When I get that question, I answer where I'm living at that moment. No reason telling them I was born in Holland, Dutch parents, started moving when I was 3 months old.
Pretty confusing for them when I answer, I'm living at 2 places: my old parents house (where my parents ain't living) and the city where I'm going to college.
When I tell them this, I get the answer: Where do you're parents live? They live in China. But you don't look Chinese.... Even this makes people confused.

# Do you want the long version or the short version?
# That’s a tough question.
# Well, all over the world really. Where are you from?

The first two I got a kick out of. The third is what I usually say. Well I'll just say I'm America; which I am. I am an American who lived in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, France, and technically Dubai (3 months). But I'm just an American. I do feel a home attachment to France, though.

Bryarly's "Planet earth" was good:)

I usually say Tahiti because I get a kick out of the silly responses like:
"Oh really, well how can you speak english then, huh?"or "oh, I'm so sorry, did you lose any one in the earthquake?" or "Really! You aren't Muslim are you?".
Don't worry the last one I got only once and it was in Canada, and the other ones were at teen summer camps I went to.
Oregon's a good one when I'm in Tahiti because people who don't care about shopping too often don't know where it is, and I've gotten responses like:
"that's in Los Angeles, right?" or "oh, so you're English" or "cool, Ive never been to France before!".
These make me sad, especially when it's from someone older than me. Well, that's what you get for sleeping through geography class!

Planet Earth

I often tell people where I am from. I have a very English accent, lots of Americal relatives and I live in Australia. My ancestors are from many countries, I am Mongrolian, you know, Mongrolia, where the Mongrels come from. In Australia, as else where, 'mongel' can be a term of abuse. I love being 'a dog with many fathers'! I look and sound like a very upper middle class Englishman because, in a way I am. I chuckel a lot when I see some peoples faces when I tell them all this. Perhaps I am conscious of my biological and my step heratige (Lots of both). PerhapsI am proud and happy to be kin to all on the planet. I know of my European ancestry - lots about it. I suspect Jewish ancestors and am sure of anti-semites among them. I strongly supect with no direct evidence, much more. I have lived in the Far East, Africa, Europe, the United States and Australasia anywhere and I can feel at home ... even if the natives think me wierd (which I am!) Another answer I can give to "Where are you from?" is"The othe side of Sirious" ... but you too will have to be a bit wierd to grasp the sense of that one! I LOVE being ME. How about you??

Its so uplifting to read these comments! :)

I normally don't even answer the question. I just tell them that My mom is from England (which is the short answer) and my Dad is from Australia but we live in Spain. See? I don't say anything about where I'M from. Most people never notice and are satisfied with my answer.

If I feel like the glazed look I tell the whole story about where my Mom is REALLY from and then how we've moved a ton of times and I have an american accent because of going to an MK school. But by that time people are a little confused.

I LOVE when they ask me, It's fun to see reactions and get people confused, but best of all it sparks up great cultural conversations. Being in Miami, it's become more common to be from everywhere. My mom is Peruvian My dad is Dutch, I was born in India, but lived in many different countries. IMPORTANT question I have been asked: WHERE DID YOU LIVE THROUGHOUT YOUR HIGHSCHOOL YEARS.?because those will be the years that the place will most likely feel like home to you, I never thought about but it's true. Unless throughout Highschool you were in different places as well. :) Now living in Miami for FAR too long, I simply say Miami is my Home. Great topic!

In the past I've said, " I'm a third American a third English and a third Brazilian" however, that really confuses people, apparently you can't be a third anything, it's either half or whole, no thirds.

I was born and raised in Brazil, by an American mother and English father. When I first came back to live in England, I used to give the above answer, and be told that I couldn't be Brazilian then because my parents weren't. Then I'd say that I hadn't lived in England or the States, and they'd say I wasn't those either then. So that leaves me with no countries...hmm...quite upsetting at the time.

Now I just pick a country, or say "Mom's American, Dad was British but I was born in Brazil". Or "Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic." and then have to expand anyway. If they ask where in Brazil then we are in trouble again, but that doesn't often happen, I just give them a despairing look and they retract the question.

I like the answer, "Which year?" that someone gave :D

I was born in Argentina, lived in the US and France and am currently living in Chile, with both an Argentine and an Italian passport (and now that Hungary is part of the European community I figured that one EC passport is enough). In the US when they ask me where are you from, I just say Argentina. Then the response is "but you're white!" (I have red hair and light brown eyes, white skin) "and you don't sound Mexican" ...
My mom, who is blond with blue eyes was asked the language question and the response was "yes, the natives speak Spanish, but what language do YOU speak?"

I love this! I too must have used all of the above answers atleast 500 times!
Im a nomad. Thats where I no mad at you and you no mad at me!

raised by wolves

to friends i answer seriously. but when some random person asks, i just say i dont know for sure because I was found. because I am part Kiwi among many other things, and my uncle use to tease me when I was young saying my parents found me the Eketahuna mudblocks behind the taupaki takeaway, I just use that. If I really want to take the piss ill say I dont have a birthday, I have a found date. You'd be surprised how many people believe it.

