because they feel they are constantly being asked to "represent" their country, even as they only get to share the same few limited stereotypes in each conversation. As you pointed out, they feel they are only presenting caricatures of what are, of course, cultures as rich and complex as our own. Other students disagree and point out that Americans ask this question of each other all the time; it is an easy starting point in the search for common ground. The question, these students say, is not meant to be a criticism of their "foreign accent" or a comment about "looking different." The question is tricky; some like it and some don't. Your alternative, "Tell me about yourself", allows people to choose whether to share the geographic or cultural part of their identity, or not. Thanks for bringing up a thought-provoking topic. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02991191944676263102noreply@blogger.com