California Dreamin' (1979/80)
When I was a lot younger, I was inordinately proud of being "from" California. I think it was probably an association with happy, innocent times: the fabled halcyon days of my childhood, before divorce, moves and other yucky and confusing things. In 7th or 8th grade, when I lived in Lafayette, Colorado, we had to choose a state to write a report about. I, of course, chose California. I remember spending absolute ages on that report. I really wanted it to be good and worthy of California. I made it all pretty and presented it in a nice binder with colored in pictures, if I'm not mistaken.Now when I'm asked where I'm from, I always say Seattle. Madrileños don't understand this, as if you're from another town in Spain, you're from there, no matter how long you live in Madrid. I'm not so all-fired crazy about California any more, although I have retained a special fondness for the Bay Area, which is probably the only other part of the States I could imagine living. And California Poppies still remain my favorite flower.
Labels: school
posted by Ned | 1:11 AM
4 Comments:
Me too. There was (is?) some sort of vibe we picked up, maybe through the water or something. All I knew growing up was that you had the west coast and the east coast, with blurred, uninteresting and undefined stuff in between. And when I was first in Spain, I preferred to say I was from California, not America, proud little snooty southern Californian/anti-rest of American that I was. The west was the BEST! Like you my enthusiasm for CA in general has largely waned, and I have very little love left for LA. Now I prefer to say I am from Seattle, though I only lived there for 4 years, but it was indeed my last and best in the US "home", and there´s not really any other. I´ll admit to LA, but only grudgingly and because my parents still live there.
I quite like these identity questions and the amazing amount of complexity that goes into it and its ever-changing nature, which at times can be rather tortuous (sometimes I envy those who seem to have their own identity all safely bundled up in just a few proudly stated labels, something I haven´t been able or willing to do since I was about 15). OK, enough rambling!
Maybe there is a difference between 'coming from' somewhere and 'being from' somewhere? I quite obviously come from the UK but I don't feel I am from there.
The alternative may be to talk about where you live which, in a transient country like the US, probably applies to more people than in other countries.
wv=gbwfoo - the cry uttered by those of us who have escaped the UK?
I like the 'be from'/'come from' distinction, but I'm not sure my answer would be any different, at least not at a city level. I'll see what happens next time I'm asked!
I am so not from the United States, and so yes from SEattle. When I talk about going home, I make it very clear that I am going home to SEATTLE, not to 'Merika.
njriled: short for "Nedra Joan riled", me, when I got angry as a kid.
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