My answer?
"It's a long story."
And if they persist.
"Well, my parent's are American, but I was born in Jordan, spent my early life in Egypt, and I've been in England for 9 years now."
It's fairly short, concise, and usually leaves people confused enough not to continue questioning.
I've sometimes just said "American" since that is what my accent is. But then I get questions about America, and never having lived there, I can never answer.
And now with two passports, American and British, I'm even more confused. Definitely going to be using some of these answers in the future though.

I'm ethnically Chinese, born in China, with an American passport, adopted to an American mother and a Chinese American father, attending an International School in China most of my life,with grown sibs and family living in both China and America.
In China, when in public with my mom, people often think I am a translator or a storekeeper and are surprised she is my mom. Some Chinese people ask if your dad is Chinese and that I should bring him to translate, but he doesn't speak much Chinese!
In China I say I'm from America. People often stare at me because I speak English more than Chinese and I act more western.
In America less people ask me where I'm from and stare less. It's tricky for me to explain where I'm from because I think America but I was born and live in China but live a mostly western lifestyle. I have a US passport, US birth certificate but look Asian and live in China.

The next time someone asks me where I am from I would just say I'm from the spirit world.

Living in Ukraine for 2 years now, after roughly 10 years in Russia, (landed there in 1994, 18yo).

Here, I usually say 'from Russia,' although both in Russia and here, I have often been asked, "hey you're from Lithuania, aren't you?" (because of my accent)

If people press me, I just say, "from Russia, but I was born in America," and does that get people confused. =)

Our kids (7, 5, and 3yo) think they're Russian, so far - they were all born there, speak Russian, etc.


When we're in the States (very rarely), I just say "born in North Carolina, but now I'm more from Russia. =)

Most of the time I ask back: "When?" They get so confused... :)

I always answer:

I'm from PLANET EARTH? Do you know where that is?

OR

I'm from my Mothers Womb! How about you?

I'm a second generation TCK and my kids are third. My mother when she came to the US to go to college had just moved 6 months before. At a get acquainted gathering they went around introducing themselves. My mother hadn't stopped to think what she was going to say till it came her turn. She stated her name and then froze and finally blurted out, "and I don't know where I'm from." She didn't live that down for a long time.

I've definitely used each one of those at least twice

LOL.

In fact. TCKid can be quite a "grumpy" group!

It doesn't bother me non-TCKs asking where I'm from as much as TCKs complaining about non-TCKs asking THEM Where are you from!!!

Just Get ON With Life!!! Okay!?!??!~~~

Get OVER it!

We are the minority. We adjust. NOT the majority should adjust us!

And I'm a TCK... who doesn't want to live in a nutshell such as TCKid Community...

It truly depresses me! (That's why I left.)

I'm so sorry to have left my e-mail... and thus am keep receiving letters from you guys... it's just that I didn't know at that point how it'd all be.

No one's complaining. This is just a place where we can laugh at our differences together. I'm not active in the TCKid community because I do get on with life, and fully enjoy it. But it's still nice to read about people who face the same situations you do every once in a while. A phrase I use often which accurately describes this is "Same difference".

So please, refrain from posting bitter comments. People who come here come to share their stories and be built up, not torn down.

Best of luck adjusting whoever you are.

I love it when people argue with me as to where I'm from.

"No you can't be Chinese, you sound American!"
"Actually by nationality I'm British, but my parents are both Chinese."
"So you're not American?"
"Not really, no."
"Are you Canadian then?"
"Nope."
"Are you SURE?"

I get "Where's your *accent* from?" a lot. Like, uh, everywhere?

"It depends whom you ask."

When I am asked this question here in the US, I tend to say "I am from France", since I first came here as an exchange student from a French University. When I am asked where in France... that's when it gets complicated. My parents are living in Paris, so I would go with that. If the person asks me where I was born though... ugh! Brazil. "Oh, wow!" is the usual reaction; since I live in South Texas, people eventually speak Spanish at one point, and I will reply in the language. Ugh again. "Oh my, how come you speak Spanish? Cause you were born in Brazil?" UGH! No, Portuguese is the official language in Brazil. I speak Spanish because my Mom is from Spain, and so am I. Last and most common question: "Where is your last name from?"... triple ugh! Russia. My father's family migrated from Russia to France before WWII. At that point, the person is completely lost and will 1) either try to repeat all I said (and fail); 2) or just make a grumpy look and throw a "oook..." (hence, he/she did not follow what I said). Lol! Ny uncle once said something very true when my cousins teased me by telling me I was from nowhere... "You are a citizen of the world, dear! And you sh0uld always be proud of that!" :-) That is what we all are at TCKID! Citizens of the world!

did you know that Buenos Aires is the capital of Brazil? you would be amazed to hear how many times I've been asked that

You come from Venezuela?
Ohh so you speak Italian?
Hummm no why?
Oh isn't Venezuela in Italy?
Nop... It's in South America, you know... near to Colombia and Venezuela...
Ahh! Sure! sure! Ok... So what language do you speak then?

I've also got : "Ohh Venezuela! So you speak very good English! (they think its in the US)... And the funniest stuff is when they ask if we have electricity :)

Sounds so familiar to me. My kids already used some of the same lines. Interesting One of them was also " To be honest I am not so sure. My brother and I were born in one country, growing up in several countries, my mum is from.... father from.... but we never lived in those countries. So where I come from?"

I tend to open with "I moved around a lot" and if they ask further questions then I'll give them the long version.

i usually say, "everywhere and nowhere."

