Alright so here’s the thing, in my story I only have people from Europe (I am European) and people who are Asian (my sisters are all Vietnamese so I know a lot about the culture) but I wanna include more diversity so if some of y’all can talk to me about your culture/religion I would love to know more about it! Literally anyone is welcome to tell about their backgrounds and how not to offend people if I include another culture! I really don’t wanna offend anybody! So whether you’re Asian, Arab, African, Native American, etc. Please tell me about you and your experiences! I enjoy learning so give a short or long answer I will still read and appreciate it!
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I’m British North African. And I’m an atheist. I would love to see more British representation in Episode x
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I was actually planning on writing a story with a British MC! It’s not coming too soon but it is one of my favorite ideas! Any advice you’d like to give?
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Don’t use stereotypes. Not all British like tea and biscuits. We don’t have crooked teeth and we don’t all talk like the queen. Also we’re not all posh. Actually think of us as Americans with British accents.
We use a lot of slang so research British slangs (and see which are appropriate for episode). I also recommend watching some British soap operas if you really wanna see what the lower class is like (Go on YouTube and search “Eastenders”.)
Hope that helps x
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Yes of course it helps! I’ll do research! (And the girl is ridiculously smart so she was gonna talk in a very fancy way but not stereotypically.)
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I’m a second generation German/Polish Jew. I grew up in a strict orthodox jewish home. I had to wear modest skirts/dresses (which going to a public school got me ridiculed a lot) at all times. My Father wore the traditional garb as well (tassels/fringes on the corners of his shirts).
I had to follow strict dietary rules, no pork or I had to keep ‘kosher’. I once had a kid in highschool put pork in my food when I had gotten up to get another drink and then laughed when I ate it. I cried.
I didn’t get to go out with friends on Saturdays because it was the Sabbath (a day we turn off all electronics and read the torah (the first books of the old testament in the bible).
I had to study hebrew up until my bat mitzvah (and continued after). I ended up moving to israel and taught english so the hebrew came in handy.
My best friend in Highschool was a Muslim girl from Jordan. Everyone had this stereotype that we should be enemies somehow but the truth was we related to each other more than the other kids.
Now that I’m an adult and live on my own I don’t keep as strict to my jewish heritage but it is definitely something that molded me into what I am today. That is just a summary of my background.
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Gosh! I always loved learning about the Jewish religion but I didn’t know some of this!
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We aren’t all fancy and smart. That’s another stereo type. In yet to see a story where someone writes about the British lower class
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No I mean like she was gonna be not to be like a stereotype but because she’s a therapist! It takes brains! And her boyfriend is gonna be British and in lower class!
I’m Filipino. I don’t see much representation of Filipinos on Episode. When people speak about Asians they tend to mean East Asians, so I think it’s cool you have Vietnamese representation. My family is very religious, very Catholic (I’m not though).
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I’m Mexican American!!
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I relate with you so much :> especially when people ONLY talk about East Asians when they talk about Asian diversity.
Which is why I am trying to write a story with a Filipino MC as the lead. (Location is set in America though- but I do plan to write a chapter where she goes back to the Philippines during the vacation)
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I’m Australian/Thai, so I’ll just give bullet points for both, but keep in mind that I use US spelling instead of AUS and UK spelling. It’s just because I’ve gotten used to using it from around 7:
Australia:
- Football, football, football. Did I mention football? (Not soccer). Also got a football rivalry between the state of Queensland and New South Wales called the State of Origin which many Aussies watch.
- Fish and chips, burgers, pies, sausage rolls are the most common fast foods + McDonalds, KFC, Dominos, Subway etc.
- Our slang for McDonalds is “Maccas.”
- Pretty free and democratic.
- Expensive.
- Beer, beer, beer and more beer (even though I’m not personally a beer drinker at all).
- PDA is alright.
- Hot spices will give a white people the runs over here, so better to have little to no spices, aside from pepper.
Our fast food places are generally not spicy at all. - Typically a lot of swearing and political satire in our comedies. We also openly and freely make any comments about our political figures, prime minister and even the British monarch.
- Typically a bit of a tan is more desirable.
- Clean beaches.
- There are many government benefits/payouts. Our government is actually quite generous, but we often have a higher unemployment rate.
- Older people often end up in retirement homes or aged care homes rather than in the care of their children.
- There are broad indigenous cultures right across Australia, including hundreds of indigenous languages and customs but I don’t really know of those specifically since I’m not indigenous myself and nor have I been educated on it.
