Do you randomly get asked about your ethnicity?

[Ellyndria]

Or do you randomly ask other people? This is not really something I ask people I know, let alone people I don't know. But it seems to happen to me fairly often, so I'm just wondering if I'm an oddity or if it's common!

 

In Mexican restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Mexican.

In Indian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Indian.

In Italian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Italian.

When we visited Egypt, I got asked if I was Egyptian.

Today at the grocery store, I was looking at the (mostly) organic yogurt section, and a guy comes up and asks if I'm European, then goes on to recommend a Greek yogurt, saying it's the best, and from his country.

 

Does this happen to you?

 

(Oh, and I decided to try the yogurt. I already had pitas and feta in my cart, so I figured why not? It should make a good sauce.)

[Mrs Mungo]

I get asked about my ethnicity all the time.

[Sputterduck]

Sometimes. I have a very Irish name and people ask if I'm Irish when they hear it. My son gets asked all the time because he is a mix of dark and light and people can't often place him.

[Georgiana Daniels]

Me too.

[newlifemom]

I don't, but then I don't look at all ethnic or exotic. :sad: I used to be your basic heinz variety blond/blue girl. Now I am well, I don't what color my hair is. :tongue_smilie:

 

My children do though, as they are half Asian. [Dh and I joke that the only thing we are good at is making beautiful children.] :D

[stormy weather]

People just say "I'll bet you're Irish." I have red hair, fair skin and freckles!Acutally I'm Irish, German and French. I think people assume all people from a certain country look the same. What's the word I'm looking for... They get their information from T.V. and books and apply it to the whole country. IMO

[newlifemom]

People just say "I'll bet you're Irish." I have red hair, fair skin and freckles!Acutally I'm Irish, German and French. I think people assume all people from a certain country look the same. What's the word I'm looking for... They get their information from T.V. and books and apply it to the whole country. IMO

 

Stereotypes?

[LG Gone Wild]

Frequently, but not before they eyeball me, internally guessing, sizing me up, looking me over, trying to judge based on the way I speak. Finally they give up and say,"So what are you?"

 

 

They never get it right. :lol:

 

Same with my age.

[Aurelia]

If I do, it's usually to ask if I'm eastern European, like Swedish or Danish, and quite a number of people see my real name and think I am black before they meet me. (DH's friends all asked that when he told them my name when we first started dating.) I'm more German than anything else, and look it.

[stormy weather]

I'm thinking more like, these are the only representations that we see because they are the ones chosen for us by T.V. kwim? Ah, it's right there at the front of my mind, just out of reach.

 

oops-I meant to quote! I was responding to stereotypes.

[Laura Corin]

Never. I have pale pink-and-white skin, so my being British is a fair assumption.

 

Laura

[Sputterduck]

Frequently, but not before they eyeball me, internally guessing, sizing me up, looking me over, trying to judge based on the way I speak. Finally they give up and say,"So what are you?"

 

 

They never get it right. :lol:

 

Same with my age.

 

 

So, what are you?

 

lol

[KidsHappen]

Yes, I do. I think it is a new thing related to all the developing interest in geneology. Lucky for me I am Irish (both sides) so the answer is easy for me. My kids have it a little harder as on their dad's side of the family there is French (his father) and German (his mother) so they feel like they have to give the whole list.

 

I have three girls that have darker skin and hair and people have asked if they are Mexican? Asian? Jewish? I have had some people ask if they have a little color in them? Especially when they were babies. I have had people ask if they were adopted. They look just like me! Even the kids themselves swear up and down that the dry cleaner, milkman or yardboy must be their sibling's father. I have no idea where they got their features. The other three have blond hair and blue eyes. I also frequently get asked if they are all mine. I don't know if that is because there are so many of them or if it is because it looks like I have two sets.

 

My oldest dd, who is one of the dark haired ones, married an Irish man (100%) who has blond hair and blue eyes. Their son looks just like his father so when she is out with just the grandbaby, people ask if he is her's. Her answer is no, I stole him. :tongue_smilie: We don't let it bother us much. People are just curious and trying to make conversation.

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest gets asked (or it's assumed) if she's Irish all the time because she has red hair. She is Irish but also Italian, English, Swedish and German.

