"All Westerners are American"

[adrianlondon]

On a recent holiday to Thailand I met a girl from a small town in England. I know it (I'm from the UK) but she was telling these Thai locals the same. They'd never heard of it.

"I'm from Kettering!" doesn't work well in Asia ;)

I suggested, as I've done to people before, to simply say how many miles/km away from a big city it is. In this case, she's about 100km away from London.

[muyongshi]

It is easier for me to say "Seattle" than Washington State as they never hear the state part and always assume I'm from DC...

[Woodpecker]

"It is easier for me to say "Seattle" than Washington State as they never hear the state part and always assume I'm from DC..."

That's interesting. Do Americans immediately assume 'Washington' means the state and not D.C.? It's pretty confusing to hear 'I'm from Washington' and have to remember it could be one of two places.

[muyongshi]

Sorry should have been more specific...I meant when talking to Chinese people, it's easier for me to say it that way.

For others from the US I get about half and half on which location in assumption but they will usually ask. However, I know a few from DC that don't say Washington they just say DC which helps. The biggest problem is the news because they just say washington for both...

[here2learn]

Do Americans immediately assume 'Washington' means the state and not D.C.?

I do. I'm from the east coast, far closer to DC than Washington state. Just thinking quickly about it, I'd say everyone from DC says "Washington DC" or just "DC". If I hear a person say, "I'm from Washington" with no DC or state after it, I'd assume they mean the state. That's the way it should be, and if I'm wrong, I'd probably tell them, "Oh, you didn't say DC so I thought you meant the state" just to put them in their place, haha.

I do have the feeling though, that many people might sometimes forget there's a whole state named Washington, only because in our daily lives, on the news, etc, we always hear of the DC one and never the state. It's just that DC is the one people think of first.

My earlier comment about people acting like "duh, I KNOW you're american, I can tell by your accent. I mean WHERE in America?" (they don't say all that but that's the feeling I've gotten several times) - that's not from Chinese people, it's from other foreigners.

And what makes me feel bad.... is the opposite problem... I'm REALLY bad with accents and really can't tell where someone is from. Most of the time I don't even notice their accent and I really don't care and don't even think about it or want to figure it out. So I ask, and they seem offended I can't tell. Geez, you'd think they'd be flattered I can't tell, it shows their English is pretty good if they're not a native speaker, right?