This letter was originally sent to MyA5Letter subscribers on Sunday, April 12, 2026. Read Vietnamese version here.
Last week, I was traveling to Barcelona over the Easter long weekend. While strolling along the sunny road toward Barceloneta Beach, our attention was caught by a group of talented street performers.
These men were doing incredible stunts with their strong, fit bodies, like one performer doing a one-arm push-up on top of his coworker’s head, while attached to this same man, another balanced himself in the air.
And then came the biggest challenge of the show: jumping over the heads of three men picked from the audience (one of them was really tall!).
Before attempting the stunt, they started asking for donations — in such a fun and charming way that I couldn’t resist supporting them. We didn’t have coins, and my partner’s smallest note was €5 … so €5 it was.
That, unexpectedly, created a whole moment 😐.
One of the performers took the cashnote from me, shouted it out loud, and then came over with his microphone and asked, “Where are you from?”
Almost automatically, like a default well-rehearsed answer, I said, “Vietnam.”
He cheered, then got the entire crowd (maybe a hundred people) to shout “Vietnam” out loud in the middle of the street.
What…I felt…shy. A little embarrassed even. But also a little bit proud. I felt like I probably in that moment had brought something warm and positive to the name of my home country.
(And maybe for those who did not know Vietnam, hopefully they do now too 😁)
But right after that, another thought came in.
Technically, I wasn’t being there from Vietnam. I live in Germany and flew over from Stuttgart. The money wasn’t even mine — it was my German partner’s.
I turned to him and joked, “Should I have said Germany instead?”. He said gently, “No, it’s okay!” and we laughed as a way to say, “Sorry Germany, missed. Next time 😅”
But that’s when the question stayed with me.
“Where are you from?”
Such a simple question. Yet surprisingly complex when you live abroad.
You want to integrate, to belong to your new home country. But deep down, you’re still rooted in where you come from.
It feels like living in two worlds at once.
Last month in Paris, while attending a conference, I met an Asian woman at an after-party. Among groups of German, French, European people, we naturally gravitated toward each other.
I asked her the same question “Where are you from?”, as a friendly conversation starter.
She paused briefly and said: “I’m from China… but I came here from the UK.”
I really liked that answer. It embraces both identities and depicts both life realities that we are leading.
Maybe that’s the most honest way to answer, when there’s time for it.
“I’m from Vietnam, but I live now in Germany.”
Neverthless, the simplest answer “I’m Vietnamese.” would still make me always happy to give.
I wonder how this evolves over time: for those who have lived abroad for decades, or who have become citizens of a new country.
Does your answer change over time? Or does your sense of identity stay the same?
If you have thoughts or experiences, I’d truly love to hear them — just hit Reply button 💛.
Speaking of self-introduction and answering questions like “Where are you from?”, you can check out Chapter 1 of my Language Essential Series, where I guide you through introducing yourself in any language in just 5 days — from your name and country, to your age, family, and job.
HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF LIKE A PRO IN A NEW LANGUAGE: A 5-DAY STUDY PLAN
Take care, and take this question of identity lightly and delightfully 💐 — with curiosity, not pressure.
Sending you warm thoughts and positive energy from the other side of this newsletter.
Warmly yours, Suani 💕
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