That's usually my conclusion of the long version :)

I like reading these. My husband gets so frustrated at me when someone asks me that question and I freeze. Every time. Usually I let him answer "American". For him, it's a straightforward, easy question. If the person we're talking with is only being polite, that answer usually suffices.

I usually say, "Planet Earth," and leave it at that. It's completely true and usually the response gets a laugh.

I love that one, funny and true!

"Your accent, you're American right?"
Me: "Uhm no"
"Really? You sound like a California girl"
Me: "I was born in Japan, but I spent most of my childhood in South America"
"But your English..."
Me: "International School and then college in the states"
"Ah! That's the Californian accent"
Me: "Actually New York City. (sigh)"
"And now you live in Japan where you are really from?"
Me: "I was only born in Japan, the rest of the time was just me wandering this magical planet....it's only one planet after all."
"Now I'm really confused"
Me: (shrug)

Oh I remember those conversations, it always ends up with the other person getting confused.

it's like there is no way you could have gotten the accent by not living in the US... OK personally my accent is very American, however I only spent like 4 months and a few vacations there.

I always just end up saying the same as you, that's what the International schools do for ya!

depends on the year

LOL! Oh wow. I travel quite a bit, I sound American... although I've never been there, and hang out with friends from all over... I get asked this question A LOT! Most of my friends now just shake their heads and walk off... or look at me wondering "what is her answer going to be today?"

I've come to the conclusion that it's just easier to say "Europe!" IF they ask "but where in Europe?" then I'll go into the whole story of
My mom is French
My dad is English
I was born and raised in Iceland
and for the last 5 years I've been living in Greece.....

We truly are well mixed and thoroughly confused! LOL

My cousin and I invented a country. St. Artois. We made up an entire history, geography, government, map, flag, etc. for it, and we both use it as our answer.

Most people feel stupid for not knowing it, and a few people say they have heard of it (hahaha) You do get a lot of confused looks, but it's better than the same old reference volume about where you really ARE from!

I use "EPPLE"

E thnic- Chinese

P assport- ROC Taiwan

P arents- same as above

L ocations Lived- Uruguay, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Repatriation...

E ducation- Mostly shaped by the American Education

=D

You can use it too!

I invented it !!! XDD~~~~~~

A very difficult question indeed, even at the age of 47. Most often I've told what parts of the U.S. my parents were from and that I'm just new to wherever I currently was. As I've gotten older the question arises less often, but it is still hard not being "from somewhere", because I'm really from several different places in my heart. The answer "I've lived in several places" covers the base for people who don't need a detailed answer, which is most everyone.

to a Lebanese I say "canadian"
to a Syrian I say "I grew up in lebanon" (so they assume from my arabic accent that I'm just a lebanese who looks very foreign)
to a canadian I say either "weellllll I grew up in the middle east" or "BC"
on an internet profile thing (e.g. facebook) I just say "Planet Earth"
and to people who I actually care about whether they understand or not, I say "I'm technically a canadian, but I grew up all my life in the Middle East (I only specify if they ask cuz most people don't really know their Middle Eastern geography too well) so I don't really know where I'm from cuz there I'm a foreigner and here I'm like a duck out of water"
I like yours tho! especially "I'll let you know when I find out" :D

I am a second generation Third culture kid and my daughters are now the third generation. My Dad was born and grew up in India as a missionary kid. I was born in Ecuador and our family moved around - alot! One sister was born in the US and another in Pakistan. My wife is Colombian and my daughters were born in Venezuela and Panama. We are now in the process of moving from London to Bucharest.

The answer to the dreaded "Where are you from questions" ...

1. America
2. Florida - this answer usually satisfies most enquirers who go on to tell me about their Disney vacation
3. near Gainesville, Florida
4. Houston - easy answer since I am in the oil business
5. the last place we lived, which is London right now
6. South America
7. Introduce my wife and let her talk their ear off about Colombia
8. Venezuela - the place I lived longest in my life
9. Mumble the name of a place and ask them where they are from
10. Never, ever tell the long version because their eyes will glaze over before I am even out of high School or there will be a barrage of questions about "Why did you move so much..?" or my all time favorite "Don't you miss being from somewhere?"

1. "Anaheim" : when ppl in my college asks me where I'm from
2. "U.S."/ "CA"- when Koreans ask me where I'm from when I visit
Korea
3. "Seoul"
4 "Korea"- when I'm pressured by ppl to tell what country I actually came from -_-
5. "I'm Korean, but I live in U.S."- when i visited Thailand last
summer and had to tell where i'm from lmao
6. "I was born in Korea, lived there for 8 yrs, moved to Bangladesh,
lived there for 3 yrs and 8 months, moved back to Korea and lived
there for about 3 yrs, and then I moved to U.S."-longer version,
but I barely use it cuz its a lot of hassle

For me the hardest thing is not all the long explaining of 52 addresses I've had, because with people you can always sort of judge whether they want the long version or short version and go from there.

For me what is hard is filling out forms - like when I was applying for financial aid for college and I knew that if I put I was hispanic I would get have different financial aid options (better ones) but I'm not fully hispanic so would I be lying and sued for fraud?

They ask what nationality are you and you HAVE to either be one thing or the other cuz you can't fill out more than one box or you get disqualified altogether. So you're either white, Hispanic, African American, Native American or other.