- We’re quite stringent with our rules, regulations and laws, but many of us find political correctness to be absurd.
- “C*nt” is our standard go-to cuss word, aside from the f-word.
- We have L plates for Learner Drivers (used for 1 year along with a log book), “Red P” plates for Provisional P1 Drivers (used for 1 year), “Green P” plates for Provisional P2 Drivers (used for 2 years) and then Unrestricted Drivers don’t need any extra plates. Our road rules vary from state-to-state. I’ve been told Australia has a lot more steps when it comes to obtaining a full license.
- Legal age of consent is 16 in my state.
- Legal age to drink is 18 in my state.
- You can apply for your Learner Driver permit at 16+.
- We often have Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of ceremonies, on some tv programs and proceedings at events and at schools to honor the Indigenous peoples of the land.
- Our school years begin in January and end later in the year (I think around November—early December. I say think because I’ve been out of school for awhile now).
- We say “university” a lot more than we say “college.”
- Our taxis are typically white or silver.
- All four wheels of our trollies (shopping carts if you’re American) swivel.
- We have a lot of both UK English and US English integrated into our spelling and culture, for example, we have football, but we also have soccer. We also use pharmacy, chemist and drug store instead of one of the other. Basically Australian English is primarily UK English with some US English thrown in.
- Our typical greeting is a handshake, smile or verbal greeting (“G’Day”, “Hello”, “Hi”, “How are ya/you?”).
- Prostitution is legal here, if you want details though, you’ll have to look that up.
- We have preschool/daycare (below 5), then primary school (5—12/13), then high school (12/13—18), then university (18+) or other institutions like TAFE (which is ‘below’ university). Our government often pays for courses for those who don’t have the funds for it (I was eligible to have up to 130,000 paid out for me).
- With a lot of government uni loans, you don’t need to pay anything back until you’re earning a certain amount and even then, the payments are small.
- You can drop out of high school at 16 if you want to, you just won’t get your high school diploma.
- We say “Year” instead of “Grade.”
- We don’t cop shit off of other countries, despite having a relatively small population compared to others (20+ million).
- There’s a relatively common hatred towards the police, but I’m sure that’s basically most countries anyway (I personally don’t mind the cops but I still get anxiety when driving because I’m a “P Plater”).
- We use kilometers instead of miles, we drive on the left side instead of the right side. Basically like the Brits do.
- We have to fill up our own vehicles at fuel stations.
- Most fuel stations don’t have much to offer here unless you’re dropping into a bigger fuel stations alongside a highway exit or something, because they typically have more to offer (Maccas, KFC, Subway, Cafes etc).
- Our air tends to be clear and our streets tend to look clean.
- There is less judgment here overall towards those who aren’t slim. It’s totally normal to see people of different shapes and sizes everyday, and most people don’t care, which is great because it doesn’t make me question how I am as much as I otherwise would.
- In Year 10 of high school, we have what’s called a “Debutante Ball” /“Deb Ball” where the girls in the year will normally go with their boyfriends or best friend. Otherwise go to the ball as a waitress/waiter. Boys wear suits, girls wear white and parents are invited and seated with the parents/family of their child’s dance partner.
- At the end of high school, we have a “Formal” instead of “Prom.” You can wear whatever you wish, a dress, suit, romper. The choice is yours, but your attire needs to be formal. The formal takes places elsewhere from the school.
- We don’t have many elevated highways (excluding short overpasses). Most of our highways and roads are on the ground.
- Our police vehicles have navy blue checkered stripes around them with a large eagle emblem between the rear doors and tail lights. The police vehicle colors vary the most common are white, silver and dark blue.
- We don’t really have restaurants on the beach like in Thailand, but I’d say the beaches are definitely cleaner in Aus.
Thailand:
- PDA? JAIL. I’m kidding about the jail part… but PDA is really frowned upon over there. I’m mostly referring to like couple affection.
- Rice, rice and more rice. Not complaining, I love rice and I’m glad it’s apart of so many dishes. It’s a fundamental.
- It’s rude to touch the top of people’s head or have your feet up and pointing towards someone.
- It’s rude and highly frowned upon to disrespect the monarch. I think it could even be illegal. People are super fearful of speaking out. I remember a man commenting on the previous King’s dog and being sentenced to jail for about 10 years.
- It’s a legend or whatever you want to call it — you turn into a snake if you eat on the floor whilst laying down.
