# My co-worker doesn't believe I'm American **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 2, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635 "2010-12-02T05:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/81 "2010-12-05T03:52:17Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > A passport is not necessary for an American to enter Canada from the USA. I don’t think **Arnold** is an American citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/82 "2010-12-05T06:04:36Z")
I am an American citizen (I have dual citizenship.) On that trip, when I got to the second airline clerk after coming back with my US passport, I asked if I really needed a passport to fly to Canada, and they told me that I could go with just my driver’s license and a birth certificate, but I would need a passport to come back. Of course, my memory could be wrong, or the agent could be mistaken. But it is definitely true that the first agent was insisting that I should have a passport for my round-way trip to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/83 "2010-12-05T13:16:15Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I am an American citizen (I have dual citizenship.) On that trip, when I got to the second airline clerk after coming back with my US passport, I asked if I really needed a passport to fly to Canada, and they told me that I could go with just my driver’s license and a birth certificate, but I would need a passport to come back. Of course, my memory could be wrong, or the agent could be mistaken. But it is definitely true that the first agent was insisting that I should have a passport for my round-way trip to Canada. ID but not necessarily a passport for an American to get into Canada from the USA. Passport for anyone, including an American, to get into the USA from Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/84 "2010-12-05T15:16:31Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > ID but not necessarily a passport for an American to get into Canada from the USA. Passport for anyone, including an American, to get into the USA from Canada. “Anyone” but for certain exceptions – [http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/41-exemption-law-treaty-passport-visa-19720522](http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/41-exemption-law-treaty-passport-visa-19720522) . ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/85 "2010-12-05T15:52:21Z")
A woman I met working at a Dunkin Donuts in Connecticut didn’t know where New Hampshire was. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/86 "2010-12-06T01:32:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And you could get Sarah Brightman to accompany you… Geographically, they’re not wrong… Hawai’i is not part of the North American plate. Now, if they’d said, “back in the US” or “back in the States”, they’d be wrong. I’ve also heard this. I don’t think most of them are geographers or geologists, either. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/87 "2010-12-06T03:08:39Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > There’s a trend developing in this thread that seems to imply that the quality of geography education in Texas is somewhat poor. For the record, the person who asked me what state Quebec is in was from South Carolina, not Texas. When in Los Angeles some years ago, a man asked me where I was from. I replied Toronto (which was true at the time), and he said, “Toronto, Kansas?” Apparently, there is a small town in Kansas named Toronto, but why a Los Angelino would twig on that instead of the huge Canadian city is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/88 "2010-12-06T05:19:16Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Geographically, they’re not wrong… Hawai’i is not part of the North American plate. Now, if they’d said, “back in the US” or “back in the States”, they’d be wrong. That’s kind of silly. I’m about 20 miles from the Pacific Plate right now. I’m pretty sure the land on the other side of the San Andreas is still part of North America. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/89 "2010-12-06T17:37:26Z")
> [@dukette71](#): > > Is it because of your exotic accent? Southerners do not have exotic accents. It’s the rest of y’all that talk funny. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/90 "2010-12-06T18:02:32Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > When in Los Angeles some years ago, a man asked me where I was from. I replied Toronto (which was true at the time), and he said, “Toronto, Kansas?” > > Apparently, there is a small town in Kansas named Toronto, but why a Los Angelino would twig on that instead of the huge Canadian city is beyond me. My parents got their start in Manhattan. It’s about 100 miles north of Toronto. Martha’s Vineyard residents refer to the mainland as America. I’m pretty sure that they’re aware that they are subject to MA and US laws. But back in '77, there was a movement to secede from MA. Had it succeeded, it would have become a territory of the US, or part of Vermont, or part of… Hawaii! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/91 "2010-12-07T05:52:36Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I am an American citizen (I have dual citizenship.) On that trip, when I got to the second airline clerk after coming back with my US passport, I asked if I really needed a passport to fly to Canada, and they told me that I could go with just my driver’s license and a birth certificate, but I would need a passport to come back. Of course, my memory could be wrong, or the agent could be mistaken. But it is definitely true that the first agent was insisting that I should have a passport for my round-way trip to Canada. And it’s also definitely true that you were an ass in your conversation with the first agent (mistaken or not). Besides, “round-trip” means into Canada and then back to the US, yes? Which means you would need your passport before you leave the US. Splitting hairs and saying “no, technically I don’t need it right _now_, but I’ll need it on Tuesday when I fly back into the US” misses the point (which is that you need your damned passport when you visit Canada, unless you plan to just stay there). ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/92 "2010-12-09T05:40:39Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Bracketing in terms of geography. Plus, I didn’t feel too bad about not being able to come up with anything in any of the territories. Let’s see, top of my head… > > British Columbia: Vancouver and Victoria > Alberta: Calgary and Edmonton (mostly because of the old AAA Pacific Coast League setup) > Ontario: Toronto and Ottawa > Quebec: Montreal and Quebec City > Nova Scotia: Halifax > > That’s about it. Then again, when I was thinking about this earlier today, I realized that I could have trouble coming up with more than two or three cities for several states. Heck, I’ve been thinking all day and still can’t come up with anything in Idaho besides Boise. For your edification, some cities in [Newfoundland](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpycgIlhJXs). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/93 "2010-12-09T08:16:09Z")