What the heck is an OTHER!?

I put a check mark by OTHER so as not to answer untruthfully to any of the other options.

And then I spend three days in an emotional crisis feeling like I tried so hard to be truthful on the form that I was untruthful to myself.

Now when people ask me "where are you from?" I just say

"what year?"

At the moment, I like throwing people a curvebaal.

Right now I live in Aachen, and was actually born in Cologne(which is around the corner - only one hour away). So when people ask me where I'm from I answer "I was born in Cologne!"
They never believe me though, because my accent doesn't fit(in German, there is one standardized grammar, but every 100 kilometers, the accents differ, and I don't have the one from Cologne which is quite specific).
But then I insist that its true(which it is), and they get really confused. Rarely do I then get prompted as to where I grew up, and I leave the people in utter confusion, or perhaps thinking that I am some linguistic anomaly... ^^

I love - 'It depends how I'm feeling'.

So true. I been through so many different types of responses.

If I'm tired, I just simplify it by choosing one country, but a lot of people are not satisfied by that response. And sometimes it feels dishonest to myself and my identity, like I've put myself in one box when in fact I need a few boxes. Many times I just didn't want to be complicated or seem like I was showing off. And sometimes, when I was younger, if I was honest and told the whole story, people would tell me where they thought I was from!! As if I had given them a complex mathematical equation and they had worked it out for me!

My mother is Ugandan, father is British, but I've never lived in Uganda, and I do not speak the language, I was born in Nigeria and raised in both the UK and Kenya and am quite comfortable in both cultures, my brother says he's Kenyan, but I find people's next question is always, 'okay, what tribe?' 'Nairobian' doesn't cut it, maybe in a few generations it will.

And then people find out I speak Chinese and things get very messy. Ha ha.

If the person is attractive I'll say 'born in A then raised in BCD , from different nationality parents x and y, never lived in my passport country. But mostly I like wine and who are you?
But if I'm tired or the people look like they just need to tick the box, I'll say Belgian even if incorrect, because that's a country no one knows too well, as a blonde I can fit a stereotype and look like one, my real name too, I speak the languages, it ticks their box and everyone is happy. And if by amazing chance they actually come from there, I can pull off coming from the other end of the minuscule country and still have no point in common. It works great!

Maybe a lot of people here are new at that stuff. After a number of years, I find the question a bit of a pain and Belgium, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein et al. have come in mighty handy.
My tip is find a small stereotype country and let people hear what they want to hear.

I've actually used at least half of those answers before. Lately my answer has been, "From my parents," which usually results in strange looks and further questioning. I usually leave it at, "I was born in the U.S. but I grew up in Latin America." If they really want to know, they'll eventually find out the whole story: Born in Kansas, Mexico for 14 years, Costa Rica for 2 years, then England, and now I live in Oklahoma.

While in England I took a trip to Paris, where a gentlemen bet me he could guess my nationality. British? No. Irish? No. Canadian? No. Oh, (in a disappointed tone) you must be American then.

Not really, but that's what my passport says!

Hi,
I have tried most of the responses listed above. But at this point, when I qet the dreaded question, my response is
"I'm from Planet Margo."

Um, it depends.
! - love that one. I can even imagine a sincerely innocent look that goes with that statement - the calm before the storm(before you get asked further questions, since now, you've definitely got the person interested).

As a kid, I wasn't really aware of my TCK past yet, so I always said I came from the country I lived in before(which was true, but not the whole story). Anyway, as kids are, the new kid always gets picked on(I ususally didn't fit the standards of what was cool). So coming to germany from the U.S.A., I was called "Indianerschlitzer"(Indian-cutter) by a select few. Then Monaco was fun, because even though I got ripped on for being a Nazi, it was fun to see Italians get ripped on for being wannabe Nazis, and the French were ripped on for losing to the Nazis. So all in all, it was pretty cool, because very little kids actually had roots in Monaco(even if they were born there, their parents usually came from somewhere else). Then I went to russia, and told them I was from France(god forbid Monaco - I lived in Novosibirsk - in the end less than 10 people knew where I really came from). That was a tough one for them, because russia had a positive relationship to France... but in the end they came to the consesus to call me a Bonapartist(who invaded russia and got his ass kicked). But I found that amusing rather than insulting, and after that I came to terms with me being a TCK.

When I'm in Israel I'm "That girl from the states"
When I'm in the states I'm "That girl from Israel"
Anywhere else I usually say that I'm from Israel because that's where I live currently...

I honestly have no idea, because my answer changes so often! But I love this, I'm gonna try saying "do you mean where I was born or where I grew up?" next time someone asks me.

OUCH! Indeed! Tough question!!!!

I had a hard time answering it as well!

And my versions have a "evolution"

B4 anwering, I always pause, and think how much the asker would understand! (Depends on how ignorant the asker is)

Only in this website readers may understand my truest version:

Born in Taipei, Taiwan to Taiwanese parents
Spent kindergarten years in Uruguay
First grade to fourth grade in Paraguay (attend Spanish-speaking school whose Spanish name means "International School")
Fourth to Seventh in Taiwan (I had a severe counter-culture shock)
Eighth to Twelveth in Nicaragua
And am starting Freshman yr in College in Taiwan (again, but had another counter-culture shock for living in Nicaragua for six yrs. I repeated Junior yr in High School due to a personal meltdown due to culture shocks, loneliness and my abusive family!!~~)

I found God then and...... became a Christian last yr XD

TCK indeed is a true blessing from GOD!!!!

