When people find out you were not born here

[robhostein 57]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

When I lived in Russia, it was shocking to me that most Russians overwhelmingly think the entire US is one big California filled with hot weather and sun all the time...Recently I knew a Russian who traveled here on a tourist visa and visited the Midwest because a friend lived there....she packed nothing but warm spring clothing only to be met with a snowy polar vortex to her shock. She had to borrow friends' clothing in order not to freeze. That quickly shattered the "Entire America = Southern California" preconception.

I remember when I arrived in America for the first time. I was a child, and it was summer time. Leaving my country, it was kinda chilly there. The connecting airplanes and airports all had air conditioning (I had no idea what that was) of some sort. So there I was, with my parents at the American airport in Washington DC.

 

I had my jacket on cause it still felt cold. As we prepared to walk outside, my parents told me I'm not gonna need the jacket. But I was like, no, I want to keep it. So as we stepped outside, this heat wave hit my face like it was no joke. It was like as if I had stepped into an oven. My god, I had never experienced anything like that. It was like 88F. My parents laughed as I took of the jacket as fast as possible.

 

It took a couple months to get used to the heat. And, surprisingly, summer is my favorite time of the year. I love the heat.

[Umka36 781]

3 hours ago, robhostein said:

I remember when I arrived in America for the first time. I was a child, and it was summer time. Leaving my country, it was kinda chilly there. The connecting airplanes and airports all had air conditioning (I had no idea what that was) of some sort. So there I was, with my parents at the American airport in Washington DC.

 

I had my jacket on cause it still felt cold. As we prepared to walk outside, my parents told me I'm not gonna need the jacket. But I was like, no, I want to keep it. So as we stepped outside, this heat wave hit my face like it was no joke. It was like as if I had stepped into an oven. My god, I had never experienced anything like that. It was like 88F. My parents laughed as I took of the jacket as fast as possible.

 

It took a couple months to get used to the heat. And, surprisingly, summer is my favorite time of the year. I love the heat.

When I first joined the military, I was flying from Seattle to Ft. Sill, OK. I never new what freezing rain was until I went there and this was in February.

 

While there, I met a few Samoans who only had shorts/shirt and no cold weather gear. Obviously where would they get such clothes from their home island. It was funny to see though.

[TBoneTX 43,057]

Even when traveling domestically, I find www.weather.com to be of invaluable use.

[Daniela M_______ 409]

On 3/11/2019 at 11:51 PM, TBoneTX said:

Not long after Mrs. T-B. got here, I took her to the local Mexican supermarket, and I told her to ask the employees if they could identify where she was from on the basis of her dialect.

 

The guesses were "Honduras," "Colombia," and "not Mexico."

 

When she said "Ecuador," one guy actually exclaimed, "Really?  I thought all Ecuadorians were ugly!"  Mrs. T-B. & I concluded that the guy had only seen pictures of those stubby Ecu Indians who wear the colorful hats.

I've been told several times that "I'm too white to be Venezuelan". 

 

Like... What that does even mean? 

 

Also here in Mexico I've been asked really crazy things like "Do you have sodas in there?"...

 

[jeanieCZ 228]

On 3/8/2019 at 3:56 PM, ronniebreda said:

Hah! This is my husband's life almost anytime we meet anyone new. He has a thick accent and talks very fast, so it usually catches people off guard when he first says something and then they go straight to, "So where are you from?" 
We live in the Midwest and haven't got any unfriendly comments about it yet. He does say, "I am from The Netherlands, Holland" because most people have no idea where or what The Netherlands is. If people still look confused then he throws in the, "windmills and wooden shoes place." 

I personally have felt like the curiosity of Americans is kind and welcoming..being open to different places. From my experiences, I (the American spouse) have had many more rude situations about being an American in the Netherlands (the Dutch are blunt), than what my husband has experienced in the US. 

Hihi, it has been exactly the same for me in the Netherlands. I guess people are kindof the same everywhere - when they find out you're not local, they got all kinds of questions. Which is fine, only sometimes I feel like there's too much focus on that. 

