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Q: which country produces the more normal as well as ......interesting folk?
Of course this is a huge generalization but from your experiences?
Mine:
The wierdos : Canadian. Being from Canada i find this to be super uncomfortable. Ive met great cool ones but it seems to be 50/50.
The most normal : Australians. From my memory ive met exactly one creepy wierdo from down under. The rest have been down to earth and fun to be around and intelligent without trying to show it off. Completly changed my opinion on Aussies.
\Mass Generalization:
Canadians: most normal and down-to-earth save two nut-jobs that I had to fire and two others that I know of who are complete self-absorbed rear-ends.
Aussies: one of the best people I've met and worked with is an Aussie. Also, one of the biggest a-holes I've ever met was also an Aussie.
Americans: never met any extremes from U.S.A. Not the stereotypical Americans of lore.
Brits: Scottish and Irish (although I hate to call them Brits) are all great in my books. Those from England are some of the most crass, rude, obnoxious, arrogant people I've ever seen (contrary to my experience with them back in 'Nada.)
Kiwis: half normal, half bizarre and/or unintelligible.
Filipinos: always pleasant and fun-loving personally but mercenary in their pursuit of money at work.
Russians: fun-loving but a worse peasant mentality than any other group.
Germans: stereotypical hard-line and hard-working. Stick primarily to themselves and their own food (Thank the gods for the Paulaner Restaurants in China!)
/generalization
We should have another thread asking the same question regarding age groups. I can stratify behaviors based on age much, much more clearly by age groups that I've met here.
mike168229:
How many English people have you met?
I am a Scot but also a Brit. I resent you making a distinction for me.
Sinobear:
My family background is Scottish - I would resent being called British. All in fun, after all, this is about generalizations!
mike695ca:
Agree that americans are much more low key than expected. The brits? I cant say arrogent but I do feel they are darker and less fun and generally seem to be less happy here than other folk. Complain alot. Its not supposed to be an attack on anyone from a country. Sinobear has had his own experiences and i was curious how they compared to mine or others.
mike168229:
Of course you would resent being called British, you're Canadian!
Sinobear:
Not because I'm Canadian, it's my Scottish heritage that cringes at the thought of being disparaged by being referred to as a Brit. ALL IN GOOD FUN!
The worst insult for us Canucks is to be called an American (as in those from the lesser 50 States).Visco8:
I being an Aussie and proud of it.
We have many Brits in OZ, a couple are good mates.
But, generally (a terrible term, I know) the ones I've met here are far less than inspiring.
Let one of favourite light writers, Bill Bryson,who lived in England for some 20yrs say it ....'I've never met a race of people who can talk so long about so little'
Say no more.
MissA:
My boyfriend is Scottish, and he hits the roof if anybody refers to him as British. ("I'm SCOTTISH!!!!," says he, missing out the 't's. "Oh, really my love, what's on the front of your passport???," I intercede, drawing fire away from whatever poor unwitting person has used the dreaded 'B' word.)
Ahhh, Scottish people are a bleeding minefield. Awesome country though, if you're not too attached to your liver or too fond of good weather.
MissA:
I also had to laugh at your Kiwi comment Sinobear (any excuse, really...)
I just got back from my weekly food shop, here in Sydney, and was served at the butchers by a nice young man with an American accent. The poor guy was a bit startled by the Kiwi lady he served after me who asked for "sex sausages, please".
coineineagh:
Dearest pretend-Scotsmen, who are poking fun at centuries of conflict with England. I'll set the record straight: I take no offense to being called British because of my Scottish family, because Scotland is part of Great Britain. Without Scotland, England would just be England, and the majority of the success and prosperity that London has experienced came after the unification with Scotland. I very much dislike being called English, though. I had this problem back in Holland, and even more so here in China. Even the term Ying Guo is a bastardized phonetic facsimile of England, which I'm compelled to use to refer to my nationality almost every day. I don't hate the English, nor do many Scots nowadays. I just don't like being given a wrong nationality/identity. I also don't like the ramifications of all British achievements being credited to the English. There were far more pioneers, inventors and Scotish breakthroughs than our small population should warrant. Scots have been fearswome and courageous throughout history, and the Black Guard was the best military force the British Empire had. Being half Dutch, I'd be equally offended if people said I was German, despite the similarities and shared history. Hercule Poirot always showed visibly restrained irritation when he was call French, just because he was a French Belgian.
