[XOMichelle]

Sistermadly,
I've found that people from other countries don't have the same sensitivity toward race and other personal issues that we do. For instance, when I was in Spain, people would nickname the fat kid "gordo" or "gordito" or the skinny one "flaca". In fact, there is a popular TV talk show on the Spanish TV here in the US called el Gordo y la Flaca, staring a skinny woman and a fat man. They would call things like they were, or at least how they thought they were. They don't see talking about stereotypes as something to avoid, or something that you should take offense to. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, I would use these small times to educate your co-workers about how different Americans are. You can say things like, not all African Americans are religious, although they do portray us that way on TV. So they get the idea that you are unique, and not solely a product of the culture they think you are.


ETA-
he he, I re-read your post and I realized that I didn't answer your question at all. Whoops. Actually, I had a lot of people assume I was all for invading Afganistan (and the president I didn't vote for!) when I was in Spain. They thought I was stupid, conservative, and rich becasue I was American. At first I was embarassed that I gave off these vibes, but I realized later I had nothing to do with it, these people were making assumptions about me that had no backing in real life.