 

We have a very Hispanic last name (DH was adopted by his stepfather) so we get publications in Spanish and telemarketing calls where they are speaking Spanish all the time. None of us currently speaks any Spanish and DH, DS and youngest DD are all blond hair with blue or hazel eyes. My hair is dark brown but I have very fair skin so definitely don't look anything but the Anglo-European Mutt that I am.

[Mejane]

I recently asked a cashier wearing a nametag with "Italy" on it if she was Italian. She said no, she is Swedish and has no idea why her parents named her Italy. :001_huh:

[Pamela H in Texas]

nope, but blond and blue eyes probably stops that. My daughter has brown eyes, but still.

 

Now if they hear our last name, many people ask if I'm German. This happens even more now that I'm in the high school and high schoolers seem to think people owe them an answer for everything. I think this is funny considering it's my married name! I tell people, "nope, I married a guy who was adopted by a man with a German last name."

 

I think you can see a tiny tiny bit of Indian in my hubby. Nothing interesting about the rest of us.

 

Oh, we do get asked where we are from due to ds's speech impediment though. People just figure we're from someplace that says certain vowels a little off and doesn't do R. Then they wonder how come the rest of us sound "normal."

[Mrs Mungo]

I have three girls that have darker skin and hair and people have asked if they are Mexican? Asian? Jewish? I have had some people ask if they have a little color in them? Especially when they were babies. I have had people ask if they were adopted. They look just like me! Even the kids themselves swear up and down that the dry cleaner, milkman or yardboy must be their sibling's father. I have no idea where they got their features. The other three have blond hair and blue eyes. I also frequently get asked if they are all mine. I don't know if that is because there are so many of them or if it is because it looks like I have two sets.

 

I always think this is so stupid. Kids have *two* parents and therefore two sets of genes. Why is this so hard to understand?

 

I remember my mom being asked if we all had the same dad. We're mostly Native American and Irish. Two of us have dark skin, dark brown eyes, dark brown hair but it's curly. The third born has lighter hair, somewhat lighter skin and green eyes; her hair is curly but not as curly as mine. The youngest has more Native American features, straight black hair but she has hazel eyes and is WHITE like a piece of paper. If you know our heritage, you can see how different bits come out in different kids. The punnet square is the one thing in Biology that I understood *instantly*. ;)

Edited March 27, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[*Inna*]

I get asked all the time.

[elise1mds]

I do, but usually only after people see the plate on the front of my car that's a German flag. And yes, I am mostly German.

 

However, I *REALLY* got a lady at the grocery store once. I was buying some plantains, because my kids LOVE tostones. A friend who moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico taught me to make them. She walked straight up to me and asked why I was buying plantains and how I cooked them. So I told her about the tostones. She looked me up and down (I was fairly tan then, as I get in summer just by being outside gardening and swimming) and asked where on earth I was from that I knew about tostones. It blew her away that I was just plain ol' American.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dh is Filipino. If we are in a Mexican restaurant, people come up to him and speak in Spanish because they think he's Mexican. If we are in a Chinese restaurant, people come up to him and speak in Chinese because they think he's Chinese. Now since the Filipino people were colonized by the Spanish and mostly came over from Malaysia and China, he probably has both Spanish and Chinese blood in him.

 

I did get mad when someone at the park pointed at my children and asked, "What are they?" I said very pointedly, "Children". I did know that she meant their ethnicity but really, she should think before she speaks.

 

People often think that I'm Jewish or French. I think I have some French blood somewhere in there, but it is pretty buried.

[StephanieZ]

Or do you randomly ask other people? This is not really something I ask people I know, let alone people I don't know. But it seems to happen to me fairly often, so I'm just wondering if I'm an oddity or if it's common!

 

In Mexican restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Mexican.

In Indian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Indian.

In Italian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Italian.

When we visited Egypt, I got asked if I was Egyptian.

Today at the grocery store, I was looking at the (mostly) organic yogurt section, and a guy comes up and asks if I'm European, then goes on to recommend a Greek yogurt, saying it's the best, and from his country.

 

Does this happen to you?

 

(Oh, and I decided to try the yogurt. I already had pitas and feta in my cart, so I figured why not? It should make a good sauce.)

 

You must be very beautiful. :D

 

Really, my best friend is half-black, 1/4 caucasian, and 1/4 mix of american indian, etc., etc. She is spectacularly beautiful and pretty much runs into the are you. . .? thing for middle eastern/indian/etc. It is a universal beauty that she has, IMHO.

