where i’m from || 我是哪儿的人

when people ask me where i’m from, i say the U.S., because saying “america” feels awfully impolite, appropriating the entire continent for myself. and yet, i can’t help but occasionally refer to myself, my friends, and my habits as “american.” the rules of english grammar push me into doing so. writ into that very expression is the exuberant, unabashed, arrogant claiming of the lands of other peoples.

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别人问我是哪儿的人的时候，我总是说“U.S.”，因为说“america”好像有一点狂妄，把那整片大陆给说成是我自己的。可是，有时我就需要把我自己的朋友，方式，和想法说成是“american”—按照英文的语法，就是这样说的。这词的本性就是：远大，无耻，骄傲—那美国性格。