Sinobear:
Being half Dutch and half Scottish? My god man, I would have nightmares imagining the screams from the pennies that come into your grasp! 
"Completly changed my opinion on Aussies."
Care to elaborate on that??
I've met many nationalities in my time here, and it's hard to generalise, so I won't! I'll just pick out a few more ... outstanding examples.
Weirdest/most annoying has been, hands down, Americans. Three/four of them.
The first was a girl from Georgia, who thought that the racism in Ga. is ok, cos it's out in the open, and not hidden.... She also, apparently, asked students where she could buy drugs (apparently, of the psychiatric variety). Often didn't show to class. Major decoration in her room was an American flag... BIG American flag. And really didn't like much about China at all!
(there was also another woman from NY - quite annoying! Couldn't stand the blatant sexism, and complained about everything. She could read minds - she knew all the local Chinese males were going on about her over-sized butt.... Problem was, she didn't want to leave, or go to anywhere else! By the time she left, no-one liked her!)
Much worse were the 2 guys I met at an expat bar. One of the first questions from him to me "What university did you go to?" ... fishing..... Cos, he quite loudly and proudly said, after I baited - "Harvard". From then on, the most obnoxious, blind, ignorant, ridiculous 'patriotic' BS I've ever heard out of anyone's mouth since the 2 neo-nazi skin-heads I had a debate with many years ago. These morons actually had the audacity to say that America was not only the best country in the world, but that no other country every came close, and no other country had anything better in it (unless it was taken/bought/ copied from the US). Also said, every American has at least 2 TVs!!! And, America had never done anything 'bad' in the world. (fortunately, my other American friends said they were the type they really don't like, and brings a bad image to the rest of them).
The 2 people whom I like hanging out with and chatting with the most - a Brit and an American... in my mind, 2 cool, relaxed, intelligent, funny guys!
Most amusing - a Brit who I work with... also quite intelligent, but has a very good sense of humour. Also a Scot I met not too long after I came here, and an Irish guy who I currently work with. There was an Aussie/Canadian - but he was funny, but also insulting, so it wore off after a while.
Most offensive - a fellow Aussie - has Tourettes... the language that comes out of his mouth .. LOUDLY... makes the rest of us Aussies cringe! Especially when the footy's on.
Most obnoxious... other than those 2 yanks above.. possibly the Brits... rugby players...when they're drunk after a game.
Most easily annoyed... either a Polish girl, or a Ukrainian guy. They'd tend to get offended at some of the smallest things, and take things way too personally.
Otherwise, most people are 'normal'....
Sure. It was never anything bad but have you ever heard the way overplayed joke " Whats the capital of australia? Whistler! " jokes? Yup, thats where im from.
Aussies everywhere. Hippy boarder types hang around doinh nothing. 30 and working at Mcdonalds.. If they even had a job. Ski and nail canadian women, thats life. And they were all so god damn good looking!
So aussies definatly had a rep for being lazy whore mongers.... But thats what i deserve when i equate one very specific group of a sub culture of aussies as the entire population.
Hey i was like 20 what did I know? So yeah completly changed my opinion.
MissA:
I'd love to see Canada. Never, ever going to Whistler. What'd be the point?
The USA night have a monopoly on interesting people. Specifically, Southern California. Even more specifically, Los Angeles. It has rightly been described as a human game preserve. I make an effort to tell people in China that Americans ought not be judged by the huge numbers of Californians here. We're not all crazy.
mike168229:
"human game preserve" , like, in a jar? The same as raspberry preserve? Something to put on bread?
jleav14782:
Rare and exotic "species," preserved in an isolated area for your education and enjoyment
This thread has NOTHING to do with China, here is neither normal nor interesting people.
Sinobear:
Yes it does! We're all obviously talking and thinking about those from other countries that we encounter here in China. We're all oddballs and misfits (read: adventurers) in our own way but certain stereotypes are either supported or dispelled according to your personal experiences.
