Accented Beef...

So apparently I'm not a native yet... lol

When I was a missionary we used to play this sorta language test game. So apparently we were pretty lazy and we called for a lot of take out pizza and the like, especially in the summer when it's so blazing hot out. So the game was you have to call a take out place, a new one at that, cause a few places definately got to know us pretty well, and make an order. And if by the end of the call the hadn't asked, "where you from", or, "what are you greek or something?", then you win! Not a lot of missionaries ever won. Mostly cause Albanians are nosy and lack a certain element of shame that stems from having a 0.01 percent immigrant population. That, and Albanian is super tough.

Everywhere I go, every shop, every phone call, every street corner, it's "hey, what you foreign?" Now while I don't exactly look Albanian it's not exactly like I'm in Shanghai or Mecca or whatever so I figure it's my accent that gives me away. And there in lies the beef. First off, I'm never ever offended. And I realize that's partly because there's no immigrants in Albania but when someone implies "hey, you're strange to me and you haven't been able to blend into society well enough for me to not notice", I don't get offended. Not so in Canada.

It almost always happens that whenever I work with someone or hang out or meet someone who's obviously not born in this country, inevitably I'll ask, "so where you from anyways" Some people, who aren't d-words, well say well I was born in blah blah, but I moved here when I was so years old. Perfect, I asked cause I was interested, not because I hate immigrants or I'm implying you've failed in the extremely difficult task of speaking English with a perfect accent. I just want to know more about you. But I hate those people who answer, "Edmonton," and kinda jut there chin out and dare me to ask a follow up question. Or even better, "Edmonton, but i used to live in Toronto." Oh really! Cause I happen to be from Ontario and I can tell you, Somali taxi driver, that yours is not a Toronto accent. And it just ticks me off that in a multi-cultural society people get there guard up so easily when it comes to there heritage. Maybe they've experienced some prejudice in the past because of their heritage, I get that, but I'm sorry you can't play the "I'm from around here" card until you speak the native language well enough to be mistaken for a native. Even if I'd been living here for ten years and considered myself a Tirananer (lol) I wouldn't get offended if people asked where I'm from if I didn't speak perfect Albanian, (which I doubt I ever will.) The children of immigrants can say they're from around here cause, well, they are actually from around here. They speak perfect English, and regardless of their race, creed, colour, whatever, they're natives. But being a native is completely different than having the local nationality. And until you've immersed yourself suffiecently into the native culture to be mistaken for a local, you can't be offended when someone implies you're not.