Mostly European

Most of my taxi drivers don't assume I'm American. They typically assume that I am from a Western European country, the most popular assumptions being France, England and Germany. The conversation usually begins with my driver asking if I'm German, then I smile and say that I am in fact from the States. Which then begins a conversation about Tennessee and whether or not it is close to Arizona or Texas. Um, not quite.

It seems to be a common occurrence among my expat friends. One of my friends has begun to keep track of the various countries he is "from" among them, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, Switzerland and England. But rarely the United States.

It's an interesting phenomena and I'm not sure of the cause. Maybe because I don't dress like an "American tourist" or because my accent is a neutral "foreigner accent" (I would love that!). Either way, I'll take it. It's refreshing to feel like I don't fall into any particular category. That I could easily be from any number of countries based on someone's prior assumptions and/or stereotypes. It makes me feel like I effortless adapt, change and find my place anywhere else in the world.

And most importantly, I love that people think I'm German. Ja, danke.