It's a great thread. Or, maybe you're Scandinavian...I heard they have no sense of humor and are far too anal.
My experience is this (it's happy fun generalize time!):
- Canadian are laid-back, like to drink and talkative. Don't normally cause trouble and usually pretty reliable. Sometimes a little too quiet and can be strange (especially the ones coming from small towns)
- American are usually very vocal which makes them the loudest people in the room. They voice their opinions much more and usually jump head first into arguments more than any other group. But that's cool because they usually give others a debating chance but can come off as arrogant... They are normally the loudest in the room until...
- English are by far the most arrogant and obnoxious, especially when drunk. I am not sure if it a sort of complex like "we made you all, or you all came from us" but a lot of English people I have run into don't even like to debate and are always right. Met some really cool ones but 80% not good.
- Australians are a lot like Canadians, laid-back, like to have a few drinks and relax. Australians tend to be a little more extrovert and Canadians introverts (maybe they are finally off the island?). Some get quite a bit physical (it's Russell Crowe, fighting round the world) in sports and when drunk but usually in good fun.
- Scottish/Irish tend to be a mixture of English/Canadian/Australians. I haven't really interacted with enough to form a generalization.
- Kiwis are like Australians but sort of unstable... the ones I met anyways lol
- Germans, I find to like to keep to themselves more than not, sort of makes them look snobbish but they usually like chatting with others too. After about 30 minutes, they revert back to German and look for other Germans and drink German beer.
- Russians, When they are not pretending to be from some other native-English speaking country... they are fun but kind of wacky too. I find most don't like hanging around westerners... maybe because of the cold-war mentality or because we will blow their cover of being from X country.
Enough generalizations for now.
* Vietnamese : the Latin of South-Asia. Hard-core optimists, incredibly crafty, very hospitable but pig-headed and I don't like their way of doing business. I personally owe a lot to Vietnamese hospitality, so I always do an extra effort when I can help a Vietnamese.
* Germans : every Germans I've met so far where cool, interesting people to hang-out with, and some are now great friends. I like their humor and work ethic 
* Kiwis : Cute, modest people with an old-fashioned British humor, and they know how to take their time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. When visiting the Shaky Islands, we (me and the wife) had a blast with the Kiwis, very hospitable people, always helpful and patient, easy to talk with them.
* Brits (and I mean Brits) : The few I met where the educated kind who studied. Very polite people, interesting to talk with, but a little bit too politically correct.
* US : Very, very diverse people. Overall, I feel they really try to "Do The Right Thing", but also a tendency to be by-the-book and self-absorbed. A strange tendency for crackpot and conspiracy theories. They can be freak'in loud, in groups.
Rightio, I'm in.
Poms...whingers, but they know how to shout.
Scots...grim, but love a drink..after which they can't speak English.
Irish...happy go lucky, love a drink...after which they can't speak English.
Frogs...full of themselves...refuse to admit they can speak English.
Italians (Sth)...jovial, love a drink and a song. Can't speak English.
Germans...only met two and (surprisingly) they were animated and happy. Love soccer and beer.
Canadians...good people, get angry when mistaken for Americans. Love ice hockey (go figure..)
Americans...kind and generous, have no clues of things not American. Won't shout due to lack of imagination. Laugh when mistaken for Canadians. Opinionated.
Kiwis...terrific people, love sport (80% rugby, 10% cricket, 10% others, eg; soccer, netball, bowls), beer, sheep and mateship. Will always shout.
Aussies...these days a real mixed bag. Extraordinarily multi-cultural. 28% of Australians are overseas born. Basically smart, open and honest. Love beer, sport and mateship. Usually look for the opportunity to continue the shout.
Chinese...money grubbing materialsitic drones.
Here's to generalisational stereotyping! 
The problem is.... all the normal folk stay at home. So we only get to meet the "interesting" ones here 
.
And RoyceH is correct. I am Scottish, and after a few too many beers I can't speak a word of English... but my Chinese improves with every drink . Gan Bei
royceH:
I tend to break into Swahili mixed in with some Gibberish which is mostly spoken in those small islands near the UK.
