I’m from…

“Where are you from?”

After all these years, I still haven’t found a way of answering this question in 50 words or less. Everytime someone asks me this, they get an option:

“Do you want the long story or the short story?”

If they pick the short story, I say I’m from the Netherlands/ Bulgaria, depends what I feel like at the moment and if they pick the long story – well, it goes a little something like this…

My dad is from Lagos, Nigeria. So from his side I have Nigerian heritage (Yoruba to be specific). I have never been there myself or seen any of my Nigerian relatives, but I hope to change that soon.

When he was in his twenties he went Bulgaria to attend university there, where he met my mom and a few years later… I was born! My Bulgarian side of the family is mostly based in Varshets, a lovely, peaceful, little mountain town, north of Sofia.

When I was one, we moved to London, England. Dagenham to be precise. Where my little brother was born.

Three years after that, we moved to Geneva, Switzerland.

 After 5 years we moved to the Low Lands, Hollandia, aka The Netherlands.

(All this moving was due to my father’s job – no, he’s not a spy/diplomat/superstar, both my parents are food technologists, slightly less exciting than the aforementioned)

I’ve lived there since I’ve been 8 years old and until I was 12 years old, I attended the Aletta Jacobs School (International Department), so I didn’t really know many Dutch people. But after primary school, it was time to go to high school and I decided to go to a Dutch high school. At first it was difficult, because I still needed to master the language (we only spoke English at my primary school), so at times it was difficult. But a few years later on, I’m glad I went to this school.

I usually get asked what nationality I feel most related to, I can never give an answer, perhaps a third culture kid is the best definition for me. Or even beter: a citizen of the world!

To quote the American philosopher Thomas Paine:

“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”