> isn't much like "the west"

as I said: a very Western way of answering, but you brought India into the mix too.

> Open Source Local people, not the expats or visitors. I have been a regional manager. Dealt with people from China, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, India, etc. Locals. You assume and limit a lot when I point out "different backgrounds".

Every day when I pick up my son, there is a middle eastern man (nationality not important) who asks the same question; and answers himself too as "waiting for my daughter". Westerners assume this means to ask about job. It isn't everywhere.

Common sense (and assumption) isn't as common, as the environment you grow up in influences this.