mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
When we're traveling, even locally, we often encounter other travelers, or just people working in the local area. Sometimes they'll have a unique accent and I'll say "I love your accent, where are you from?". I just did this last weekend when a guy from Sweden was visiting a local winery. He was happy to tell me where he was from and we briefly discussed his travels.
We also had a waitress at one of the restaurants we visited, beautiful lady with dark skin. I couldn't tell if she was from India, Latino, Black, Native American, or maybe somewhere else. I was fascinated and curious how she ended up in that little town, but couldn't think of a tactful way to ask her. I couldn't really say "where are you from" as she probably spent her whole life in the little town we were visiting, just based on her perfect English with no accent.
I'm not a very social person by nature, and am like a fish out of water in these situations. I don't know what is appropriate and what should be left unsaid. Asking "are you black" or "are you Mexican" seems wrong, especially if I guess wrong. I've asked people what their heritage was in the past, but that felt stupid and was people I had already met before. I'm curious by nature, but maybe it's none of my business.
Is there a good way to ask these things, or is it wrong to ask at all?
We also had a waitress at one of the restaurants we visited, beautiful lady with dark skin. I couldn't tell if she was from India, Latino, Black, Native American, or maybe somewhere else. I was fascinated and curious how she ended up in that little town, but couldn't think of a tactful way to ask her. I couldn't really say "where are you from" as she probably spent her whole life in the little town we were visiting, just based on her perfect English with no accent.
I'm not a very social person by nature, and am like a fish out of water in these situations. I don't know what is appropriate and what should be left unsaid. Asking "are you black" or "are you Mexican" seems wrong, especially if I guess wrong. I've asked people what their heritage was in the past, but that felt stupid and was people I had already met before. I'm curious by nature, but maybe it's none of my business.
Is there a good way to ask these things, or is it wrong to ask at all?