As we all know, each single country may be divided into different racial groups, same thing is with Taiwan... and my parents are from Different ones= = so.........

I can't speak the dialect which my father's family speak= =
while I can speak Spanish, a language unfamiliar to common Taiwanese population= =||||

Outside of Taiwan, most of the time, I answer: "I'm from Taiwan."
That was easier

But in Taiwan, I KNOW the differences bt me and "those ppl"
So it is WHEN my answer to this question varies.

Now in U, ppl come from North and South of Taiwan (different cities and villages)
They always ask each other (and me) which part of Taiwan I am from

I would say Taipei first but sometimes I'd add "but I just arrived from Nicaragua after six yrs (it is the longest time consecutively I lived in the same country"

I would keep answering Taipei when meeting ppl in Xinchu(where my U is) even thought I've lived in Taipei for less than eight yrs and I am almost 20 right now XD JAJA~~~(HAHA in Spanish)

Im from Russia, Turkey, India and Pakistan. I was born in Karachi (Pakistan) but raised in UK and Saudi Arabia.
Most days i'll say Im Pakistani, but not looking and speaking like one, I usually have to elaborate :)
My favourite is: Im from Asia.

I usually say I'm from the Philippines but am now living in the States. Or, I say that I was born and grew up in the Philippines but have spent the past three years in the States. If it's someone I've just met, I say that I'm from Texas. It saves a lot of hassle. :)

I say I'm from the Philippines but I'm born in the States..
and local filipinos would say, you're filipino and you don't speak filipino?
but when I'm in the mood, I'll say I'm from L.A. (where I was born in California) but I'll change the topic or not answer when asked what school you go to in L.A. or in the states..

it's a neverending battle in your mind. haha
i used to speak filipino fluently so well but then i got caught up with my english that filipinos would say i have this "accent" already.. but when americans or non-americans would talk to me they think i still have a filipino accent not american.

I usually say " Well, Im Half Turkish, so thats Turkish Cypriot from Cyprus and Half Pakistani but i was born and raised in Dubai.

or sometimes when im just too lazy to explain i'll be like,
Planet Earth! I promise you i'm human ;)

I say "I was born in Washington DC, raised in Ohio, lived in 6 US states for more than a year, lived outside the US since 1984 in Japan (Asia), Chad (Africa), Ireland and France (Europe). I have the American and French passports."

Sometimes I add that my 3 kids are born in France and have both the US and French passports - even though my youngest has never been to the US.

If really asked for details I add that I have vacationed in 40 other US states, worked in 70 other countries and have had a US, Japanese, Chadian, Irish and French driving permit.

Add to one of those...

I say (sometimes), "do you want to know where I was born, where I lived the longest or where I lived last?"

Short answer is "from the US"...but that doesn't work on Americans...

Depends on my mood and how much I want to go into it.

Once I man asked my sisters and me where we were from and got three different answers. He then asked our Mom where we were from and got a fourth answer.

I say I have a Dutch passport.

Or I say Im from The Netherlands....and then I add, its a passport thing.

my usual ones are:
-it's complicated
-eh, mostly europe, or that general area...
-depends what day it is..

i love the ideas :D

Ellen: "I just say Tokyo, as if it's a city in Indiana." I like it! I should try something like that next time I'm in the States and someone asks me.

I've had people outside of the States ask me if Ecuador is near Chicago. They struggle to make my answer to where I am from fit with their preconception.

Tell them my country of birth (Korea), and then shut up... until they proceed to tell me that my English is good... then I tell them I lived abroad most of my life... hopefully that shuts me up. It is really weird, but very few colleagues know that I've lived in many countries growing up because there were so many times when this topic immediately seemed to open up a huge gulf - I'm still scratching my head, why, but from reading previous posts, it seems it's because the answer was not what they expected to hear? Anyway, I now follow the path of least resistence - give them a simple answer they can digest!

I quite often introduce myself as Canadian and there's a pause, and then the other person's like... "no you're not!". Used to make me kinda mad but now I just agree... "no, you're right I'm not; just didn't want to complicate your day"

Here in China I get frustrated when people refuse to speak Chinese with me... My Chinese isn't perfect but they don't speak english. Seems like a lot of people here feel like they should be able to speak English to foreigners, and there's often a bit of a mental block at the beginning where they can't quite get their heads around a white guy speaking to them in Chinese. In those first few awkward moments I sometimes throw in something like "sorry I'm Russian I don't speak English" (I've never even been to Russia)... It seems to set them a bit more at ease, though I do sometimes get into tedious conversations about Sino-Russian relations...

Danau, that would be a great idea! A 20 faces in 10 seconds run with all the expressions :-D I would absolutely love to see that:-D

That's why i just say UK for myself because of my nationality. That is where I am from; BUT i add in small details like i've lived in quite a few countries.

When answering that question, I feel anyone is okay with just boiling it down to birthplace and nationality because that has a bearing on your household and how you were raised. And usually the question "Where you're from" is small talk anyway.

