On being the only Westerner in my class

During the first week of class, Nice Teacher gave us two exercises that helped us get to know one another better as a class, as well as pick up a bunch of vocabulary along the way. One was a questionnaire about ourselves (favorite flower, color, author, our best/worst character traits, dream job, what we like to do in our free time, etc), and the other was a questionnaire about the perfect age for each of the things on the list (to stop believing in Santa Claus, to get a job, to buy a house, to have a baby, to start kissing, to die, to begin wearing make-up). These two exercises were fascinating to me, as students from China, Saudia Arabia, Libya, and the United States compared their answers.

First, Teacher and I had to explain who Santa Claus was, and why there would be an age when someone stops believing in him. The female student from Libya turned to me and said, "This one is a stupid question." So completely out of her context, she just skipped it altogether.

So on the make-up question, I decided to be very conservative and write "16." My experience with Arab women has been that they LOVE make-up, but I wanted to show that I'm not a hussy or anything, so I went with what I thought was a later age. Well, when we all started giving our answers to that question, I was in for a shock.

The Chinese guys all answered that girls should never wear make-up. Women look better natural.

The Chinese girls all answered "between 18-20, when they begin college."

The Arab girls all answered 22, "when she's finished with college."

The Arab guys all answered "when she's married."

So much for showing I'm not a hussy. I listed the youngest age in the class. And I'm an idiot to boot because I once thought there was a fat bearded man who flies around the world in one night delivering presents to all the children everywhere.