My story, version 1

I always like to know more about the people behind the blogs that I read - for that matter, I always like to hear people's life stories. So here is mine - one side of it, at least.

I am always at a bit of a loss when someone asks me where I'm from. 

The simple answer is that I'm American - though I didn't feel American until I moved abroad, and when I go back to the U. S. now I'm hit with a culture shock every time.

In any case, the simple answer often isn't enough. To begin with, I have this odd foreign name - Yael - that troubles most people I meet. Even if they are capable of pronouncing it just fine, the Y (missing from many alphabets, or rarely used) tends to throw people off. "What an interesting name," they say inquiringly, and I complicate matters by answering, "It's Hebrew."

If there's time, I expand. I speak Hebrew with my parents and brother. My mom is from Israel - in fact, I was born there too. My parents moved to the U. S. when I was a year and a half old, thinking they would move back after a few years after my mom's business picked up. It didn't. They stayed. No, my dad is not from Israel - he's from Mexico. 

At this point, some (usually the older ladies) say, "Ah! Of course! You look like you have Mexican blood!" And I feel obligated to explain that, well, yes I have a few generations of Mexican blood behind me, but before that it's all European. My olive skin, as far as I know, has nothing to do with indigenous Americans. My father's family, like my mother's, is Jewish and came from Eastern Europe. My skin, my hair, my eyes, and my last name are Slavic. And yet, as I take pains to explain to those who get confused at this point, my father is one hundred percent Mexican, and so were his parents. 

There are more details of course, and as it turns out, more countries in the mix. My dad's side came to Mexico from Poland and Russia. My mom's parents came to Israel via complicated paths that I always confuse - I just know that Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Spain are involved. One day I will learn more and finally remember my own ancestry properly.

And then there's the story of how I ended up living in Europe, how I ended up with a Slovenian husband, and where I'm going next ... but that is for another day! For now, it will suffice to say that yes, I am American - and at the same time Mexican, Israeli, and Jewish, as well as a traveler trying to be a global citizen, with my head often in the clouds or in a book.