Also when answering that, i suppose when i was 18 or so, i wouldn't know what to answer.

But at 23 with a better sense of my persona and family identity, i'd just say UK + i've lived in a few countries. SO THIS iS my 16th answer to the list.

You know what. We should capture people's reaction and the look on their faces when we answer that question for them. I've had people literally look like I've just injected them with a shot of agony because my answer didn't match their expectation. I didn't mean to, I just didn't know what it was that they wanted to know. So I'd try my best shot and miss. Yeah, the 'TCK candid camera'. Put it all together into one video and then put it on youtube. Could be fun :p And oh, the camera could also capture our faces as we go through that intense split second where we quickly go through our options: place of birth? citizenship? ethnicity? place of childhood? accent?

I'm from my mother's womb, originally. =)

Nathy!!

I, too am happy to find other people who know Mauritius!! Priyanka does as well.
You know, knowing Mauritians, its highly likely that our families all know each other through the grapevine.Hahaha.

Hey LondonRose =). Thanks for your nice answer, I confess I was pretty excited about reading that Isa and you have some roots from Mauritius Island ^^. A lot of people I meet don't know what is Mauritius and where it is located on the world map ^^". Do you understand the mauritian creole, or not at all? Do you speak it a little bit? =) I personly undertand perfectly both creole (from Reunion and Mauritius) because I am used to hear it in our family parties, but I don't really speak it. I know I could, but I don't see the interest of speaking it in France.

Where I am from? =)Let's share the "short" version of my little story ;):
actually, I have one grand-grand parent who was french but except him, I almost have chinese origins with grand parents from China. But my father is born in Mauritius and my mother in Ile de la Réunion(it's pretty close from Mauritius and Madagascar =)). Then, I am born in France but I lived in four different cities in France, so the longest time I stayed in one place was ten years (it's not so bad actually =)). And now, I am studying in the USA =). In fact, I think I am part of these people we call "Third Generation", in plus of being a CCK.

Hi Nathy :) wow, you know I've never actually met any Mauritians outside of my family members on my dad's side, at least not since I was a little kid. But since we lived all over and his side of the family immigrated to England, I don't 'feel' Mauritian :)

So what's your story? :) where are you "from?" :D Or what cultures are you from? :)

Oh I love this topic <3. I laughed when reading your message LondonRose, I totally recognize myself when reading your 15 answers :D. I especially love both of these answers, awesome :D:
"Do you want the long version or the short version?" (with an embarassed/annoyed tone ^^)
"Technically, I'm from...but my parents are from...but I grew up...and I do/don't speak...but I like living...but technically I'm from..." (let's have a try for a very good answer but unfortunately it only creates big confusion for the person in front of us :D)

By the way, I read that you are from Mauritius and Isa too? That's awesome, my father comes from Mauritius and my mother is from Réunion =).

I just say I'm from Ottawa, Canada. They eat beaver tails there.

I usually have a hard time answering this, lol. "Um" is the stock reply that comes to mind :P I think I used 'planet earth' once when I was a kid

Hey

Mmy mum taught me French. I can understand Creole but i can't really speak it. Which makes me sad.

BWAHAHAHA this is officially my favorite posting in this forum

Any yet, more type-os :-( "it makes sense" not "since". Sheesh...this is getting embarassing.

Ooops- type-o! Sorry. * not "you now another Nioucha?" but "YOU KNOW another Nioucha?"

Ha-ha! Hi Stef!
We're peers, I'll be 36 in June! Wow- you now another Nioucha? Does she spell her name the same way? Cool beans!! :-) Indeed, the 'Nioucha's' I've heard of (very few thus far) have been of either Iranian or eastern Russian ancestry (Nouchka). I guess, it makes since I was born there and my paretns quite liked the sound of the name. Little did they know, it was going to be hell having it pronounced properly at American schools! Aynway, Stef where would you like to go to next?
I too am thinking about a next possible move.

What? Doesn't EVERYONE have a friend named Nioucha?! ;) Actually, I do! She's a German woman of Iranian ancestry so when I saw your name, it was familiar :)

LondonRose, hmmm... I have lived a total of 10 (!!) years in the US made up of 7 separate times over a span of 29 years! ... (It took me a while to calculate all that!) I'm 36: 21 years in Asia, 4 years in Europe & 1 year in Africa. Who knows where I'll go next! Life is such an adventure! :)

Ahhhhhh- coming back here a bit delayed in this lovely funny post. But I have enjoyed reading through it once again. BTW- London Rose, I thought I'd send a "Brillie-Brilliant!" out to you :-) I love the word Brilliant too, plus all its variations. When I am feeling particularly silly, I even break it down by saying "Brillo pads!". Don't ask.
Anyway, I just thought I would reveal the mystery behind the multi-vowel sounding thing that is my name and this is how I generally respond to English speakers when they ask for the pronunciation: "The name is Nioucha, rhymes with the color fuchsia". The word association works and they usually never forget. At worst they just call me "Hey, Fuschia!" Sadly, I respond and say "Yeah! Pretty close." ?

Wow, you know more about it then I do then. I only visited once when I was 5 and I don't remember that. Have you ever been to the Sheychelles?

Hey maybe you know Priyanka! She was in Mauritius too :D

I've been in Reunion, Madagascar, Mayotte and some time in Mauritius. I miss those islands!

