Where Argies Think You Are From?

[Ries]

Argentines, just like americans, think I am from Mars.
Doesnt stop them from asking me for directions, or asking me why a store is closed, of complaining to me about the service.
So I guess I dont "look" like anything specific- but once I start talking, they know I am not local, but still seldom figure me for being from the states.
Americans and Germans, travelling here, seem to think there is a pocket shortage, so they wear pants with a million pockets, and then a vest with a few dozen more, then a pocket or two on their floppy sun hat, then a mochilla with another half dozen.

 

[estebandepraga]

Camberiu, voce e brasileiro?

 

[aholm]

Due to my accent in Spanish, a weird Spaniard-Venezuelan mix with random flashes of Porteño. So I either get confused for Spanish or Venezuelan (not far from accurate as my grandparents were from Spain and was born in Venezuela). Because of my last name, sometimes I get confused for Swedish and/or German, and because of my form of dress and overall attitude and manner of being, really often for an American. They're never really far off with me.

It happened in the US too, people always knew I was not born American when confronted with my name. I got all kinds of things from Spanish to French to Italian. Seldom any South American country, mainly because people didn't really know much about them, only about Mexico, and I don't look like the Mexican stereotype.

When people ask where I'm from I typically respond with an awkward ".....uh.....". I never have an answer, and it's never the same twice. First country that comes to mind I spit out.

But I've never been to a country where "where are you from" is so vital, so important, such an obsession, as it is here.

 

[camberiu]

Camberiu, voce e brasileiro?

Sempre fui. Olha o meu icone ai.

 

[fifs2]

Ukraine or Russian...consistently....but only to taxi drivers...must be the ice-queen persona best adopted to avoid repetitious taxista conversations on how mierda es el pais.

 

[sleslie23]

French and very rarely Italian.

 

[Noruega]

But I've never been to a country where "where are you from" is so vital, so important, such an obsession, as it is here.

I cannot EVER be in a taxi without the driver asking "Vo' no so' de acá, no?" I have started to message a friend saying how many seconds it takes before they ask. (Actually, I lie, yesterday I took a taxi and the driver didn't ask, hooray!) Sometimes I don't mind but I am SO tired of answering why I am here and why I would want to be here when Norway is so nice and organized and cold, and I often just want to sit there quietly. So I definitely prefer the bus haha!

When they guess, they usually say Sweden. La Sueca Larsson has made an impact here.

 

[Hazel]

Interesting experiences. I am from New Zealand but even in my home country people ask where I am from, so I don't have a typical accent in English either.

After living in Buenos Aires for five years, I often get asked if I am from Ukraine (no idea why, although there is a big Ukrainian community here), the wise guys think they're being clever asking 'What part of the States are you from?' which gets a pretty icy 'I'm not.'

Like Noruega, I get pretty sick of the questions, the main reason being that it's a very personal question to ask, and if it's just on the street or in a shop I feel like it's not relevant for me to share that information with a stranger, it's not like we're going to be friends or anything so I sometimes make something up or just say 'soy de acá' which stumps them and wards off the next 10 very predictable questions. Sometimes I feel like it would be easier to print all the answers on a t-shirt. (Qué haces acá? Por qué veniste? Y te gusta la Argentina?)

 

[Tilda]

When talking to tourists I usually have to specify that I live here, permanently and with no intention to move out. But, I also qualify that I'm from Sweden. I hardly ever get anyone guessing where I'm from. Maybe I just never give them time to.

A friend of mine's surname is Polish, but since no one can pronounce it they call him "El Russo". close enough For them I guess.

Here in the village I'm 'la rubia con los tres nenes y el auto rojo bien grande'. I never got to know the other Swedish girl that was here before me for a couple of seasons, Malin. Now they have stopped referring to her, and thankfully to "la Sueca" as well.

 

[Noesdeayer]

I am a native New Yorker of Irish descent who has been here for 36 years I don't particularly like conversations with cabbies or barbers even in the U.S. So,in the beginning,especially during the military dictatorship and the Malvinas War,I began saying that I was,"Bulgaro" to avoid any type of political discussion.It worked beautifully End of conversation.After all this time, I am no longer asked but I still don't enter into long conversations .In Brazil I speak "portuñol" and in Chile they immediately take me as Argentine..