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What is a stereotype?

Someone who can type while listening to a stereo?

Not so simple.  Dictionary defines it as people that hold a fixed mental image of someone or group of people.   It is a preconceived bias that may not reflect reality.

I try to in my life not hold these biases but it is very hard.  For example believing a person from Andhra to actually do something in two minutes, to expect a desi newbie to America to actually not cut in line, to expect a car salesman to actually talk sense, an airline attendant to actually be sympathetic etc.

But the reason for this topic was triggered by an event last night as we dined at an upscale  food establishment during our stay in Indonesia.

In this case I was being the stereotypical American.
I grew up in India liking chilled water for drinking and to this day prefer it over warm.  In America though where it seems ice (and coffee) makers are aplenty  it is often assembled before being served by adding ice chunks to tap or bottled water.   But people in Asia prefer to drink water at room temperature.  Some even were spotted at local airports filling hot water in their thermos.   So as usual the server at this restaurant decided to offer room temperature water.  I asked for lots of ice to go along with our food.

The food arrived but no ice.  It literally takes them a committee to figure out how to assemble so much ice for this strange customer.   European customers also apparently can do without.

So to sum up while I prefer to be non denominational in matters of my faith, I end up exhibiting traits that are quintessentially American.  It also reminded me of an essay we read in elementary school titled 'what is Indianness?' By Sheila Dhar, a regarded English major from Delhi.  I vaguely remember it having a patriotic bent and some notion of a collective Indian spirit, an appreciation for its culture but after two decades in another country one ends up assimilated.

Like ice in water.

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