Hi Stef, all I can say is I'm glad they're ex-boyfriends :) I can't imagine having to go through that all the time :| How much of your life have you spent in N. America as opposed to outside of it?

I often wish I could say I'm from England, because I was born there and have a British passport, but I'm not ethnically British :) and I never lived there, which makes it even more complicated because now I have a more American accent than British one which I had when I was younger... so... it gets tough being a TCK! That is interesting what you said about other people guessing your nationality. Maybe I should do that too.

In one country they guessed I was from Russia! That was fun, esp. since someone from the same class guessed I was from India! So I should probably try it more often and see what creative responses I get!

Have you ever said "Technically I'm from the U.S. but..."? I guess you've probably used a lot of different responses since that is like the number 2 question in popular questions people ask someone. The first one is probably "What's your name" --which Nioucha would know more about creative responses for!

Thank you Nioucha! I loved that you used the word "Brilliant"! That's my favourite word :) And I loved the responses you added! Esp. #17: "At this moment?" I think I'll use that next time! Of course I know what will come next, "But where are you originally from?" Maybe I'll just shurg my shoulders and say "I don't know" and leave it at that :-D

Fortunately my first name is pretty common, but my last name always gets spelled wrong and it drives me up the wall! Your responses made me laugh! They were great.

Are you serious? That's sooo cool and neat to think about! I know a total of 0 outside of my family who are from Mauritius, so it's really neat to hear from you! Where's your dad from? Have you ever been to Mauritius? Did your mom teach you Creole? My dad never did :| Neither French :| oh well. Do you like Australia?

It's already such a hard question & it doesn't make it any easier that I've had ex-boyfriends that made me feel like I was a liar for using different answers. They said I should just say I was from the US, but they didn't see that just because I have a US passport, that doesn't mean I feel wholly from there :( They thought I was being coy or trying to be mysterious. Reading this thread makes me wish I could've shown it to them & said "See?! I'm not the only one who has a different answer!!"

I go through stages. I often say "I have a US passport" which tends to shock Americans who think it implies I'm un-patriotic for distancing myself from the country... Well, they're RIGHT! I'm sick of the hell our government is putting the world & even their own citizens through! :( But it's more to say that I have that identity, but it's not the only one.

I often like to ask the person to guess which is quite interesting... I'm Caucasian with a N.American accent (albeit with a mixed vocabulary) & yet recently a LOT of the time people guess all sorts of nationalities before the US... It got me wondering if it's become an "insult" to call someone American... I mean people from NZ don't want to be mistaken for Aussies & Canadians don't want to be mistaken for Americans. And with the politics being as they are, no one wants to call someone an American if they're not.

Hee! My mum's from there but she and the fam moved away when my mum was 17 to Australia. My grandma goes between Aus and Mauritius.

What's weird is that my fam probably knows yours...

* Nb- Used "you" twice instead of "YOUR". Bad error! My eyes are tired but the brain is not!

Brilliant Post London Rose! I've probably used up most of those response.
Generally I can never make a short story out of the "where are you from question" simply because of my name. I introduce myself and that's it...I am goner and am already prepared for the questions that usually follow.
So I would add to you list:
Question- Now, how do you spell you name?
Possible responses- Spell it how it sounds to you.
Guess!
Would you like the way I spell it (phoentically French) or they way it would be spelled in your language? ;-)

Also to the "Where are you from" list:
16. Unfortunately, I left my 10 page business card at home- I'll bring it next time.
17. At this moment?
18. Such personal questions so early on in the game? Here, have some more wine and we'll delve into that later, shall we? :-)

I totally understand :) That's so funny though, giving 3 different answers! I should try that, and just randomly pick a different country each time someone asks me, but then they'll expect me to know all about that country or speak the language and think I'm from only there, and then I suspect the whole story will come out anyway since I couldn't pretend to be from anyone country, except maybe N. America, since I guess I'm picking up the accent :| the one place I don't want to pick :D haha. OH well, such is life. I like to think of it as a great ice-breaker and I get to talk to a lot of people who are fascinated with my background, and even though I do dread the question, I like the effects afterwards, so it's not so bad. I guess it depends on how you look at it. Hope it gets better for you. I might try the one-country or several-answers solutions and see how they go! Maybe have a little fun, maybe I should make up something really hilarious... any suggestions?

Hi Isa, yes, I kind of know Mauritius! I get excited anyone recognises the name too! What's your connection with it? My grandfather is originally from the Sheychelles and Mauritius, but he moved away with his family when my dad was 19, so I've only been there to visit once when I was 5. So I really don't remember or know much about it, but technically it's one of the only countries I can really claim as mine :) I know I have family there I don't even know :} Kind of a strange thought. But I'd love to go back one day to see what it's like :)

LondonRose: You know Mauritius? Did you live there for a period of time? Family? What is your connection? I'm sorry i just get irrationally exited when someone mentions Mauritius!

Haha I love this XD

Hehe yea, we do that to each other XD And it's much more interesting to explain other ppl's life story other than yours :D

Funnily for me, people think I should be fluent in the local language than English. It's interesting how not many people actually know the existence of international schools. They ask if the curriculum is taught in English. Maybe I am ignorant but are there international schools taught in languages other than English? I mean there are Dutch schools and Japanese schools and Korean schools abroad...but are they the same?

there's a huge circuit of French and Italian schools all over the world. Embassy kids will usually go to a French lycée.

