Where Are You Really From?

Before you press play

Helpful for groups with immigrants, children of immigrants, or anyone who's been asked 'Where are you really from?'

Play it on a laptop or TV with the screen on, since most voices are short videos. Each neighbor is introduced by a short card. You can pause after any voice to talk.

Content notes. An Oromo neighbor in Minnesota: She mentions leaving home during a conflict and being separated from her mother. A Chinese American grandmother: Ends with her family remembering her after her death.

Who you'll hear

1. A neighbor who gets asked. Feeling like a stranger in your own country · Where Are You REALLY From? (Global Voices) · 8 min
2. A Pakistani American father and son. My dad drives a cab · StoryCorps · 3 min
3. An Oromo neighbor in Minnesota. The blue sweater · StoryCorps · 3 min
4. A Mexican American neighbor. The one name they couldn't change · StoryCorps · 3 min
5. A Chinese American grandmother. No more questions! · StoryCorps · 4 min
6. A man with a Black father and a Japanese American mother. The best of both cultures · Discover Nikkei (Japanese American National Museum) · 1 min
7. An Indian American son of immigrants. Keeping our parents' story · Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center · 1 min
8. A man who is Chinese and white. The only mixed kid in the family · Discover Nikkei (Japanese American National Museum) · 1 min

The order rotates between plays, so no tradition always goes first.

Talk about it

1. What's the difference between asking 'Where are you from?' and 'Where are you really from?'
2. Which neighbor described being from two places at once? How did they make it work?
3. What does 'home' mean to you?
4. What's a better first question to ask someone you've just met?

Let anyone pass. Listening is the point.

Try it this week

The next time you wonder where someone is from, ask what they love about where they grew up instead.

Read more: Is it rude to ask "Where are you from?" · neighborradio.com/ask/is-it-rude-to-ask-where-are-you-from/