Local: “Where are you from?

Me:  “I’m American”

Local:  “Yes, but where are you REALLY from? Where are your parents from?

Me:  “I grew up between Puerto Rico and New York, both part of the United States of America. No, really I am American”

I don’t think people do it with ill will, they’re  just fueled with curiosity on how this brown girl that doesn’t look like anything they’ve seen in imported American television ended up in their part of the world. My circle of friends from college are mostly children of immigrants.  I travel a lot with my Chinese-American best friend, Jaime.  When some folks saw us walking together in Brussels, Paris or Cologne,  speaking plain, non-accented English… they looked puzzled.

My most recent trip was to Sicily last week.  On my way back to Amsterdam, I had to make a stopover in Rome.  The ladies sitting next to me on the flight were Moroccan.  The lady next to me gave me that “I wonder where she’s from” look and started small talk with me, telling me that she’s Moroccan and headed back home to visit family.   She asked me where I was from. I said New York because I truly had no energy to break down my ethnic origins, she looked kinda dissapointed. I know she was digging deeper to know if I had Northern African background and perhaps to start a conversation in order to make the flight go faster…

When I chat with my other friends who are Asian or Latino in the USA, many encounter the same experiences abroad.  It starts with a simple “Where are you from” and Queens or Florida doesn’t cut it if you look “other”.  Like I said before, I don’t see these questions in a negative light, people are just naturally curious.   For many outside the United States, America is black and white – this is what they see in TV shows, magazines, and other imported entertainment. The interesting part is that as more culturally diverse we become in our society, our media (especially travel media) becomes less reflective of what the reality on the ground is, especially in my current home city of Washington, DC.

This year, given the current political climate there has been a discussion of what’s really considered to be “American”.  Every country I have visited, locals have an opinion, some positive, some negative of what being “American” means. In many ways I feel I am an informal ambassador to a side of America that many people outside of the country don’t get to see.  I usually tell them that America is many things, most importantly, it’s a land of 300 million people who have a wide spectrum of customs, beliefs, and origins.  Those are some of the things that makes me feel the proudest of being an American: the diversity.  Although it takes a little explaining sometimes, it is fun to share that English is not my first language, that I think both in English and Spanish, I speak both languages without an accent, my parents, although born in Puerto Rico (a US territory) have been US Citizens since birth, and I grew up on a little tropical island called Puerto Rico.  Despite the fact that people don’t get to see that side of America abroad because the media doesn’t care much about it, I am American.

More about my experiences living and working abroad, read my “Latina Abroad” story.

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As a Young Captain in Baghdad

When I discovered Arcadia, a non profit association was engaging with veterans with their Veteran Farmer Program, I knew I wanted to be part of it. Since its establishment in 2010, Arcadia’s mission has been to improve the health of our community, support the viability of local farmers, and preserve the environment for future generations. Through their Veteran Farmer Program, they provide several programs to help veterans who are interested in careers in the farming field through training and job placement.

Woodlawn Mansion Photo Courtesy of Arcadia

Sunday, September 7th, Arcadia and Chef William Morris of Vermilion Restaurant  will be hosting Farm-to-Table Dinner on the lawn of historic Woodlawn Mansion to support and celebrate the launch of Arcadia’s Veteran Farmer Program. Chef Morris has gathered an all-star team of six local chefs including Haidar Karoum of Estadio, Proof Restaurant and Doi Moi; Jonah Kim; Danny Lee of Mandu; Tiffany MacIsaac of Buttercream Bakeshop; and Jesse Miller of Café Saint-Ex to reinvent classic barbecue dishes for a spectacular, four-course, family-style dining experience. If you haven’t attended one of the dinners, you’re in for a treat: the freshest produce and meat our region has to offer —much of it grown at Arcadia— all expertly prepared on-site by an incredibly talented team of chefs. Tickets are $175, which you can purchase via Bookalokal, . Menu is as follows:

Photo by Molly Peterson

The post Dinners With a Cause: Veteran Farmer Program with Arcadia appeared first on The Dining Traveler.