What on earth happened to my fellow countrymen?

I'm sure i would have been surprised as i think u probably were from what i read in your discussion. Good manners were something we were taught from early childhood just as i taught my sons. It is sad that people weren't taught & if they were they don't use them. Good for you!

why she will surprise?Where she is from.I hate the person who have localation different.The person always think he is the best person in the world and others person all are countrymen.Who are you?Are you sun?Earth is around with you?Are you God?Fuxk off!In my mind,you are just is a Shxt!All person in the world have same level.All people was borned by his mother,all are balanced.So don't submit this question,the waitress is ugly.

The world is changing and cannot say whether it is changing for the good for sure.It is clearly evident that the fines values and the nuances of life are getting eroded and people are becoming arrogant everywhere.Yes a simple thank you is a rare commodity in the service sectors nowadays.No wonder the waitress got surprised. It is for the parents to set an example for the kids in manners and etiquette.Well I don't know who will teach the parents in the first hand.

that's interesting and you're right, it's a sad reflection of our countrymen. but I must admit that I'm not always sincerely polite to wait staff. some of them don't even respond when you say thank you. they just look away. I find that when people dine at fine restaurants they are nicer to the wait staff because they feel that they are being watched? I guess I would have said thank you, and agreed that yah, it's true huh, it's so sad that singaporeans are not polite cos they are too busy.

I think I would be like you and be saddened that people in my home country had become so rude that only polite people wre assumed to be foreigners! x

I do not know how i would have reacted if i were in your place but i think you should take it as a compliment. Maybe, the waitress has had so many bad experiences with the locals that when you showed appreciation for her service she got so excited and mistook you for a foreigner.

I have never been mistaken as a foreigner in my own country except for once in 2001. Being mistaken as a person broughr up in another part of the country occured to me several times in the past. Back to 2002. Whenever I rode a motorcycle I would dress up with proper clothing to protect myself from the weather and dust. This included wearing a balaclava (ski mask). In the 1990's there was no problem being dressed like that, and in fact whenever there was a road block I was almost always waved through. Foreigners particularly from one country started coming into the country in big numbers. In their desire to become rich they resorted to crime and many of them wore ski masks. I was on my way to work at a factory, riding below the speed limit. Suddenly a patrol car chsed me and cut me off. Before I could take off my helmet one of the officers started asking me in the other country's dialect. I was tempted to reply in the same dialect but I thought better of it. Even after showing my Natonal Identity Card and Driving Licence his face still showed some disbelief. I could understand it because thousands of these foreigners use fake Makaysian NIC. Maybe because I answered politely I was allowed to continue my journey. all the best, rosdimy

Hi applefreak, I don't understand today's attitude of people who are rude, it cost nothing to be polite as this lady is doing a job, she is not a servent, she is getting paid, I think people should have more manners, I used to lin in London England and people are quite rude there and when I moved south, I found [people are polite and nice to each other which shocked me as I was never rude as my mother always thought us good manners it was refreshing to meet people who have good manners, now when I do visit London, I am most appalled by their behaviour, it has got worse as it multi culture and [people are rude and arrgont. Tamara

Hey applefreak! First, I love your beautiful kitty! What an adorable face and stunning green eyes! I think that it is very sad that a waitress where you live would mistake you for a foreigner because you were polite! That really doesn't say much for the people where you live! Are they really all that rude? I mean I live in NYS and there are all different types of peope here with all different personalities which is to be expected! There are some very nice and friendly and polite people and then there are some nasty rude miserable people! But, I would assume that this is just the way it is wherever you live? So what is different about where you live that would make this waitress say that to you?

Yes!We are judged by our actions.I have been mistaken for a bank officer or a person working in a high post often.It is from the dressing sense and my behaviour in public.Later,when they learn that I am a small business man,they accept it half minded only. I repeat-our gestures,body language,politeness,the tone of our speech,all counts on judging.Cheers!

I know,you from sigapore.Maybe you have some special apperance or quality a little different from the ordinary locals.I seldom came across this before,but several times.Actually,the could differentiate the locals or not from their accent,in most of the cases.Anyway,the waiter will be familliar with you and know you'r their local.Have a nice day!

I can understand somehow the waiter's feeling, because i've been a waiter too. I feel happy when my customers say thank you or they're polite with me, and i'll feel a bit upset or annoyed if i meet customers who're rude and having bad characteristics. So, i believe that reaction of the waiter was just probably most of the customer she served are not polite. However, this kind of situation has never happened on me before. There's only one case similar, which is once i went to buy something at a stall. The stall owner thought i were a Japanese (i'm chinese instead) because of my look and the way i speak to him. I think these kind of situation are just pretty common in our daily life. So, just take it easy,haha. Have a nice day.

I've been a victim of the, "You're not from around here" a time or two. I don't think it had anything to do with the locale, but with the fact that in today's society politeness and decorum are a thing of the past. Not enough of us around that still remember the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect that we expect ourselves to be treated with. Applefreak, take the waitress' question and wear it proudly as a badge of honor. My hat is off to you.

I live in Ohio but I am from Harlen Kentucky. People wonder where im from when I eat some of my food. Like my biscuits and gravy. I mix them. Or how my standards are so high here for food. Everything in kentucky is homemade and delicious. Here in Ohio its fast food or boxed food. So people are always wondering where im from.

Mmm....you're not the only one who gets asked "Where are you from?"---I was born in California, but my mother came back to home base with me when I was just a baby after my parents got divorced...and home base meant the New York City area...so I've lived here in NYC just about all my life. People always ask me if I'm from Arizona, or New Mexico...why? I AM part Native American and wear quite a bit of Native American jewelry, but for some reason people think only Arizonians or New Mexicans wear Native jewelry--I've often been told too, that I don't have a "New York accent"---LOL