Where are you from?

Varadero, Cuba

Without getting into the difference between where you're from and where your home is... I found interesting to compare people's answers to Where are you from? whilst travelling.

I decided to ask my "readers" and got:

4 Home country

2 Home state/province

3 Home town

1 Lie

I personally answer Canada. Simple. Everyone knows where that is. Sometimes I also specify my province, Quebec, just so they know I actually speak French or if I'm in North America since there's more chance they'll ask Where in Canada? anyways... but don't mention the city unless asked. And I certainly wouldn't lie! I do wonder who is the one person who voted A lie to my poll...

I can understand people who answer New York, Paris, Los Angeles or Tokyo for example. All big and well known cities around the globe... but I don't quite understand an answer such as Nantucket.

My definition

If I had to describe travelling....

A travel experience is all about the memories we create, based on events, the people we're with, the taste of food, the different smells, the overall feeling and so on. Sometimes, when all those elements come perfectly together, we believe we've found paradise. Sometimes, the scenery and everything else is so overwhelming that we never want to leave, by fear of never finding the same experience elsewhere... 

A Simple Hello

From Bula to Aloha. Sometimes it's harder to get used to your own culture than someone else's...

I arrived home from a year abroad, but really, it was more like i was back from being away for 5 years with a yearly visit to check on my loved ones. I was feeling the travel vibe, feeling good, eager to share my new experiences and catch up with everyone.

Flags on beach - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Walking down the streets, I would almost say Hey! or How u doin'? to passerbys, forgetting that I was now back in frenchie land... so I went in for a cheerful Bonjour instead. It came out all wrong and the stranger looked confused, obviously wondering if we knew each other, and then annoyed with my pointless intrusion. If saying Bonjour didn't sound so odd all of a sudden, I might have tried it on someone else, but I decided to stick to smiling, hopefully saving me sore embarassment. Even that tured in a "hit or miss" game. I'd either get a hesitant smile or a What's so funny? look.

I found myself wishing everyone would just say Hey, like I had gotten used to whilst away from home!