[Daphne . 1,670]

So whenever my husband and I are out somewhere, people manage to spot from a distance that I am not a local so to speak, I don't know how they do it but they do.. They will start talking to me/us to find out and they think the accent is soooo sweet (OMG...). I don't mind people asking questions about my country though. I do agree that it is sometimes hard that your nationality makes you interesting rather than the fact that you are you.. Some funny statements I have heard:

 

"Oh, you are from The Netherlands! That is great! I speak some German" or "I have been in Italy"

"So are the roadsigns in English in The Netherlands?" Me: "No" Them: "So in what language are they?" Me: "Dutch?" Them: "Wow, that is crazy!" 

 

 

[ronniebreda 120]

8 hours ago, jeaniecz said:

Hihi, it has been exactly the same for me in the Netherlands. I guess people are kindof the same everywhere - when they find out you're not local, they got all kinds of questions. Which is fine, only sometimes I feel like there's too much focus on that. 

I think it also depends what part of the Netherlands you are in. The tourist cities (Amsterdam and Delft) are much more open to foreigners. However, the south part of the country where my husband is from - nope! 

[jeanieCZ 228]

I was born in the Czech republic and have been living in the Netherlands for 10 years now, I speak fluent Dutch, but of course with an accent. So often, the first question people ask me after I introduced myself is where I am from. I noticed I most often receive 3 types of an answer:

 

1. Ah, Czech republic, I've been there, Prague is nice, beer good etc etc. 

Me: Thank you, how kind. 

 

2. Ah, so you are here because there's war in your country, how terrible, is it much better here than in your home country? 

Me: I'm sorry, I have no idea what are you talking about. (Obviously that person has no idea where my home country even is, which is OK, but why make such assumptions?)

 

3. Ah, I thought you were from Poland, but that's pretty much the same, the Eastern block, uh.

Me: Ahhh, not really, actually. (thinking: thanks, ###)

 

I think it's nice if people are interested to know where I come from and I don't mind telling them, I just think they judge me accordingly with the image they have of my country, which is soms quite off (nr 2 and 3). And I don't think it's polite to ask someone where they're from right after you shook their hand....maybe just have a little conversation first and give it some time. But I must say that in general I find the Dutch very open-minded and even if quite direct, accepting and nice.

[futurecoloradogrl 82]

These are too funny! 

 

Haven't moved just yet, just visited a lot, but once had a cashier at Panera Bread genuinely exclaim after hearing my accent: "Oh you're from London? That's my favourite country!!" 

Did not know how to respond to that! (And I'm from Dorset, not London!) 

 

Also had people ask:

- "Do you have computers there too?"

- "Do you have electricity?" 

- "*Oliver Twist style cockney accent*" 

- "Did it cost a lot of Euros to get here?"

- "Do you know my cousin Dave? From Manchester" (I've never been to or near Manchester) 

 

Of course the vast majority of people are really nice and respectful asking questions, but some of them I just don't know how to respond! 

[Lil bear 3,831]

27 minutes ago, futurecoloradogrl said:

These are too funny! 

 

Haven't moved just yet, just visited a lot, but once had a cashier at Panera Bread genuinely exclaim after hearing my accent: "Oh you're from London? That's my favourite country!!" 

Did not know how to respond to that! (And I'm from Dorset, not London!) 

 

Also had people ask:

- "Do you have computers  

 

Of course the vast majority of people are really nice and respectful asking questions, but some of them I just don't know how to respond! 

Nod , smile and back away slowly.. 

🤪

[TBoneTX 43,057]

16 hours ago, futurecoloradogrl said:

Of course the vast majority of people are really nice and respectful

We should all deferentially bow and say, "Welcome to the Colonies."  

[JFH 12,189]

On 7/20/2019 at 6:17 AM, futurecoloradogrl said:

 

(And I'm from Dorset, not London!) 

 

Dorset girl here too! 

 

I have been here since 2016 and I still don’t know how to respond to “I love your accent”. If someone says “I love your shoes” or “I love that purse you have” I can usually answer with something like “oh thank you - I got it at Macy’s last week” or something, anything, to not kill the conversation. But “I love your accent” is guaranteed to have me speechless. I just do not know what to say. 

