Spot the difference

I was out with my coursemate and flatmate who are from Macedonia and France respectively. We took a train to the nearby town of Knaresborough. It was a lovely, lovely place. Everything was so quaint - the tea shops, market square, etc. There wasn't a TopShop, River Island or any high street shop there - just little independent shops selling their ware, which was a fresh change from all the high street chain stores. To top it off, the weather wasn't bad at all. It's nice and quiet there, the walk along the River Nidd was fantastic and there was a great view from the ruins of Knaresborough Castle.

Nothing is impossible

View of the River Nidd and the famous Victorian viaduct from the top, where the ruins of Knaresborough Castle stand

Knaresborough isn't like Leeds where the profile of people is concerned. In Leeds, you see many different people from different racial and ethnic background but in Knaresborough, I hardly saw anyone who wasn't English, save for the few of us and the odd 1 or 2 tourists. It is typical of non-student towns or a town for that matter, where the English context is concerned. L, my flatmate and I discussed the difference between people groups. She mentioned that Europe is so diverse that while they are one continent, they are all different - a French is different from an Italian, an English is different from a German, etc. There are times where she cannot understand nor tolerate other Europeans.

Sounds familiar? I was thinking about the situation back in the flat as well. L also commented about how different I am as compared to the other 2 flatmates from China. While we are the same racially, we are poles, worlds, planets and galaxies apart where speech, mentality and behaviour are concerned. L just cannot understand why these Chinese never mix with others out of their own country nor step out of the flat. She finds it weird that they lock themselves in their own rooms, they lock their rooms when they step into the bathroom/shower and the kitchen BUT never check to see if the main door to the flat is locked or shut properly! (Hur, maybe that's the reason why they lock their rooms all the time..haha!)

I am not saying that I am superior to them but I think that there are some things, some behaviour or mentality that have to be re-looked. It is sad that these 2 girls won't know others from elsewhere because they, and the rest of their Chinese friends, only hang out amongst themselves. Oh yes, another random rant - they can't cook. They told me that they don't cook at home as their mums cook for them. Am I supposed to be surprised? So some other Chinese friend comes to the flat and cooks for them and they cook the same dish on their own for the next few days until that friend comes by again and cooks for them.

I don't know what else to say and I don't know if you spot any differences but I sure see and feel the differences. And a little laugh here: my Korean coursemates thought that I was Korean when they first saw me. What's the difference?