Is Bahia a region in Brazil - bordering Atlantic ocean? I have some CD music from that area - love it!

If I say, I was born in Belarus, I get a blank stare. This is the reason for a map of Europe in my cubicle :)

No blank stares from me, Faina--I've been to Belarus. :-)

I have to say I think we Canadians get it the worst. When I say I'm from Canada, they ask if I know so-and-so who lives in Toronto. When I say that I live in Edmonton, Alberta, They usually ask if that is near Toronto. Apparently most people think Toronto is the only city in Canada...

Kind of like LCBoniti's LA reply: When I say I'm from a suburb of Detroit, people either comment on the Motor City or the Murder City (the latter for Americans).

I prefer to just say I'm from Michigan, so I can point to my hometown on the palm of my hand--one of the perks of being from a mitten-shaped state!

If I say I'm from Kansas, the typical reaction is "Oh yes, Wizard of Oz!" I agree that people just want to find a common ground, so the first reaction is a goofy stereotype. I'm guilty of it too.

People are also amazed to learn that many, many Kansans do not live on farms, and have, in fact, studied evolution.

Amanda <Apparently most people think Toronto is the only city in Canada...>
In France we'd rather say Montreal or Quebec, not Toronto. :-)

Not across the big pond, but in a tiny town in western Arizona,near the Mexican border, on a golf course. Waiting for the foursome in front of us to finish, two gentleman playing behind us came up near the tee, and asked us where we were from. Upon stating Massachusetts, he asked us, in a southern drawl "Why do you people keep electing that boy Kennedy"? We told him. He got miffed, we teed off.

Nirvana, Gardyloo? Really? Oh, LOL! I say Portland, Oregon, and the Brits don't know that very well. So, I say Seattle, and sometimes I mention Vancouver, B.C. (thinking they may have studied Canadian history.) I have been told that some Brits know Seattle because of "Frasier"! I did meet one Brit who actually knew there are two Portlands in the States, and that surprised me.

I could say Oregon is north of California, but I'm tired of living in that state's shadow.

I always tell the truth--New York City. And proud of it! People always react well from this, either telling me how they've always wanted to visit NYC or they tell me about a trip they took their long ago.

Wally: Your method would be fun way to start a conversation! Years ago, while in school in Avignon, I tried to explain I was from Iowa. Blank stare. So I said "Sud (south) de Minneapolis. That worked for a few people. But it seemed that every French person thought that it was a barren wasteland between New York and California. Now when I stay in B & B's in Europe, and say that I live in South Dakota, most of the proprietors are so pleased: they have never had anybody from South Dakota!

LCBoniti,
Thank you. In a way it's a revealing screen name, isn't it? Not hard to guess my age ;;)

I don't get it.

When I'm in China, I LOVE telling people I'm from California. Why? Because they all immediately want to shout out "Schwartzenegger!" This is very hard to pronounce for Chinese speakers (they call him by another name) and it is just hilarious to watch them try to say his name in "English." (Not that I'm making fun of Chinese people... but we're talking about the annoying people who know only one thing about where we're from, so... :)

In Europe, I generally pretend that I don't speak English at all. I actually started doing this when I found that many people assume that I do NOT speak English (I look Russian or Czech), and I discovered that it was a great way to get around unnoticed and see the "real" side of life. I mainly use body language and simple words with that confused "Am I saying this right?" look.

L84SKY - I'm there with you!

capecodshanty - I love it!

When in Ireland, we heard a lot of comments about Bush, "the gangster" as they called him. When we switched to saying we were from Arkansas, we heard "Slick Willie". Big difference though because they loved Clinton. I am going to start saying that I am from the Ozarks...wonder where that will lead? :)

Diane

Budman, don't know if you get the same response from fellow Americans, but when I tell people I'm from Jersey I usually get either "Oh, like the Sopranos" or "What exit haha".

To which I proudly respond, "153."

Christina

I know EXACTLY what you mean, Tracy. I grew up in Clinton County! We lived in various parts of the eastern US for several years and have been in the Chicago 'burbs for over twenty years. But I still find myself being careful to say Chicago *suburbs* or *near* Chicago. I think that old resentment is still with me! I also find myself reluctant to say I grew up near St. Louis. People usually assume that means Missouri. I don't have anything against Missouri. It's just not where I grew up!

P_M, I hope you didn't yodel there :))

I was in Istanbul for about 9 days last summer. Not one person asked me about George W Bush, even if they knew I was living in the U.S. Most people were more interested in whether or not I wanted to buy a carpet.

