Where are you from?
On the first day of school every year, we always go around the room and you have to introduce yourself with your name, where you're from, and a fun fact about yourself. I dread this activity. Apart from never knowing what to say for the fun fact part, I never know where to say I'm from. If you asked me what my passport said, I would say the UK – although I haven't lived there for five years. If you ask me where I live, it would be Dubai – although I don't hold a passport from here. If we were asking in terms of my school, I would be American – although every time I visit America it's on a tourist visa. If it was where my parents were born, it would be Tanzania – although I've never lived there. If you were asking me about my ancestry, I would be a mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, and African. If you were asking me where I see myself in the future, I would not even know what to say... This question is so complicated to me – and any other expat – that it's impossible to fit into a quick sentence. So how do we know where we are really from?
