Jade, I think one of the problems that can occur between indigenous and immigrant populations, are cultural differences concerning the ways we socially interact on an everyday basis.

Sometimes such differences are quaint or amusing, sometimes they become sore points. I went to a university with a lot of foreign students and seemingly small things can become tensions, and can build resentments over time - if they remain left unaddressed.

In Italy apparently it's quite normal to shove the people in front of you, when boarding a bus. Well of course, it used to completely fuck me off! Equally however, if I were to imagine myself as a Japanese person watching the real me doing things as I normally do, I might well appear like some obnoxious lout!

One day a Dutch girl I was friendly with told me she was "in love" with a beautiful guy she'd seen at some university social meet.
She was all sighs about him! He was Italian.

A few weeks later she told me that he'd done the most romantic thing!

They'd been sitting in the library near each other.
She left her desk for a book and when she returned, he was gone but on her desk was a love note telling her how beautiful she looked in the sunlight, asking her if she'd like to go out to ring him - and leaving his phone number.

I said "So did you ring him then?"

She pulled a face and said very matter of factly -"No of course not! If he wants to talk to me, he can just come up and talk to me!"

I never heard about him from her again..