I did meet an Iraqi women, now living in Cairo, who asked me what I thought about the war in her country. We had a long talk whilst dining at the cafe at Topkapi Palas. She was very pleasant and not at all combative. I found the conversation refreshing.

Mrs. E Worthington-Manville

What do I think of Bush?

I like Busch beer!

When people ask me where I'm from, I say I was born in the PA Dutch country but I'm not Amish and that we lived in Oregon for 10 years and then in Belgium and Germany and are now in the UK.
When they ask my husband where he's from, he says he was born in Gagnon, Quebec, Canada, but the town was completely torn down, and that he grew up in Hong Kong, Singapore, Perth (Australia), Baden-Baden, Germany, southern California, and Vancouver, Canada. (And that he's not from a military family.)

At which point, most people stare at us glassily for a minute, then run away, so we're never asked about Bush or anything else.

When folks ask where I am from, I reply, "North of Seattle". If I get a blank stare, I say, "Upper left-hand corner", to orient them.

:-)

Has anyone ever tried Molvania as an answer?

Ah yes, Molvania...the birthplace of the whooping cough, right?

; )

I found that no one in Switzerland or South Africa knew where KY was. But they knew about the fried chicken. Now when we travel, I take a map of the US and a small cache of bourbon balls.

When I say I'm from London, wherever I am in the world, I can almost guarantee the response - 'aah I have a cousin who lives in London'. We're a very crowded little town.

Kate, one of my friends informed me that she was moving to London. I began telling her all these wonderful things about the city, the British, etc until she informed me it was London KENTUCKY.
Don't flame me, that's not a place I'd want to call home exactly, lol!

Like Sandi, I am from Dallas, and when I would say that, I would get the "wow! Cowboys! JR and Sue Ellen! JFK!" to the point where I started saying "Texas" which was actually not as bad as it is now (back then it was Clinton and I got a lot of "what do you think about blow jobs?" type of questions). Then, one day I decided to say Norway. Man, that shut them up. The guy looked at me and said "Oh, salmon" and then went on his merry way.

On another note, a friend from Houston was so tired of hearing "Houston, tenemos un problema" that she started saying she was from Brownsville.

Patrick, that's a great idea! From now on, it will be my answer! Let's see how many will ask "isn't it Moldavia?" LOL

Lee (or others),

Serious question: how do you pronounce Worcester. Is it WAR-kester?

I think it's Woo-ster, or pretty close to that. ((b))

I hope Lee will get back to you on that, bardo. But I believe Budman is right, Wooster.

Yes, wooster, but you pronounce the woo like the woo in wood.

If you are from Southern New England, (like my entire family is) you pronounce it Woostah.

We live in Los Angeles county, so if we say L.A., then we are technically correct. A few years ago, my late Father-in-law, who lived in Germany, was hospitalized. While my husband was visiting, he met his Dr., who asked where specifically he lived. He expected a blank stare when he told him the town. It turns out, this Bavarian Doctor had been an exchange student right here in our little South Bay town. He is still in touch with the family here. He wanted to talk about it for hours. Small world!

I always tell people I'm from NYC. They usually repsond by telling me they have a relative who lives in ...

The first time I went to Italy (Rome) in the early 1980s, I'd mention I'm from NY, they all asked if I knew Mario Cuomo.

Ah, that's right, you don't pronounce your r's. :-) ((b))

LOL CAPH52! I know exactly where Clinton county is! I live in Madison county, about 15 miles from downtown St. Louis. People just don't realize that Chicago takes up just the top corner of Illinois, and that most of the state does NOT fall in the Chicagoland vicinity!

Telling them I am from St. Louis isn't much better. As I mentioned before, a lot of people don't even know where it is. I was in Florida once and a store owner asked where I was from. When I said "St. Louis" she asked what part of Mississippi that was in, because she had a friend in Jackson!!

Tracy

Sadly, Tracy, there a lot of people in Chicago who think anything south of I-80 is Southern Illinois! But to have no idea where St. Louis is?! Have they never watched the movie, LOL?!

I was at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, MA for a few years. We pronounced Worchester as "Wuss-ter." In England, we would say "wister."

I also have a good friend, Ruth, from Maine. She was born and bred in Maine, and attended U of Maine. She ALWAYS pronounces her "r's." Not all Mainers talk like a character from a Stephen King movie (Dolores Claiborne). That is a stereotype.