 

No, noone ever asks me such things, as noone wants to take credit for my mongrel-white-girl look, lol.

 

I am sure it is a compliment. . . and isn't intended unkindly. . .

[Crimson Wife]

No, but I was close friends in high school with sisters who were of Estonian heritage. They had the most gorgeous caramel colored skin, and dark hair & eyes. They used to get a big kick out of the guesses that people made about their ethnicity. Nobody ever got it right :lol:

[Impish]

Only if I'm with my husband, cause I'll get asked if I'm 'Native' too.

 

Then again, I've been accused of cheating on him, because when Tazzie was born he was blonde and blue eyed. The fact that Wolf's bdad was Swedish/Norwegian didn't seem to register in their tiny brains, even after being told. :glare: Tazzie's hair is darker now, so its not such an issue, but he's still as fair as can be, skin wise.

 

When I was pregnant, Wolf and I would sit and wonder what we'd created with our erotic arts and crafts session :lol: We figured anything from a blue eyed blonde to a baby with a darker skin tone than he had was completely reasonable :lol:

[Desert Rat]

I usually get Irish because of the freckles and reddish hair. I'm really a mix of Scot, English, German. I usually just claim Celt and leave it at that.

[LizzyBee]

No, but I do get asked where I'm from because people can't place my dialect.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

I have never once been asked this question except on forms or documentation. I'm a bit of a "collage" so nothing in particular sticks out. SIGH.

 

I AM the person who asks though. I love people, think we're all beautiful and especially when someone looks different than I do, my interest is piqued. I have met some of the most interesting people this way. Everyone has always been gracious to humor me. I do try to be very polite in the way and timing of asking.

 

I can see that being asked could get old. Thanks to those of you who are patient with those asking anyway! ;)

[6packofun]

Why?? :confused:

[6packofun]

No, and I don't ask because I don't really care what a stranger's ethnicity is. I care if they are being friendly in line at the grocery store or not. If someone I *know* wants to share, or they bring up something specific that makes me interested, then great. :)

[Sophia]

When I was in my twenties, Pakistani people would always ask me if I was Pakistani too. Then they'd get irritated when I said I was hispanic. :confused:

 

I'm not sure if they were irritated with themselves for asking or me for being what I am!

It was very annoying and I'm glad it doesn't happen anymore.

[Cammie]

No, but I do get asked where I'm from because people can't place my dialect.

 

:iagree:

 

Me too! Grew up on the East Coast - had a fairly heavy NY accent until we moved to Boston, had a heavy Boston accent until I went to college in DC. Then spent tons of time in India and married an Indian and apparently developed some type of unidentifiable accent! When I used to be in court all the time, judges would often ask (after the case was over!) where I was from. They usually guessed Canada because I have very Anglo looks but a kind of weird (to them) accent! When I told them it was an Indian accent - they really looked confused!! It does help here because most Indians can understand my English much better than they can understand another American's English. Go figure.

[Ibbygirl]

I get asked this from time to time. Greek people always ask me if I am Greek, Italians think I'm Italian the French ask me if I'm French, but nobody ever guesses what I really am. lol My husband is Dominican. I remember when I was in the hospital when my dd was born I could hear the nurses outside talking about my dd. I heard the one nurse ask the other, "is that a black baby or a white baby?" The other nurse replied, "I don't know. What's the name?" The first nurse *tries* to pronounce the last name and the second nurse said, "oh! That's one of those Hispanic babies." lol

[Kate in Arabia]

I get asked about it all. the. time. It's probably because of the hijab (headscarf); when in the States I'm always assumed to be a foreigner, so I get asked about that. And once they know I'm American then I get quizzed on my nationality.

 

Even when I'm overseas I get the interrogation, lol. "Where are you from?" "America." "No, where are you *really* from?"

 

The assumption with all of this is that I'm Middle Eastern or of Middle Eastern descent, and it seems to throw people when I don't fit into their preconceived idea (this goes for both sides).

[stripe]

Yes. I have convinced people I am virtually every ethnic group on earth, and my husband is also assumed to be almost anything -- he often convinces people he's from their country, whereas no one, it seems, wants to claim me! (Amusingly, I don't think there's really any mystery about us at all.)