- Eating on the ground with your legs crossed is pretty normal.
- Squat toilets are pretty normal with no toilet paper, but rather those little hose things (idk what you call them), but sometimes they only have a cup or bucket and water.
- Instant hot water systems (with the box on the shower wall) with the portable shower heads are really common, unlike here in Aus.
- Younger members are expected to care for older family members.
- Bread isn’t really a big thing there nor is butter, by that I mean, it isn’t as commonly eaten by Thais as it is by white people.
- It’s rude to not do the Thai greeting.
- It’s rude to not donate money to the temples.
- You can sometimes get drinks served in a little plastic bag with a straw in it instead of in a cup.
- Comedy shows typically use a lot of sound fx, makeup and sometimes costumes.
- Lighter skin is more desirable. Most skin products have whitening agents.
- Trans women and gay men are a huuuuge part of the culture and I love that it’s so normalized. I can’t really say the same for Australia though.
- Sometimes prices are higher for foreigners than they are for Thai people.
- Some Thais eat various bugs such as grasshoppers and mangdar (don’t know if I’m spelling that right, but it’s like a large water cockroach).
- Low unemployment rate. Almost everyone has a job or earns money somehow. As far as I know, the Thai government isn’t generous when it comes to payouts or pensions.
- Prostitution is a huge part of some districts in holiday destinations (I’ve seen them first hand so don’t even try to tell me otherwise).
- Fast food isn’t generally that popular there, as in, it’s isn’t really a “Hey, let’s have McDonalds tonight” type thing. My family over there hates it every time I ask for fast food and every single time, they don’t order any for themselves. 🤷 But most of the fast food places over there have spicy food as the norm, so spicy chicken, etc.
- I’ve literally never seen any plates that indicate learner or provisional drivers.
- In a lot of taxis, there are no seatbelts in the rear seats, and only the driver and front passenger are required to wear seatbelts. Taxis are also typically all yellow, pink, green, red or blue (it’s hard to miss them!).
- There are also other taxis called “songtau”s (again dunno if I’m spelling that right) and they’re utes/pickups with a roof and seats in the back of the ute.
- The supermarkets are huuuuuuge and there is a lot of bulk buying because so many products are wrapped that way. The trollies (or shopping carts if you’re American) only have rotatable front wheels, the rear wheels don’t swivel.
- Sniffing can also be a sign of affection, I think this applies more so to the elderly though. My grandma over there used to sniff me all over and my mom told me that it was affection, so I guess it’s a different version of a kiss.
- In many of the villages, the typical sleeping environment is a thin mat on the floor with a Thai pillow (different from a standard western pillow). Their pillow are typically like triangular prisms, but some of there are like square prisms. Blankets are optional.
- Most villages will have buffalos and plenty of their excrement on the roads.
- Many residents in villages venture to the cities to find better work and earn more money. They also usually send some of it back to their families.
- Many fuel stations have staff there that will fill up your car for you so you don’t even have to get out.
- A lot of fuel stations have restaurants and Amazon stores (selling drinks, not other products).
- There are many streets that both look dirty and smell repulsive. The sky also tends to look grey.
- There is open judgement towards those who aren’t very thin. I’ve experienced it even though by a western standard I’m borderline healthy/underweight. It’s one of the things I hate most about visiting there, I always feel worse about how I look.
- Some restaurants only serve your food with chopsticks.
- A lot of markets are packed, hot, humid and require you to duck your head down here and there if you’re anywhere over 5’1.
- Most beaches at tourist attractions have restaurants on the sand with beach umbrellas, chairs, tables and waiting staff so you can eat and socialize while looking out at the beach.
- Most medications are pretty expensive, well from my experience anyways. I’m not a Thai national so I don’t know if meds are cheaper for citizens or not, but I pay about $6 per box in Australia for broad antibiotics but in Thailand, they charged me over 3,000 baht (over $100, around $120-$150) for the same box. I bought my medication in the hospital instead of from a pharmacy.
- The health system also seems to be quite different compared to Australia. It seems like most people get their medications from the hospitals instead of pharmacies, they also tend to go to hospitals for general check-ups and things like that instead of mostly going to GPs (like in Aus).
I’m also not religious, so I don’t really have anything to add with regards to specifics in religion apart from aspects of Buddhism that I’ve observed from my mom and her side of the family.
