my dad's parents are english and scottish (by way of south africa). my mom's are irish and german (actually alsatian, but they identify as german and speak german, rather than french).
1/2 arab, 1/8 norwegian and the rest english and german. People always think that I have "something" non european in me. It must be the olive skin. People are always surprised that I have blue eyes after learning about my arab blood. They are also suprised if I tell them about how I was blonde as a kid, although now I'm far from it.
Contrary to what most people think of how arabs look, there are quite a few with light hair and eyes, especially in the levant area, which is where my mom is from. Guess that has something to do with the crusaders way back when
People always think that I have "something" non european in me. It must be the olive skin.
Me, too. I get "Sooo, what are you?" suprisingly often . It's always been in a purely curious, non-snarky way though, so I haven't had to break any noses yet !
__________________
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment ~ {Ralph Waldo Emerson}
My paternal grandfather's side came over on the Mayflower too. (So my relatives were looking oh so stylish along side Detroits oh so stylish realitives.)
Scotch-Irish. Except my grandmother's parents (on my dad's side). Her mom was French-Cajun and her dad was Cherokee.
Pretty much the same here...50% Scotch/English (dad's side) and 50% French Cajun with some Native American thrown in about 3 generations ago (mom's side)...most of my mom's family still lives in Louisiana and speaks French...
English, Swedish and bit Danish. My great-grandparents converted to Mormonism in Europe and emigrated to Utah, where I was born, grew up, and knew by age 15 that I wanted to go live in NYC and have an Audrey Hepburn-type wardrobe.
Instead I married a Latvian/Belorusian Jewish/Mayflower descendant and came to live in California, where I had two sons and became a lawyer.
English, Swedish and bit Danish. My great-grandparents converted to Mormonism in Europe and emigrated to Utah, where I was born, grew up, and knew by age 15 that I wanted to go live in NYC and have an Audrey Hepburn-type wardrobe. Instead I married a Latvian/Belorusian Jewish/Mayflower descendant and came to live in California, where I had two sons and became a lawyer. Still working on the Audrey Hepburnish wardrobe.
which mayflower passenger is your husband a descendant of? maybe we're related! (very distantly, of course )
-- Edited by detroit at 10:04, 2006-01-30
__________________
"Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess." ~ Edna Woolman Chase
Cool thread, BC! I'm half-Filipino (on mother's side) and my dad is a mixture of German, Irish, Welsh and Cherokee (my great great grandmother was full blood). A former co-worker used to call me the "Cherokee Filipino". Mostly, everyone thinks I'm of Mexican descent bec. I have my mom's olive skin and brown eyes and live in TX, but dad's features (my bro got the Filipino nose and people always think he's of Asian descent but they never think that of me). I even had someone ask me if i knew how to speak Spanish and when I said no, they replied with "well don't you think that's important that you know your culture". I said "yes' and just walked away. You don't make assumptions about people's heritages and then make snide remarks like that. She was an idiot. Another person thought I was Mexican when they heard that I was from New Mexico. I was like "um hello, NM was the 48th (47th? I forget but I'm damn sure it's a part of the US!!!) state to join the Union." Yet another, didn't realize that the Philippines was its own country. A few of these were formally educated people ... or so I thought.
__________________
"I paid off a poker debt with sexual favors, and I fell in love. It's so romantic. It's romance." - Pamela Anderson