Thursday, August 22, 2013

So Where Are You From ?

So where are you from then? ....
 This is a straight forward question and one that can be answered mostly with a one word answer with either the name of a country or place name. However when I get asked this question I never know how to answer as it is such a loaded question for me...
You see  my father was in the armed forces we moved often and did not have one childhood home.
 I was born in Oxford, my parents were only there for a short while when they moved further up to the North of England. We then moved to Cyprus, once that posting was finished we moved back to England to another army residence before my parents bought a house, this was in my mothers home town where she grew up, we were there for a year before we headed to Germany or rather West Germany as it was known then, before heading back to England where we moved twice before I moved to my own place.
 The other thing that comes with moving around is different accents or lack of a local dialect. This was another barrier for 'belonging', you see if you do not speak with a local accent it is obvious you are not from that particular place. I did not have a specific accent, also my parents do not come from the same place, my father is Scottish my mother is English so they have different accents and home towns.
So after being singled out  throughout my teen years for not speaking like a local, I then at the tender age of 19 married and relocated to South Africa, a country with several languages and local dialects.
 Once again I was singled out due to my 'accent' the one I apparently didn't have. As the next 30 years was spent between South Africa and England I got use to being asked 'so where are you from'? but it didn't mean I could answer any easier,unfortunately some people were so rude and unkind because I spoke differently and was from a different place, this happened in South Africa and England.
 Eventually my accent took on South Africanisims  as Durban became my 'home' but when I was in England I was now seen as a foreigner despite being born there.
England did not feel like home, and South Africa has sadly stopped becoming my home. Personally I feel like I don't belong anywhere and now I live  in Scotland my 5th country of residence and my 35th home. I am still struggling to answer the question 'so where are you from' ?


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