At a house party in 2013 I ask a woman were she was from because of her southern Swedish accent. The reply of “I’m born in Sweden but I am from Tunisia” spun my brain for a loop. How could be from a place you aren’t born?

Reliving every time I have asked that question, lead me to asking what does this question really mean. I’m thinking, “..yo, what neighborhood, city, borough...” the person I am asking is thinking something totally different so here we find ourselves. Dismantling what it means.

What do we want to hear when we ask, where you from?