Doesn't some of those "helps" came with debts for Portugal? The English were well-know money lenders after all.

I think they charged for the protection of the portuguese fleet that sailed to Brazil during the Napoleonic Wars if I remember right.

Also, the English stimulated a full-scale war between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay (Everyone vs. Paraguay) due to commercial competition between them and the paraguayans in South America (Not to say that Paraguay had quite a megalomaniac ruler at the time). The war caused heavy losses to all of the involved countries (Not to say, big debts with the English due to the purchase of guns and everything) and 75% of the male population of Paraguay was killed.

Curiously, the first international loan in the history of Paraguay was with the English to pay the reconstruction of their country.

I don't like to drink tea myself. It's quite smooth with the milk, add in the taste of tea that I don't like, and that's it.

In my country, if your skin is white enough you're very welcome and be treated like kings and queens. If your skin is black, dress well, then you can be kings and queens too. Just look good and not yellow and you shall be praised to heaven.

Otherwise, Chinese is just like everyone else.

Chai, as they call tea in the Indian subcontinent, is a concotion of milk, sugar and tea. A national drink, drunk eery morning and evening, and whenever one feels like it. It is due to the fact that the British were here back in the day. They make some of the best tea varieties in India (Assam, Darjeeling) and Sri Lanka.

Ever tried "Chai tea latte" in your local Starbucks? To my ears, it is redundant, translating to "tea tea milk".

Why do they care so much about race ?

That kinda answers part of another question I had, but I will ask anyway. Do people in HK hate the British ?

Ewww starbucks. Im guessing your Indian from your post.

Brothers and sisters are natural enemies! Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URSRa8zf_LU!

When I was in HK, I seemed to be treated pretty well by the local Hong Kong chinese people. The main lander's were more aggressive though...

Now say it fast and tell me what it sounds like

I would totally visit Korea, they seem great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ave6yOWKlj4).

I kinda skipped through it but, what the asia did get directions from anyone, or were they just not good enough? Thats what I got from it without watching it and only reading some of the annotations.
Then it asked would I help him; If he confronted me and I knew where he was going, yeah otherwise I'd stay about my business.

Racism lives in everyone of us. I personally is indifferent to whoever I'm talking to, but that's probably because I met friends from many parts of the world playing D&D and MMOs.

Some HK people still live in the colonial dream that they are potential British citizens. White people are superior over other Asians and those with darker skins. If you are black, respects go to those who dressed up like NBA players or Black Eyed Peas. The only good Asian is the Japanese. This concept has been planted deep in the minds of HK people for many many decades and will probably stay for the next decade.

There, fixed it for you.
I am American.

Never noticed that before, and now I am corrupted for life.

Surround yourself with as much of the language (and culture of the language) as you can. With Japanese, this is easy: watch anime. Listen to the music, watch the movies, read the books. Yes, the sticky notes are a good idea. (Warning: use something more sticky. I tried sticky-ing words a few times, and the notes always landed on the floor within 5 minutes.) Learning about the culture is very important: it helps you to understand how the people who speak the language think, and often explains more esoteric/ephemeral concepts and words. Scientists have done tests on people who learn languages easily, and they've found that these people all have the same basic attribute in common: they put themselves in the shoes of those whose language they are trying to learn.

For English people, is you hygiene (especially teeth) as bad as many many people make it out to be. I have read a few things on the good ol' internet where some Scots said that English people did indeed have a lot of dental problems.

Free health and dental care for a reason
- For under 16/18 yr olds anyway

Yeah, it's true.

I asked cause I saw this thing about the English and the olympics, and in the comments some guy got to them and hygiene and said, they also need to brush their tooth or something like that and I thought it was rather funny.

No, it's no worse than any other 1st world country as far as I'm aware. I have no idea where that stereotype, or the one about us having bad food came from.

...That's all BS. Our teeth aren't any worse than anyone else's, I read somewhere that it only became a stereotype because in the good ol' days Britain (specifically England) used to consume much more sugar than any other nation which obviously lead to dental problems because of the lack of dental hygiene back then... Nowadays, every nation eats copious amounts of sugar, so it balances out.

No, it's not. It's one of those "where did that idea come from?!" things that seems more bizarre than anything else. There is some truth in dental care not being as good as it was when I was a kid as large swathes of it are effectively privatised in that there are many areas where it's no longer possible to register as an NHS patient and the price of private treatment is prohibitive, but even with that in mind, the stereotype in question is wildly inaccurate.

Ha. For France, it's totally true, I must say : but it's not directed towards foreigners as such. The south and Paris will overprice french people as well, *and* be outrageously rude and scornful on top of everything else.

I read the original question incorrectly. (I haven't had my obligatory three cups of morning coffee yet.) I thought he was asking about bad-as-in-crooked teeth, not bad-as-in-dirty-and-rotten teeth. My mistake.

No, the English do not have dirty mouths, in the literal sense. Yes, they do have crooked teeth.

Well I did mean in any way, I just worded it very poorly. The joke just wanted to make me ask.

That's the stereotype in America too, not bad hygiene, but crooked teeth.

In England there is a town called Dorking, I imagine that doesn't stir giggles there like it does here. Correct?

Surely by definition the stereotype about Brits having crooked teeth is BS? Why would more people be born with crooked teeth in one nation than any other...?

In the wacky world of English place names, Dorking is pretty mild.

I believe it is the American obsession with whitening and straightening that causes that perception. In reality we don't bother with trying to achieve that bizarre uniformity that American film stars have.

In terms of actual health, I believe British children are supposed to have the healthiest teeth. Free dentistry tends to do that.