 

It's really quite irritating if someone thinks it's fine to come up to you or your kids and demand to know where you're from. I found the discussions in Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent's Guide To Raising Multiracial Children by Donna Jackson Nakazawa (have I mentioned this book enough on here?) to be really helpful.

 

An acquaintance of mine kept running around telling people (before I'd had kids) my kids would be so cute because they'd have this color hair and that color eyes, and I was really annoyed that people thought they knew what my kids would look like. Turns out she was all wrong, anyhow. And people assume my kids are totally different depending on whether they're seen with me or my husband.

 

I irritated a pompous doctor at a hospital once by, when he asked me where I was from, telling him my hometown. The resident later laughed to me that she thought he wanted to know my ethnic background. "I know," I told her. Ugh. Then, when one (white) nurse was telling me her kids' names, I told her my cousin's son had the same name. "Oh, he must have an ethnic middle name, then," she told me.

[Osmosis Mom]

I get asked about it all. the. time. It's probably because of the hijab (headscarf); when in the States I'm always assumed to be a foreigner, so I get asked about that. And once they know I'm American then I get quizzed on my nationality.

 

Even when I'm overseas I get the interrogation, lol. "Where are you from?" "America." "No, where are you *really* from?"

 

The assumption with all of this is that I'm Middle Eastern or of Middle Eastern descent, and it seems to throw people when I don't fit into their preconceived idea (this goes for both sides).

 

Hahah!! I confuse people so badly they cannot even focus on our conversation unless they placed me! Once a really great doctor just had to ask before discussing medication for my dd. He was from Swtizerland or somethng so he was relaly thrown off when he saw this traditionally hijaab wearing mother, speaking a totally European accent!!!

 

But in general, then yes, almost every time I meet somebody so yes, it gets old. I really find the people who do not ask interesting as they seem open in a different manner!! I mean, ask away -after you have established a relationship, not just because you are super-curious!

[Mopdop]

I have found that people can't place my accent. Some people are absolutely sure that I am Australian, but while I did live in New Zealand for 15 months as a pre-teen that's not right. I was raised in Hong Kong and so have what we call a Hong Kong accent - a little bit of everything based on the way I learned to talk in England before moving there!

 

Also, I have received some looks and comments about my kids. Sir B looks just like me, and Sir I looks nothing like us ... mainly b/c we adopted him from Korea :001_smile: We live in a small town in CO and it has been interesting watching people's reactions to me being out and about with my kiddos!

[iluvmy4blessings]

I have a friend from Mexico but he actually looks like he could possibly be Mexican, Italian, Indian etc. He was even targeted in an airport once b/c they thought he might be Iraqui. His daughter who is also Mexican has the same features and many think she is Indian. I would personally think she was Indian if I did not know. Interestingly enough, his wife is also Mexican but looks completely white. Most people think she is white. I did until I found out otherwise. So I guess it depends on the person. No one ever asks me!! I think it's pretty clear that I"m just white! lol...

[Friederike in Persia]

People assume I'm Russian, cause anybody looking faintly European here ususally is from Russia. I've learned to say that I'm not Russian when people start to talk Russian to me, cause I used to say I don't speak Russian, and then they'd look at me in a very surprised way, thinking "how can a Russian forget their own language?"

I'm actually from Germany, which a fair share of people here have not heard of. Better than living in the Middle East and lots of people getting excited about Hitler once I said I was German.

[LibraryLover]

Our family seems to get lots of questions from resturant owners who think some of us are are from where they are. lol It's trying to make a connection, ime. When my dh is in Europe, his surname is common in 3 countries, and the people checking passports and visas are happily all over that. As in "Maybe your passport says you're American, but you are really one of us". It can be fun.

[lynn]

Sometimes, and I am not sure why. So here goes, I am asked a lot if I am Latino or perhaps Italian :confused: most people are quite suprised when I tell them I am German and french canadian.

[EmeraldGirl]

Dh is Filipino. If we are in a Mexican restaurant, people come up to him and speak in Spanish because they think he's Mexican. If we are in a Chinese restaurant, people come up to him and speak in Chinese because they think he's Chinese. Now since the Filipino people were colonized by the Spanish and mostly came over from Malaysia and China, he probably has both Spanish and Chinese blood in him.

 

Jean, same thing here. Then we adopted 4 Filipino children. So when we are out together people kind of give us a little look b/c they can't figure out why the kids look soooo Asian. And of course when they are with me alone, I always get those looks, like I am crazy for having 4 Asian kids. I just smile....

