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Hyphenated Me

Since moving to the US, I have struggled to find a short and sweet answer to a question I often get asked: "Where are you from?"

If I say Canada, which is where I grew up and moved from to Northern California, I either get "I meant where are you originally from?" or "What is that unique accent I detect?" - which is a polite way of saying that your dark hair and olive skin doesn't remind me at all of the Great White North!

I don't really have a unique accent. And I don't feel that by simply pointing out my country of birth, or the country that I grew up in for that matter, I can describe wholly where I am from.

Although I am constantly home sick for one home or other, I always seem to get attached to my new home. And although my immigrant teachings and my paisans always remind me to stay true to my roots, my roots seem to imperceptibly soak up bits and pieces of the earth I am standing on.

Anyways, I always get into a long winded story about my "Hyphenated" heritage, when asked where I am originally from. A story that begins before I was even born. I can tell people are mostly sorry they asked!

Its a great thing being a Hyphenated. But somehow, when you are most feeling at home, you can't help but feel a bit of home-sickness at the pit of your gut.
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  1. AlalehMarch 13, 2009 at 11:09 AM

    Shabnam you capture what we all feel so eloquently. I share your challenge in answering a simple question, right down to the Canada/California issue! So well written . . .

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