“We Ride Kangaroos”: 40 People Share The Most Annoying Stereotypes About Their Countries

Ah, cultural stereotypes. The notion that all Parisians are mean snobs, all Americans are dumb, and the Irish – rowdy alcoholics. As long as it is all in good humor and not used for propagating unnecessary hate, what’s the harm in poking fun at some common traits the locals have?

In this thread, people started sharing the things about their home countries that people stereotype most often. One person asked others to share their experiences, as they posted a question: “What is the main stereotype about your country?” Funnily enough, while people debunked most of these silly stereotypes, some, they said, are true.

#1

Ireland: Drink a lot of alcohol and our diet consists entirely of potatoes. The “Luck of the Irish” is also a load of nonsense. The phrase is laced with irony.

Image credits: fedupofbrick

#2

South Africa: “That we don’t have paved roads, cities, electricity, or any of the modern conveniences, it’s just jungle filled with animals where everyone lives in mud huts. I wouldn’t say these stereotypes annoy me, but they certainly amuse me.”

Image credits: Reapr

#3

Egypt: “We all ride around on camels. I’m an Egyptian, and I have never seen a camel in real life.”

Image credits: delpanto93

#4

Brazil: “That our biggest pastimes are samba and soccer, that we live in the middle of the jungle, and that Brazil is made up only of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.”

Image credits: pao-de-mel

#5

Germany: We’re beer drinking sausage eaters with an addiction of starting World Wars.

Image credits: anon

#6

Germany: “Our stereotype is best told with a joke: ‘How many Germans do you need to change a light bulb?’ One. We are very efficient and not funny.”

Image credits: R3v1cu7

#7

Poland: “That the whole country is a grey, depressing wasteland. In reality, it’s a very beautiful place with tons of gorgeous nature.”

Image credits: Space_Codette

#8

India: “That all we eat is curry. We have thousands of different dishes, and not everything is spicy.”

Image credits: _negiboi

#9

New Zealand: “That we all say stuff like ‘put another shrimp on the barbie.’ Shrimp is not a thing here. We call them prawns.”

Image credits: ChanceRegret2607

#10

Canada: “That we’re all really polite and we put maple syrup on everything. (At least the maple syrup stereotype is true, though.)”

Image credits: TheBulldogIsHere

#11

Lebanon: I would say one of the main stereotypes of my country(Lebanon) is that we come from a desert even though our country’s terrain has no desert within it whatsoever. Albeit, our neighboring countries do.

Image credits: Jad-Ali-Dakroub

#12

France: That we are unpleasant and we stink .. we always carry a baguette too.

Image credits: Groumoum

#13

Belgium: That we get triggerd when someone says ‘french fries’.

Image credits: Tjor2

#14

Canada: *Eh?*.

Image credits: willpowerlifter

#15

Finland: “That we are quiet, introverted, and like our privacy. There are exceptions, especially among younger people, but most of us really don’t know how to speak to other people. If you want to start a random conversation on a bus or a train, you’d better be, like, 80 years old or drunk.”

Image credits: anonymous

#16

Scotland: “We all eat haggis, drink whisky, and wear skirts.”

Image credits: crazyface81

#17

Australia: “That the whole country is dangerous. That spiders, drop bears, snakes, feral cats, and dogs will rip your heart out every time you step out the door.”

Image credits: Cletus_Spooge_pants

#18

New Zealand: “That the only thing we care about is rugby and we all live in hobbit holes. I, for one, am absolutely terrified of rugby.”

Image credits: GalactikNZ

#19

Mexico: “The whole country is made up of deserts. It’s hot and sunny all the time. We wear sombreros all the time. We only drink tequila, and we can all dance salsa. None of these things are true about my country.”

Image credits: mitzina

#20

Spain: “So many tourists associate my whole country with bull fighting and the culture around it. In reality, most people I know hate or ignore this ‘tradition’ all together. In fact, parts of the country don’t even allow it anymore.”

Image credits: dpacheco3

#21

Italy: “That we eat pasta six times per week at least. Honestly, it’s true for the vast majority of Italians.”

#22

Sweden: “That all our women are really beautiful. Yes, it’s true, and it’s sad because I have zero chance with any of them.”

#23

India: “That a bachelor degree is worthless. You’re a shame unless you have a shiny masters or doctorate from America or Europe.”

#24

France: “Everyone is rude and unwelcoming. Most stereotypical ‘rude’ French people live in Paris. The rest of us are way more kind and polite.”

#25

Germany: “That everyone wears lederhosen. As a German, I can tell you that no one walks around in lederhosen except in Munich on Oktoberfest…or tourists visiting the country.”

#26

Colombia: “Colombian here. People immediately associate my country with c**aine and Pablo Escobar. Netflix’s Narcos sure didn’t help. The guy’s been dead for almost 30 years, and we still can’t seem to get rid of that monster.”

Image credits: Timullin

#27

England: “That we have bad teeth, bad food, and good manners.”

#28

Ukraine: We love borscht, salo and vodka.

Image credits: Proper_Translator_91

#29

Any country in Africa: “That Africa is one homogeneous country, not an entire continent made up of 50+ distinct countries.”

Image credits: ta_ref

#30

India:

Probably things like:

IT /help desk specialist

Hairy monkey

Curry deodorant

Destined for an arranged marriage

Dancing and peeking our head from behind a tree

Lol I don’t know if some of those count.

Image credits: downwitbrown

#31

Australia: I have a couple:

That we ride kangaroos, we always say “g’day”, “mate”, and “shrimp on the barby” (we call them prawns), that we’re some redneck backwards country, and that we don’t exist.

Image credits: anon

#32

UK: We all speak with a posh accent, or say “its chewsday innit bruv”.

Image credits: WhyAmIHereExactlyHM

#33

Switzerland: “Everything is clean, and everything is wildly expensive. Yes, this is entirely true.”

Image credits: TheHighFlyer

#34

Mexico: Tacos, d***s, chimichanga, nachos, lazy people, corruption, USA’s backyard, donkeys, “wey” (this one is true), poverty.

Image credits: anon

#35

Poland: “Kurwa” is the only word we say

It’s 25% true, it makes up 1/4th of our daily vocabulary.

Image credits: 1JustAnAltDontMindMe

#36

Since I do not know if there is a Main one, the few ones I know and have people said to me are:
-It is not safe to travel here

-We only speak “African” (African isn’t a language.)

-We all are extremely Poor

-We are either Elon Musk, or a Villager

-Wild Animals roam freely around the Country.

The hint for the country I am referring to is Elon Musk’s Birthplace.

Image credits: GlorifiedPanWithArms

#37

USA: Guns and fat people.

#38

Italy: Mamma mia!

#39

Finland: That were only happy and social when drunk. And sadly there’s 100% truth to it too.

#40

Brazil: We’re all hotties who play soccer and dance samba.