 

My experience is that people here expect immigrants to be from developing countries, people who came here for economic reasons. Whilst that’s true for many immigrants, they can’t get their heads round the fact that there are immigrants here from the UK and other industrialized, developed nations. Here’s an example. I work with a woman who came here from Mexico. She’s married to a USC, just as I am. Our stories are pretty similar. She has a Mexican accent. I have a British accent. If she answers the phone at work the person on the other end doesn’t think anything of it. If I answer the phone the person on the other end goes silent, then I hear something like “oh I didn’t realise I was calling overseas. I need to speak to someone in Seattle”. When I tell them I’m in the Seattle office they act like they don’t believe me. My Mexican co-worker has never once been questioned about her location. People are fully prepared to hear and see people of Hispanic origins here but a British person throws them completely off. 

 

I have been treated as the performing monkey once too and that was awful. A caller at work did the old “love your accent” thing (sigh...it’s soooo old now) and then said “I’m putting you on speaker phone because everyone needs to hear this beautiful accent. Keep talking”. She was at an airport. I refused to say anything except “could you please take me off speaker phone. Thank you”. 

Edited July 21, 2019 by JFH

[futurecoloradogrl 82]

6 hours ago, JFH said:

Dorset girl here too! 

 

I have been here since 2016 and I still don’t know how to respond to “I love your accent”. If someone says “I love your shoes” or “I love that purse you have” I can usually answer with something like “oh thank you - I got it at Macy’s last week” or something, anything, to not kill the conversation. But “I love your accent” is guaranteed to have me speechless. I just do not know what to say. 

 

My experience is that people here expect immigrants to be from developing countries, people who came here for economic reasons. Whilst that’s true for many immigrants, they can’t get their heads round the fact that there are immigrants here from the UK and other industrialized, developed nations. Here’s an example. I work with a woman who came here from Mexico. She’s married to a USC, just as I am. Our stories are pretty similar. She has a Mexican accent. I have a British accent. If she answers the phone at work the person on the other end doesn’t think anything of it. If I answer the phone the person on the other end goes silent, then I hear something like “oh I didn’t realise I was calling overseas. I need to speak to someone in Seattle”. When I tell them I’m in the Seattle office they act like they don’t believe me. My Mexican co-worker has never once been questioned about her location. People are fully prepared to hear and see people of Hispanic origins here but a British person throws them completely off. 

 

I have been treated as the performing monkey once too and that was awful. A caller at work did the old “love your accent” thing (sigh...it’s soooo old now) and then said “I’m putting you on speaker phone because everyone needs to hear this beautiful accent. Keep talking”. She was at an airport. I refused to say anything except “could you please take me off speaker phone. Thank you”. 

 

Small world! You could always say about your accent, "Thanks, I got it in England!" - or "Thanks, you too!" 😉 I hope you're not missing home too much and adjusted easily - it is really beautiful here! Especially with my move coming up soon, it'll be a real change going from a literal stone's throw from the sea shore in a small-ish town to high up in the mountains living downtown in a busy city.

 

I'm sorry people have acted so strangely about the way you speak! It must be really frustrating feel like you have to 'perform' for them - ie. "say something British!" - who thought that was a useful thing to comment on - and what do they expect you to say?! 

 

For me accent-wise, I already have a slightly 'mixed' accent probably due to having quite a lot of American cousins and aunt I was very close with when I was young, plus talking to my fiance so much - but many people still don't understand! I feel like I have to slightly change the way I say things to sound more 'American' so strangers over there can understand me. It feels almost cringey to put on a fake accent briefly but asking the waitress for 'wah-der' instead of 'water' makes life easier in the long run! And ordering anything over the phone is a nightmare - countless times I've had to hand it over to my fiance to just let him do it, or point to him at a restaurant so he can order for me. I suppose that people who hear the same accents 24/7 really have to try to adjust and listen carefully when someone speaks in an accent they're not familiar with. 

[TBoneTX 43,057]

15 hours ago, JFH said:

“I love your accent” is guaranteed to have me speechless. I just do not know what to say. 

"When General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, I was allowed to stay as part of the agreement."

 

See how speechless this will leave all us Colonists.

Edited July 22, 2019 by TBoneTX

[YecaCruz 374]

I'm from North Dakota and people think I'm from Germany because of my accent. Some people don't actually know where ND is and others assume we still live in the 1800s based on their questions to which I once replied "well we just got indoor plumbing last month, it's so convenient". So this happens to even US-born people too!

 

On the other hand, people think my Nicaraguan husband is Native American because he has little to no Latino accent, only on some words, and are quite surprised to learn he's not from the US (presumably Miami or Cali) and just moved here 3 years ago.