Tell him that where you grew up, they use the same currency that his country does. And the same jet fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/94 "2010-12-09T21:50:42Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > When in Los Angeles some years ago, a man asked me where I was from. I replied Toronto (which was true at the time), and he said, “Toronto, Kansas?” > > Apparently, there is a small town in Kansas named Toronto, but why a Los Angelino would twig on that instead of the huge Canadian city is beyond me. I’ve done similar, but I think mine’s a bit more understandable, given that the town in question was at least in my home state. After my first roommate in undergrad up and left without telling anyone, I got assigned a new one. I skimmed the sheet with her name and address on it, and it listed her hometown as “Montevideo.” So I figured, oh, it must be “MON-tuh-VID-ee-oh,” Minnesota. Not an unreasonable assumption, as it’s closer to home. But then I thought “hmm, maybe I should add her number to my phone, in case I need to contact her for something,” and I looked at the sheet again. Her phone number wasn’t listed, which confused me somewhat, as usually it was. Then, scanning the sheet again, I saw that underneath “Montevideo” was “Uruguay.” Now even more confused, I did a quick google search, and, sure enough, Montevideo (pronounced roughly Mon-tay-vee-DAY-oh) is not only a city in Uruguay, but its capital. So I had an international student as a roommate for the rest of the year. It was fun. 😃 (Yeah, I’m not that great at geography.) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/95 "2010-12-09T22:08:09Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > That’s kind of silly. I’m about 20 miles from the Pacific Plate right now. I’m pretty sure the land on the other side of the San Andreas is still part of North America. Geotectonically, nope. Baja California and the part of California state west and south of the San Joaquin Bay and Valley and Imperial Valley are on the Pacific Plate, along with Hawaii (but the Chukchi Peninsula in easternmost Russia is part of North America). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/96 "2010-12-09T23:53:27Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I always get “Where are you from?” and I say “Here”. Literally here. See that hospital over there? The one you can see through the library’s front windows? I was born a block from here! Evidently I have insufficient Southern accent (unless I’m drunk, I guess) so they don’t believe me. Oh, you too, huh? It doesn’t happen that often, but occasionally lil bro and I meet people - always NE transplants - who refuse to believe that we’ve lived in New England all our lives because we don’t have a strong enough accent to suit them. _Most_ people I know don’t sound like the exagerated MA/NH/ME accents (which are all different, FTR) you hear on TV shows and in movies. They sound like Mandy Moore, Bob Marley from the Boondock Saints movies, and Misha Collins from Supernatural, so I don’t know why I get “where are you _really_ from?” questions. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/97 "2010-12-10T00:21:22Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I’m curious about your knowledge of the rest of the country - can you name a city in the rest of the provinces and territories? I assume you know of at least one in British Columbia or Quebec, but what about New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories or Nunavut? Are you saying there’s a city in Nunavut? Where are they hiding it? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/98 "2010-12-10T00:41:52Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > My father in anglophone and my mother is francophone and when we were little my dad spoke to us only in English and my mom only in French in order to ensure that the kids learned both languages (though both are bilingual…and they speak to each other in English). End result: three kids who speak Franglais as a mother tongue! > > My little sister didn’t really understand the concepts of “English” and “French”, but rather used the terms “mommy language” and “daddy language”. It would get funny when she assumed that every woman spoke “mommy language” and every man “daddy language” and struggled to understand or accept speaking to a woman in English or to a man in French for a little while. It’s the same here: I speak English to my daughter, my husband speaks Danish to her, for the longest time she didn’t know what “language” was, it was “how mommy speaks” and “how daddy speaks”. It got even more confusing because most people around us spoke Spanish. She sorted out her languages when she was 4. And she doesn’t mix them, we don’t allow it. She finds it strange that some people only speak one language. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/99 "2010-12-10T01:11:10Z")
Funny enough, I just went to check the local weather and discovered that, according to The Weather Channel, I [no longer live in a state](http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b118/EcoSquid/Misc/Picture1.png). Actually happens _all the time_ - most New Mexicans have at least one story of trying to convince people it’s a state and not just Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635/100 "2010-12-10T01:39:04Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > Are you saying there’s a city in Nunavut? Where are they hiding it? It’s underground. And the proper word is ‘lair’. Where do you think all those federal surpluses went? Oops, I’ve said too much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-worker-doesnt-believe-im-american/562635.md?page=6)