Oh God...I hate that question. I answer it differently every time. I think at McGill I told like every 3 different people 3 different countries. Sometimes I would say the country where my parents were living, sometimes my passport, sometimes I would say "I live here, but my parents live there." Then sometimes I would just list my parents nationalities, "I half this and that." or "my dad is from A and my mom from B." But then I would go to myself: it's not that simple, so I would rattle off the different mix of nationalities my mom is... I always hate my turn at the table when people are introducing themselves. Sometimes it's more appropriate to answer in one way than another. So sometimes I am just from one country and sometimes I say off the entire list of places I've lived in...

LondonRose, I enjoyed reading your inner dialogue there. Haha. We all definitely have it tough when it comes to answering this "seemingly" simple question.

haha! I like that one! Maybe next time I'm asked that in an airport I'll say, "That United Flight #123, from Salt Lake City" ...

hey, that's a good response. Actually now I say I'm from California, since I just move states, and everyone of course wants to know where I moved from. It's kind of strange in a way, since I'm not from California, but how to explain...

I know! I had that in China, where whenver I was with one fellow foreign teacher, and they asked where I was from, he would always say "Don't ask! It's too complicated!" and then he'd sometimes rattle off the whole complicated story. He heard it so much he had it memorised! But it did give me a chance to just stand and smile :) and not have to say it myself :)

Hi Sindhu! Haha. Like the time we told people we had been living in Lebanon, and they said, "Lebanon, Michigan?" .... and we were dumbfounded, because it never occured to us that there was Lebanon in Michigan, and because we were thinking globally, not nationally. So anyway, we were surprised with that one.

But as for saying where I'm from, I know the feeling of trying to decide on a country before it gets to my turn. You'd think I'd have one pat answer, but surprisingly enough, it really depends on the group I'm with.

I always think, "Should I say I'm Dutch, because that's really the only ethnicity I can accurately claim? Or should I say I'm British because I only speak English, I was born in England, and I have a British passport, even though I am not ethnically British at all? Or should I try to explain where Mauritius and the Sheychelles are, or will it take too long and will I get too many stares? Or should I say that I was an MK and grew up many places? but then they'll want to know where, and I have to go through the whole list, or else there won't be time and I will be country-less..." and so goes the struggle, each time I'm asked the question.

Recently though I've been thinking I should say I'm Dutch, because I definitely have the European practical way of thinking/living, but on the other hand, I have the submissiveness of my dad's culture, so... hm, I'm back to square one!

Anyway, a long response to your comment!

Thanks for sharing!

yup, for sure used the 'you mean where I'm coming from, where I spent the better part of the last 10 years, my nationality, or where I currently call home?' especially in airports, this can be funny...

I always say home is where I lay my head...
in Houston airport '06
"where you from?"
"between two vending machines in the San Fran airport"

I like this inward dialog. I go through a similar one, but the "problem" is that I'm a white female, so I could easily say I'm from some American city (and sometimes I do) but I can never back it up, so I just say Tokyo, as if it's a city in Indiana (as I'm sure my classmates assume) and move on... A little pathetic on my part? :/

HAHA! i've most certainly used quite a few of those =P
but right now, depending on my mood, i usually either answer 'i hold a canadian passport' or 'i used to live in singapore' since that's the last place i was at before i moved back to canada

I have a few friends well trained on my history (these people know how monotonous it gets answering the "where are you from?" question all the time) and when they are with me, i turn to them and get them to explain. Lazy i know, but sometimes it's nice to have a breather!

If I'm not going to have to talk to this person too much I just give them my passport country so that everyone can get on with their life.

If they say, "But your English...."

Then, I say: "I grew up abroad."

Then the usual response is: "Oooooh that's why your English is so good."

This is the right timing to change the topic!

Then you can have a pretty normal conversation with this person.

Haha, that's awesome! I think I'll use one of those next time someone asks me :D

Hahah, I liked reading thru those. I've definitely used a lot of them when answering the dreaded "Where are you from?" question. I just always sigh (inwardly) when the question is asked because I know it's not that straightforward for me as it is for most people. Especially in big gatherings, when people go around and ask this so-called simple question, expecting simple answers, and then it's my turn... and I'm thinking, "Oh great, do I just pick one of my countries and pretend I'm solely from there to make it easier? Or do I just say I'm from India and leave it at that, even though I moved out when I was 5 and have never lived there since? Or do I say I'm from Indonesia since I spent 11 formative years growing up there? But I don't LOOK Indonesian - that will just confuse everyone! Or do I just play it off like I'm from Boston or New York because I sure as hell sound as American as it gets? They will never understand how someone born in India, brought up in Indonesia, with parents living in Singapore now, could be just 'American' just like them! Okay, never mind, I'm just gonna say I'm from India, thanks to my obviously brown skin, and leave it at that. Yup."

Hahah so yes, I have these inner conversations with myself all the time when this question arises. I'm sure all of us do!

I had to go through this today when meeting new people -- I just mention the previous country, and where I grew up the longest. The neat thing is I found some people who grew up in the exact same countries, so hey, sometimes just listing all your countries works! You might just find someone who went there!