So where are you from? (Part 2)

Let's continue where I left off.

So, In Part One, I had told you my mother is 100% Nigerian, but I may be lying. Her grandmother and mother were almost as light as I am. She has cousins just as light as I am. In that region of Nigeria, there are many people who are light. So my hypothesis is that since that region has had interaction with white people for centuries, maybe somebody's daddy was a random sailor from a ship who headed back to Europe, and it was never talked about.  It’s our ongoing family joke. But I don't know if it's true or not. And it doesn't really even matter.

Recessive Genes... Crazy stuff

Punnet Squares... Fun

But, for the sake of argument, if you’re familiar with genetics, then when two people procreate there are a numerous range of combinations that can ensue . Oh yeah another thing I forgot to mention was my mother has honey brown eyes, rather than dark brown that most people seem to have. So if my mom and dad carry recessive genes for light skin and eyes, then Voila, light skin and eyes...

I can go from this pale (in winter)...

...to this tan (in the summer)

 So that leads me to the question "where are you from?". 


For most people the answer is simple. You can chose (a)the place where your parents are from, (b)the country where you hold passport(s) to, (c)the country where you were born, or (d)the country where you have spent (most of) your life. And for those people, their answer for all of those would be the same place.

It's not so simple for me.

I said early that I did not culturally identify with Nigeria. Does this mean I grew up knowing nothing about Nigeria? Absolutely not! In fact I lived in Nigeria for about eight years (WHAT!?). Remember I said I was born in Turkey, then later moved to the US (where my other sisters were born). The first time I visited Nigeria I was three, but we didn't stay very long.

Abuja

We moved to Nigeria when I was six. I hated it. I'd left all my friends behind, the sun was too hot, I spoke weird, kids teased me because of my eyes, and the list goes on and on. My dad originally didn't plan for us to stay for so long, but then Abacha happened. He was the brutal dictator that murdered millions and eventually died suddenly (yep I've lived under a dictatorship). I remember when he died; it was a very exciting time. Not too long after, we lived in Angola for a bit (but there was war) and we went to British boarding school in Zimbabwe (where chaos was soon to ensue) so my dad decided it was time for us to return to his “motherland”.

Welcome to Atlanta

I didn't really like the US when I got (back) there. As a kid in Africa we had maids, drivers, cooks, cleaners. All of a sudden I had to do stuff for myself. It sucked. There was nothing super special about the food, because I had eaten the same things no matter where I had lived in the world. And the kids seemed really dumb, because they asked me stupid questions like, "did you ride tigers to school?".

But I got used to it. Graduated from high school, then college, then even graduate school. In all that time, I didn't ever really think about Nigeria. I didn't have many Nigerian friends, and if they were, it wasn't that I had sought them out because they were Nigerian, but we just ended up being friends. I couldn't really relate to their jokes about Nigerian parents etc., because my parents aren't like that. I joined a Jewish sorority and an Indian dance team. I just wanted to live my life making sure I was never what anyone expected of me, and I wasn't. Eventually I would even move to Korea, and memories of Nigeria would become a distant thing of the past.

And then I moved back here!  I realized that in my wildest dreams I never could have foreseen that I would someday be back here, but my mom mentioned the NGO opportunities when she got tired of me wasting my life teaching in Korea, and the rest is history. 

So to answer the question, where am I from using the questions from above.
 (a) doesn't really seem right, I mean would you say, I'm {3/4 Nigerian, 1/4 American}* (or insert other ethnicity) to anyone?
(b) Dual citizen, I'll let you guess to which countries.
(c) I don't remember Turkey, and I'm not a citizen, but it is a cool conversation starter.
(d) I guess the US, but I don't feel particularly American, just as I don't feel Nigerian either, but I claim the former more than the latter (see below).

*If I just say I am Nigerian, it never seems to be enough. It’s always followed up with “oh OK so where is your mom from?”. When they get the answer, they continue with a … "so why you are light then?"  I have learned to shorten this tedious process by saying my father is American, or my father’s mother was American (which people often chose to interpret as white) since both are true. Although, it would also be just as true to say my mother is American, because she is, albeit through naturalization.

So I have come up with my own answer to the question

(e) None of the above - Because I consider myself a global citizen, citizen of the world
if you will.  I used to wish as a child it was much simpler to explain, but as an adult I am proud of my unique story, that it made me who I am, able to pick up and travel, move to a new place at the drop of a hat. I am officially addicted to travel. 

Thirty something countries and counting.

.

And that's my story. 

THE END.