Eh?

 “So, where are you from?”

A common enough question, at least in a sane world, but becoming increasingly problematic given the seemingly ever-increasing global turmoil.

Like one heck of a lot of retirees my wife and I had envisioned doing some traveling in our ‘golden years’ (whatever that means) and so far we’ve been moderately successful save for brief interruptions from things like COVID. We often get asked the question of where we’re from out of most folks natural curiosity or simply as a conversation starter. Innocent enough on the surface  but more challenging than ever to honestly answer. Why? What’s wrong with simply saying “We’re from Denver, Colorado!”? The short answer is that it immediately shares our nationality - American. 

Years ago we were on a trip that stopped briefly in Nicaragua that to put it mildly has had an interesting relationship with the good ole’ U.S.of A and were told that if asked where we were from we probably didn’t want to acknowledge our true country of origin. So, just like that, I became Canadian, eh. If anyone pressed, especially since I don’t really sound Canadian, I was from Vancouver, just across the border from Seattle. Point being that most Nicaraguans are perhaps not up on their Canadian geography and more importantly Canadian accents to truly know what someone from the beautiful city of Vancouver actually sounds like. 

Why Canadian? Well, most folks like Canadians and for the last couple of centuries Canada hasn’t dominated global happenings and all the political and military baggage that comes along with that. Simply put, Canadians are usually not a target when traveling. Americans are. 

This Spring, while on a cruise in the Caribbean, I was again asked the “where you from?” question. I thought I’d try the “Canada, eh” response and see if I was any more successful at convincing this nice Antiguan (or whatever the proper designation is for someone from the paradise that is the island of Antigua) than I had been with the Nicaraguans. Now, he didn’t immediately tell me that I didn’t sound Canadian. Instead, what he did tell me, was that I didn’t look Canadian. Hmmmm. My travel advisor hadn’t trained me on how to look Canadian or conversely, not look American. Stereotypes aside, what does a Canadian look like? I mean, granted I’ll never be confused with Wayne Gretzky, but can you tell that William Shatner, Michael Fox, and Justin Bieber (and many more very famous and accomplished people) are all from the Great White North just by looking at them? 

We were in Morocco last year, the city of Marrakech to be specific. Depending on the political climate at any given time Americans might or might not be welcome in this beautiful country at the northern tip of Africa. Wandering the streets of the old town we were approached by two young men who, speaking English, wanted to take us on a tour (notwithstanding the fact that we were already on a tour!). I pretended not to understand them and inevitably when they asked, in English, where I was from, I immediately proclaimed “Deutschland!” (Germany) and in my best 7th grade German asked them “sprechen sie deutsch?” (Do you speak German?). They didn’t buy my being German any more than the Nicaraguans or Antiguans bought my being Canadian, eh, Fortunately our Moroccan Tour Guide (did I mention that we were already on a tour?) intervened and we were on our merry way. 

All this is a long way of getting to the fact that we are scheduled to head to Europe in December to take one of the trips on our retirement bucket list (“bucket list, eh!” - see… I really can pass for Canadian!) and with the state of world affairs are starting to recognize that once again we may well be persona non grata (unwelcome) based on our nationality. As our State Department points out: Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. Meaning don’t stand out in the way you look or sound. If our travel history and my laughable efforts is any guide that will be easier said than done.

Anyhoo (as one of my former coworkers used to say), I thought I’d share a short video of a trip we did this Fall much closer to home where no one asked us where we were from. Granted it was only a couple of miles from where we live but the bottom line is that it was a glorious Fall day to get out and see the autumn colors from a different perspective. While you watch the video I’m going to be busy digging through my closet to find my toque (stocking hat) that proves I’m from beautiful Banff, Canada, eh!