'the difference between showing cultural knowledge vs. expressing stereotypes.'

ahaha, I get so paranoid about this (and the fine line). When trying to explain some kind of linguistic feature my Japanese teacher will often say 'well in Japan we speak/do/feel like this....' But regardless there is a difference between *her* saying it, and me saying it. idk if it would be considered xenophobic or not, but I would feel the same way about England as well.