[LauraGB]

When I was younger, and occasionally still now, people will ask if I have an Asian or Native American heritage. I guess it's because I have high cheekbones and a mildly unusual color eye color. Funny thing is, Asian and Native American are about the only things I'm not, lol! I'm primarily a European mutt; Irish, French, German...

[FO4UR]

Or do you randomly ask other people? This is not really something I ask people I know, let alone people I don't know. But it seems to happen to me fairly often, so I'm just wondering if I'm an oddity or if it's common!

 

In Mexican restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Mexican.

In Indian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Indian.

In Italian restaurants, I've been asked if I'm Italian.

When we visited Egypt, I got asked if I was Egyptian.

Today at the grocery store, I was looking at the (mostly) organic yogurt section, and a guy comes up and asks if I'm European, then goes on to recommend a Greek yogurt, saying it's the best, and from his country.

 

Does this happen to you?

 

(Oh, and I decided to try the yogurt. I already had pitas and feta in my cart, so I figured why not? It should make a good sauce.)

 

:lol:

 

When I'm with the dc by myself, yes! We have a Dutch last name...dh is 1/2 Korean and 1/2 Hawaiin. I am fair-skinned with auburn hair/hazel eyes (I've got a good deal of Scottish blood in me). My dc only look like me if dh is with us...:001_huh::lol:

 

I have had people speak both Spanish and Korean to the kids b/c they thought they were Native speakers. I guess I just look like a babysitter. LOL

 

 

Depending on where we are and how we are dressed, people guess all kinds of things about dh's ethnicity. The Dutch name throws everyone off.:lol:

[Ester Maria]

90% of the time I do get asked, I get asked if I'm Italian. Kind of hard to miss, I never fully got rid of the accent, and occasionally I'll even insert Italian words into my regular speech, and I suppose I'm also detectable by "Italian looks" (no, I'm not Monica Bellucci, but... :D regarding certain visual features, and I suppose also certain features in behavior (we tend to be somewhat more... fiery, but in an elegant way, that's how they describe it), I would probably fall under that "profile" of an "Italian woman" :D).

But see the thing is, I'm really Italian - not like my daughters who, albeit being technically from Italy, are still growing up someplace else, so they're not picking up all the subtle nuances of "being Italian", and are being shaped by another culture's ways and manners as well - so it goes recognized, especially among people who themselves are European-raised and intuitively get some things. If it were only ethnic descent, rather than that plus vivid culture which you cannot "erase" from yourself, maybe it would not be the case of such an easy recognition.

 

Ironically enough, I'm actually from a Jewish family (which has been in Italy forever and culturally assimilated completely, but still, not ethnically, and kept a distinct Jewish identity), so even in the context of my primary culture I sometimes get classified as "the Other". Before I married, I rarely got asked if I was of a Jewish descent because people couldn't really tell if they didn't know, but I got married into a family of a more "Jewish-sounding" (to Italians) last name, so it became more obvious. In America, however, very few people have ever recognized that our last name is not as Italian as it seems at first.

 

I don't like being asked though, nor do I ask. Many people in the US make so much fuss out of their origin, yet I know only a handful of people who are really something-else, as in born and raised someplace else, and then came here as formed adults, rather than just being "of X descent", but born and bred in another culture, which doesn't really make you as X as you'd think. I, for example, know a few dozens of so called Italian-Americans, but I could count on fingers the Italians I know here and their families. The rest are, culturally, as American as you can be. :D

[Garga]

When I worked customer service on the phone, people would ask if I was English. I'm not. I just enunciate. (Does that count?)

[staceyobu]

I've never been asked where I am from. I look too solidly "american".

 

Is it rude to ask others? I wouldn't ask someone based on skin color... but a strong accent or head covering would have me curious. We are around a lot of international students... I've become more accustomed to asking where they are from because none of them are from these parts.

 

I probably wouldn't ask someone passing in a store. But, someone who I have opportunity to talk with, I would ask. Should I not ask?

[Sputterduck]

90% of the time I do get asked, I get asked if I'm Italian. Kind of hard to miss, I never fully got rid of the accent, and occasionally I'll even insert Italian words into my regular speech, and I suppose I'm also detectable by "Italian looks" (no, I'm not Monica Bellucci, but... :D regarding certain visual features, and I suppose also certain features in behavior (we tend to be somewhat more... fiery, but in an elegant way, that's how they describe it), I would probably fall under that "profile" of an "Italian woman" :D).

