It came to my attention this week that Ella and Kate have been entertaining their ballet teachers with stories of their nationalities. When asked if they were Irish (an American accent and an Irish accent sound absolutely nothing alike, but apparently Gloucestershire residents cannot distinguish between the two), my daughters attempted to explain their citizenship status. Apparently Ella describes herself as "half American, half English" and Kate claims to be "half American, half German, and half English."
(This math teaching mama is going to overlook Kate's arithmetic problem for now and focus instead on the glaring errors in both daughters' concept of nationality.)
In their defense, the whole citizenship thing is a little complicated. If a person is born on American soil, that person has the right to an American passport. He or she is a United States citizen merely due to the fact that his or her first breath was drawn in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Simple. Straightforward. AMERICAN.
However, in countries like the UK, citizenship is not granted merely because one was born inside its borders. In the United Kingdom (where Ella was born) and in Germany (where Kate was born), a child is only a citizen if one of that child's parents is also a citizen. My girls each have cool foreign birth certificates and an unusual "place of birth" line on their passports, but they don't get British or German passports. They are 100% American regardless of the fact that they were both born in Europe and have lived here most of their lives.
Ella and Kate both insist, however, that they are only "half American." No matter how many times Nick and I explain it, no matter how many times we show them their passports, they still lay claim to the lands of their births and current residence.
In Ella's case it seems understandable. She was born here in England. She lives in England now. Her little brain just cannot understand how she could NOT be allowed to be English.
If I'm honest, I can see it from Kate's perspective too. She was born in Germany, she lives in England, and she has NEVER lived in America. Yet she is supposed to be all American and not even a little bit German or English. It sounds a bit like we're messing with her.
The place where it all breaks down is that Kate now claims to speak German. After all, if you are German (and Kate IS German!) you should probably sprechen Deutsch. So Kate-mo makes up nonsense and claims it is German. You can hear her in the video above. She acts silly about it, but she SWEARS it's German. (Just so we're clear, neither of my daughters actually speaks a word of German.)
While Kate's "German" performances are hilarious to her ballet teachers and impressive to her ballet classmates, it is extremely embarrassing for her mother. I was embarrassed again in the very same week when Ella's teacher inquired about Nick's and my nationality. Ella's topic this term at school is countries of the world and she has repeatedly made the rather bold claim that she is English and her younger sister is German in spite of the fact that they both speak with an American accent and can recite the fifty states in alphabetical order. Ella's teachers were doubtful, but they thought they would ask me about it just to be sure. Talk about embarrassing. Sheesh.
Nick and I realize we are the ones at fault here. Our bizarre Euro-lifestyle has seriously confused our children. I solemnly swear that one day we will live in America again and our kids will figure this business out. But for now we're surrounded by little foreigners.
(This math teaching mama is going to overlook Kate's arithmetic problem for now and focus instead on the glaring errors in both daughters' concept of nationality.)
In their defense, the whole citizenship thing is a little complicated. If a person is born on American soil, that person has the right to an American passport. He or she is a United States citizen merely due to the fact that his or her first breath was drawn in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Simple. Straightforward. AMERICAN.
However, in countries like the UK, citizenship is not granted merely because one was born inside its borders. In the United Kingdom (where Ella was born) and in Germany (where Kate was born), a child is only a citizen if one of that child's parents is also a citizen. My girls each have cool foreign birth certificates and an unusual "place of birth" line on their passports, but they don't get British or German passports. They are 100% American regardless of the fact that they were both born in Europe and have lived here most of their lives.
Ella and Kate both insist, however, that they are only "half American." No matter how many times Nick and I explain it, no matter how many times we show them their passports, they still lay claim to the lands of their births and current residence.
In Ella's case it seems understandable. She was born here in England. She lives in England now. Her little brain just cannot understand how she could NOT be allowed to be English.
If I'm honest, I can see it from Kate's perspective too. She was born in Germany, she lives in England, and she has NEVER lived in America. Yet she is supposed to be all American and not even a little bit German or English. It sounds a bit like we're messing with her.
The place where it all breaks down is that Kate now claims to speak German. After all, if you are German (and Kate IS German!) you should probably sprechen Deutsch. So Kate-mo makes up nonsense and claims it is German. You can hear her in the video above. She acts silly about it, but she SWEARS it's German. (Just so we're clear, neither of my daughters actually speaks a word of German.)
While Kate's "German" performances are hilarious to her ballet teachers and impressive to her ballet classmates, it is extremely embarrassing for her mother. I was embarrassed again in the very same week when Ella's teacher inquired about Nick's and my nationality. Ella's topic this term at school is countries of the world and she has repeatedly made the rather bold claim that she is English and her younger sister is German in spite of the fact that they both speak with an American accent and can recite the fifty states in alphabetical order. Ella's teachers were doubtful, but they thought they would ask me about it just to be sure. Talk about embarrassing. Sheesh.
Nick and I realize we are the ones at fault here. Our bizarre Euro-lifestyle has seriously confused our children. I solemnly swear that one day we will live in America again and our kids will figure this business out. But for now we're surrounded by little foreigners.
3 comments :
This cracks me up! I mean, really...it cracks me up! Your girls are hysterical!
Hannah used to swear up and down that she was German, and not American. Her reasoning was since she attended Deutsch Kindergarten, spoke fluent German, and lived in Germany, she was therefore... German! She was also very jealous of the fact that both Caroline and Nathan were born in Germany, and she had to claim MD! Recently, while driving to NC, she asked if we were still in the United States, and what country we were going to. More poor confused little girl! :) I love that they are so international though, and have such a great appreciation for other people, and cultures. What we have chosen to give our children is a gift, even if they don't know where the heck they come from! :)
This cracks me up...and makes me wonder if our children might someday claim to be half Japanese. That should throw teachers way off. Love seeing their little personalities on video! More interviews, please:)
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