You All Look Alike To Me.....

Last week I stopped by the pet store where we bought our hamsters. I needed some more hamster food and bedding. As I was paying, one of the gals at the cash desk noticed the family picture in my wallet. "Can I see the picture?", she asked. I pointed out my wife and 3 children. She immediately pointed to Erin and said, "Oh, I've seen her in here before." She then called one of her co-workers over and showed the picture to him. "See", she continued, "you've seen this girl in here before, haven't you?"

"I can't say", he replied. "All these foreigners look the same to me."

How often have Westerners thought (if not said) this of Asians? After living in an Asian country for several years, I can testify that such statements (from Westerners or Asians) stem only from a sense of what is unfamiliar. I believe that we tend to unconsciously generalize that which is foreign to us. Certainly there are some traits common to each unique race, but after spending time living in a particular foreign culture, you soon become aware of the many differences and distinctions. The Taiwanese, for instance, come in all shapes and sizes, just as Westerners do. One initially looks at the Chinese/Taiwanese race and sees only black hair. However strange you may find it, though, I've learned that there are many different shades of "black". There are also wide varieties of nose, eye, and face shape. It doesn't take too long before you realize that they certainly don't all look alike.

Along these same lines of thought, I have encountered a strange phenomenon whenever I've  returned to the West after spending some time in Taiwan (and I'm sure I'll experience again the next time I go back to Canada). That is, for the first several days and weeks after arriving back in the West, I find myself frequently looking into the faces of Caucasians and saying to myself. "I know that person!", or, "That guy looks identical to....", though all these people are complete strangers to me. I suppose having not seen many Caucasian faces for so long, my brain once again "generalizes" the images, blurring the fine distinctions that I would normally see in the people of my own race. I'm not sure how else to explain it.

Have you had a similar experience? How do you perceive it? How would you explain it?