But see the thing is, I'm really Italian - not like my daughters who, albeit being technically from Italy, are still growing up someplace else, so they're not picking up all the subtle nuances of "being Italian", and are being shaped by another culture's ways and manners as well - so it goes recognized, especially among people who themselves are European-raised and intuitively get some things. If it were only ethnic descent, rather than that plus vivid culture which you cannot "erase" from yourself, maybe it would not be the case of such an easy recognition.

 

Ironically enough, I'm actually from a Jewish family (which has been in Italy forever and culturally assimilated completely, but still, not ethnically, and kept a distinct Jewish identity), so even in the context of my primary culture I sometimes get classified as "the Other". Before I married, I rarely got asked if I was of a Jewish descent because people couldn't really tell if they didn't know, but I got married into a family of a more "Jewish-sounding" (to Italians) last name, so it became more obvious. In America, however, very few people have ever recognized that our last name is not as Italian as it seems at first.

 

I don't like being asked though, nor do I ask. Many people in the US make so much fuss out of their origin, yet I know only a handful of people who are really something-else, as in born and raised someplace else, and then came here as formed adults, rather than just being "of X descent", but born and bred in another culture, which doesn't really make you as X as you'd think. I, for example, know a few dozens of so called Italian-Americans, but I could count on fingers the Italians I know here and their families. The rest are, culturally, as American as you can be. :D

 

 

Does it bother you that your daughters are growing up without understanding Italian subtleties?

 

I'm curious because I just moved out of the country with my son, and I wonder about these things.

[hsmom3tn]

I am part Cherokee (a small part), with the high cheek bones and long, straight, dark hair; but that's pretty common around here, so no one asks. On the other hand, we get comments/questions about the kids all the time. My husband is Arfican-American. We regularly hear:

 

Are they Mexican?

Are they black?

Are they Hawaiian?

Are they yours?

Are they adopted?

What color is their daddy?

 

If someone says, "Your children are beautiful", or something like that, I'll smile and say thank you; but otherwise I usually ignore it and keep on walking. I think it's rude to be asked questions like that by a total stranger.

[stripe]

Interestingly enough, his wife is also Mexican but looks completely white. Most people think she is white. I did until I found out otherwise.

Right, but Mexican citizens can be of purely Spanish descent, descended from the indigenous (native) people, a mix of the two, and/or of African descent, and there is a contingent of Japanese people in Latin American countries (including former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori). So there is no one "look" to Mexicans. It is possible to be Mexican and white, or Mexican and black, or Mexican and Asian. etc.

 

If someone says, "Your children are beautiful", or something like that, I'll smile and say thank you; but otherwise I usually ignore it and keep on walking. I think it's rude to be asked questions like that by a total stranger.

Yeah, I'm sick of hearing that mixed kids are cuter. Apparently I'm the only person who knows many ugly/average mixed kids. I think it's annoying to make these comments all over the place. I don't think seeing someone with "an accent" or brown skin or a head covering makes that it par for the course for that person to be asked about "where they're from" constantly. Or have their hair or skin touched or commented on. Or whatever else. Including weird and insulting comments such as people who have actually forcefully questioned how my kids can be my husbands' because of certain features -- which has made me warm up for a fight.

 

That being said, my hairdresser will not stop believing she and I share the same ethnic background, despite my having assured her we don't. She makes comments about my kids, such as they love to eat bread because they are typical (insert ethnicity here) kids, and she also assumes she knows all about their hair. In her case, it's actually hilarious.

Edited March 28, 2010 by stripe

[Ibbygirl]

I've never been asked where I am from. I look too solidly "american".

 

Is it rude to ask others?

 

Gosh!! I hope not or else I am being unintentionally rude all the time. I live in a big tourist area have always enjoyed talking to the tourists and welcoming them to my state. I pretty much always ask them where they are visiting from and if they are enjoying their time here. I've always thought of it as trying to be friendly and welcoming. I hope that I am not being taken as rude. :(

[Mrs Mungo]

I don't think chatty or curious people are rude. There have been people I thought crossed the line into rudeness, but just asking about my heritage doesn't qualify. I *will* get ticked when people try to tell me what to do with my hair. :glare: