My Brain Has No Accent

The reputation of being foreign

The reputation of being foreign

Never underestimate people just because they are different

“Where are you from?” — I get asked many times.

“I’m from Chicago.” — I normally reply. For me, home is where I live.

“But where are you from originally?” –I hear this follow-up question way to0 often.

Some people don’t care where I live. Or, even worse, maybe they don’t even care where I was born. They simply wonder why I speak with an accent.

They are very few things that make feel insecure.

The “originally” question is clearly ones of those. Like someone wants to tell me I don’t belong. Or remind me that, originally, I’m not from here.

About Skin Colors and Weather

My wife is blond and has blue eyes, same as my younger son. They don’t have an accent. Yet similar situations make them feel foreign too.

When we came back from visiting our family in Buenos Aires, my son was confronted with the “you cannot be from Argentina”. “You are blond, you speak perfect English, that cannot be true.” — he was told.

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