I’ll add more later maybe, and these are obv just from my own personal (and general) experience with both. It might differ for others.
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This super interesting thank you so much!
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Anyways I’ll add some of my input as a Filipino 
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Rice is a staple for meals here - I personally grew up eating rice with “ulam” (viand?) and I don’t think I can live without eating rice for a week. Of course, other people are used to eating bread, pasta etc. Even mcdonald’s or any fast food chain that serves chicken has rice too
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We greet our elders by saying “mano po” and holding the back of their hand to touch our forehead. That or we kiss the back of their hand. Nowadays we don’t do this because covid.
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Children usually live with their parents to take care of them when they get older. At the age of 18, some aren’t forced to move out since it is expensive af to find a decent place. Thus, there’s a chance they can inherit the ancestral house they’re living in.
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People are mostly religious. I can’t say much as it is self-explanatory. I know there are people here who are atheists, but they’re closeted or not open to their family since… people get disappointed here when you stray away from God and all that :< (I’m Roman Catholic, but I believe I have a very open view about everything)
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I’mma add something about Zimbabwe since I don’t know much about other African cultures.
- Sadza is the staple food here, though it’s been a debate for a long time whether it’s maize or sadza. Sadza’s a mixture of mealie meal and water, which is cooked until it thickens considerably (I’m not sure how to explain it since I don’t really like it
) It’s most commonly eaten with green vegetables (muriwo) and meat (usavi or nyama). Something like this:
Summary
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The most common religions here are Christianity and ATR (African Traditional Religion). I’m sure you know about Christianity, but ATR is a religion that believes in ancestral spirits, rituals, svikiro (people who are the ancestral spirit’s spokesperson. They are possessed by the spirit and say prophecies, whatever the spirit wants to say, in a sense). Svikiro are very important.
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Most families greet their parents/elders by saying:
In the morning: Mamuka sei?
Afternoon: Maswera sei?
And… I forgot the evening part. However, some families (like mine) just say the usual 'Morning! Good Afternoon! Good night! -
You are expected, when you get older and have money, to take care of not only your parents, but your entire family. I’m not exaggerating. If you take a trip to your rural area (refer to my next point) your grandparents are gonna want something, be it groceries or money. Same thing with all your great aunts and uncles, even if they’re very distant relatives. Sometimes your grandparent’s workers and friends want something, too.
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Like in all countries, there’s the rural area, and the urban area. In my country, most parents, grandparents believe that once all your kids have finished school and you’ve retired, you should go back to the family home in the rural area, or more commonly known as kumusha. There’s a lot of farming done there, and if you’ve gone for a trip, it’s guaranteed you’ll be coming back with organic peanut butter, maize, avocados, fruits, nuts, the like. There are some kids who grow up in the rural areas then come to the city for education like university, sometimes. Squat toilets are really common here.
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Living is really expensive now if you’re using the country’s currency. If you’re using USD, then it’s cheap.
Here’s some stuff about the people, not the country itself.
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Zimbabweans aren’t dark skinned people, as we’re more commonly described as brown skinned. The darker Africans are found in West Africa. The complexions in Zimbabwe range from light skins (more commonly known as yellow bones here), to brown skins. Occasionally, you’ll find your dark skinned person, but we rarely get to the complexion level of, say, Lupita Nyong’o.
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Gen Zs use a lot of slang now, but there’re differences. There’s private school slang, which is spoken by the rich and middle-class to upper-class slang kids, just as long as they attend a private school. Then there’s the other slang, which is used by everyone else.
I’ll add more later!
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As a German who grew up with the German und Russian culture, I’ll add my Instagram post about writing German characters, if you consider including German characters.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKba6k-Fj2t/
If you have any questions or need a German translator, feel free to pm me. 
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I am indian but grew up as an spanish child ('cause my mom is spanish)
Not too much interesting things about my life but let’s list some…
- We love eating Crema Catalana , Gambas Ajillo , Tortilla Espanola and Tapas
(and ofc how could I forget rice) - We love to spend our free time on beaches,reading books,or spending time with our families.
- Parents always go spanish crazy on me and my siblings whenever we do something wrong
- And I sometimes live in india with my aunt and uncle and sometimes in california with my mom and dad
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Oooh ok!! That’s interesting x
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Someone I know has a new story coming up and they’re looking for diverse characters to play fugitives. I don’t know what the story is about but it’s probably about a gang. I’ll ask her. Maybe the mc could be a Filipino?
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