Tadias Magazine

By Tigist Schmidt

Updated: Wednesday, February 4, 2009

New York (Tadias) – “Where are you from?” I am so over it. I am tired of explaining myself over and over again. But what am I supposed to do? Ignore the question? Let them assume?

And once I tell them where I’m from I get responses like: “Oh, really?” “Interesting.” “That’s different. I would have never guessed.” And the list goes on. Now, what can I say to that?

No, not really how the heck am I interesting when you don’t even know me…different from who?”

“Killis, Killis, Killis!” That’s what cheeky children would yell in the rural areas of Ethiopia, pointing their finger at me with great laughter. All I do is smile, too shy to respond in my broken Amharic. When I am introduced to other Ethiopians, the majority are uncertain whether they should speak to me in English or in Amharic. I introduce myself as Tigist and it confuses them more.

“Oh, are you Ethiopian?” they ask with a surprise look. Often it is assumed that I am of a different race and people sometimes talk to me in languages I don’t understand.

Once in London a five year old Ethiopian boy, Yohannes, asked me in his posh British accent:

“Tigist, are you black or are you white?”

“I am grey”, I answered.

I am Ethiopian and German. I was born in the United States. I grew up in Nigeria, Argentina and Germany. When I was sixteen I moved to the United States and later on to the United Kingdom. At the moment I am back in the United States, unsure of where I am going next. But no matter where I go, I always get the same question:

Where are you from?
Where did your parents meet?
Where are they living now?
What languages do you speak?
Where did you grow up?

Basically, I have to give them my life story before I can even ask them a question. Usually it’s just out of genuine curiosity, and in those instances I’m willing to share my story. Sometimes it’s even fun to let them guess where I’m from. Depending on where I am at that very moment, I get the most bizarre answers. I have heard everything but Asian as a guess.

No one has ever reckoned I would be Ethiopian and German. Sometimes I just agree to whatever they say and see how far I can take it. Other times, they are just shocked and look at me saying, “But you look like…” As if I don’t know what I look like.

There is seriously nothing that can shock me anymore. I’ve heard it all before, and take it with humor. I try to use my ambiguity to my advantage. I constantly walk in and out of cultures, capable of fooling, perhaps anyone, at least for a while. It’s not always funny though. There are times when I get real ignorant questions such as:

“Has Ethiopia been colonized by Germans?” or even “Is Ethiopia in Africa?”

Most of my friends refer to me as “My Ethiopian-German friend.”

Once people get to know me, however, they get over the fact that I am Ethiopian and German. But still, they find it really amusing when I have to explain myself to others.

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About the Author

Tigist Schmidt received her Bachelors in International Relations from San Francisco State University and her Masters from Goldsmiths University of London. She moved from London to Harlem, while finishing up acting school in New York City. She is now back in California.