Where Are You Actually From?

[metis]

I now live in Ohio...

Go Blue!

 

[Kathryn]

I love it here!

 

[metis]

I love it here!

Probably if you were in hell long enough, you'd love it there too.

 

[Rival]

Culture matters more than ancestry.

Language is a good indicator, as is religion, which holidays are celebrated in your locale, etc.

I'm English. I speak English, celebrate English holidays, live in England, am absorbed in English culture, and will be absorbed in English culture psychologically no matter where I live, and will think in English.

 

[metis]

Culture matters more than ancestry.

Language is a good indicator. As are religion, which holidays are celebrated in your locale, etc.

I'm English. I speak English, celebrate English holidays, live in England, am absorbed in English culture, and will be absorbed in English culture psychologically no matter where I live, and will think in English.

Reminds me of Gandhi's response when asked what he thought of English civilization whereas he said "They should try it".

 

[Kathryn]

Probably if you were in hell long enough, you'd love it there too.

I rather doubt it but I do really like it here so far.

 

[metis]

I rather doubt it but I do really like it here so far.

I like the Hocking Hills area most, and we're planning a stay there sometime this fall.

 

[Kathryn]

The high today was in the mid sixties. In NE Texas, the high today was in the mid eighties. I couldn't take it any longer.

 

[Kathryn]

I like the Hocking Hills area most, and we're planning a stay there sometime this fall.

That's about an hour from me! In Texas that's not very far but here I think it is.

 

[metis]

The high today was in the mid sixties. In NE Texas, the high today was in the mid eighties. I couldn't take it any longer.

Ditto as I can take the cold much better than the heat. The exception is dry heat, as when I've been in Israel, I haven't had a problem with the heat inland where it's dryer. The last time I was there, we had three days in a row of 118 F., and I had no problem with it. However, if I had tried to sleep with that temperature, I would really have had a problem.

 

[metis]

That's about an hour from me! In Texas that's not very far but here I think it is.

It's about a 4-hour drive from where I live.

I've never been to Texas and have no desire to go.

 

[Kathryn]

Ditto as I can take the cold much better than the heat. The exception is dry heat, as when I've been in Israel, I haven't had a problem with the heat inland where it's dryer. The last time I was there, we had three days in a row of 118 F., and I had no problem with it. However, if I had tried to sleep with that temperature, I would really have had a problem.

Unfortunately NE Texas is very humid.

 

[metis]

Unfortunately NE Texas is very humid.

A friend of mine used to go to Houston where his sister lived, and he said the humidity and heat was way too much for him.

 

[Viker]

I was born in Hawaii. I guess that's where I am from. I usually just consider myself American. My ancestry is literally from all over the world. Native American, British, French, German, Ashkenazi and African. Probably others. See? American!



I've lived in the southern Indiana and north central Kentucky area most of my life. Kentuckiana is what we call it. It's like it's another country or planet.

 

[Kathryn]

A friend of mine used to go to Houston where his sister lived, and he said the humidity and heat was way too much for him.

It was for me, and I lived in it for 30 years! But when you have to look at the weather forecast for THANKSGIVING to find out if you need to wear a short sleeve or long sleeve t-shirt, that's just too hot. And last year, it was a short sleeve t-shirt. I was thinking to myself, "I am so outta here."

 

[McBell]

How do you determine this?

Good question.
No Vacancy, Stay Off The Grass...
Not sure which one more apply applies.
Perhaps Hawaii?
That is where my parents say I had to have been conceived.
Even though I was born in New Jersey...

When asked, I simply start off with "my parents"...
If pushed I reply with the name of the last town I was in.

Is this identity important to you?

Nope.
But then, I know quite a bit about my ancestry because I have a few family members doing the genealogy and whoo wee the arguments over who is the offspring of who get quite heated.

If you move to Italy, for example, can you then claim to be Italian regardless of where your ancestors come from?

Seems to me it would depend on the specifics.
If I moved to Italy and lived there for even one minute and was asked where I am from while in Paris I would simply say "my parents"...
then Italy.

If I was in italy I would likely confuse them by answering Michiana.

What about your kids, if they are born in Italy?

Italy

I usually say I am Irish because that is where the majority of my DNA comes from. However I also have Scandinavian, Finnish and Native American DNA.

I am a Heinz 57 myself.
German, Scottish, are the main two...

When I lived in Australia they called me the American because of my accent. Do they get to decide?

They will decide for themselves where they think you are from.
Has no bearing on where you are actually from.

Do I get to choose any one of these to identify with?

Sure.

 

[Kathryn]

Hey, my maiden name is German but that's really because every German man in my family since the late 1600s has married a British or Scottish woman. Also, I am distantly French but he married a British woman too. LOL I mean also like the mid 1600s. So yes, I consider myself to be British and Scottish and that's what showed up predominately in my DNA testing too. I guess that's what I inherited. I look British and Scottish and yet my brother looks Germanic to me. He didn't get his DNA tested but I think he should.

I am also very interested in all things British, including but not limited to British history, and my brother is very interested in Germany, including German history. Hmmmmmm...

 

[Wu Wei]

Outside of America, I'm an American.
In America I could be from Florida, Massachusetts or New York (state not city). It would depend on why I am stating where I am from

 

[Jarsa]

I would say you are from wherever you identify with. Now obviously you can't identify with a place you've never been to. I was born in India and I moved to the U.S. Although I am technically "from" India, I speak with an American accent and follow American celebrities and politicians. So I guess I would say I'm from America? I'd like to say so, but I'm not sure if I am, especially since I don't have citizenship.

 

[Stevicus]

A friend of mine used to go to Houston where his sister lived, and he said the humidity and heat was way too much for him.

Living in southern AZ, it gets hot here, too. But having spent some time in Houston and New Orleans, both hot and humid, when we say "at least it's a dry heat," it's no joke. And we don't get hurricanes or tornadoes here either.