Was I born in the wrong country?

Some people tell me that they were born into the wrong family. I find that an unusual concept, considering how babies are made.

But then sometimes I wonder if I was born into the wrong country. Case in point. The family in the background was speaking Spanish and I immediately felt right at home, more than if they were to speak English. The mother and I had a long conversation about life is Barcelona, life around the world, the psychology of the masses,and the current state of affairs.

How is it that my personality shifts when talking to someone in Spanish, maybe from Latin America, but especially from Spain? I am more gregarious and expressive and intellectually stimulated.

“No offense, but”… is how my cousin Mark would start off before saying something offensive, like “your car transmission really sucks.” No offense, but…maybe I don’t fit in well with most Americans unless they have more of an international perspective or they are foreigners living in the US. I even got along with the Romanians in Montenegro.

Then there is the perpetual foreigner, my good friend Enrique. Came to the US for the first time when I met him with a US passport at age 26. He was born in Denver when his father was doing a medical residency until he was 1. Family from Spain, grew up in Venezuela, spent summers in Spain, one year of high school in England. Then in San Diego. Went back to live in Spain with his American wife where he was known in the village as The Foreigner. Came back to the US and raised their kids in Oregon, then back to Spain. How’s that for a complicated identity! My compadre, Melissa’s godfather. I do miss him on this trip.

So am I a self hating Anglo Saxon? (I coined the term from a Jewish mother who called her son a self hating Jew, because he didn’t identify much with his background). I don’t relate much to my Kentucky and Texas roots or my varied British roots and German roots. I don’t feel particularly in tune with Texans and Brits and Germans though I look more like them. But looks don’t lead to a conversation.Read more