Questions

Kids who grow up overseas often don't like the whole "where are you from?" kinds of questions because there aren't easy answers. They pick and choose when to give some sort of US location they have an affiliation with and when to give the answer that will bring the reactions and questions. I have found it to be similar as an adult moving overseas, except that the questions I cringe at are different. The what do you do or where do you work is the worst. Sometimes you can get away with "I teach" or even just by saying you're subbing this year. Sometimes I just don't want to go into the where and why of my current job because it just isn't quick, people don't expect it, and they either get an insufficient answer or one they just don't know what to do with. As a sub, I'm often asked at work if I have any job prospects. No easy way to answer that one without an explanation. Then there are the situations where I need things done a certain way or in a specific time frame because I'm leaving, and there just isn't an easy way to get it done without launching into the story. There are, of course, times when I don't mind going into the whole bit, but it can get tiresome, and some people really don't know how to react. But I have also noticed that part of what makes it more draining is my pride. I don't want people to know I live at my mom's or that I sub without them knowing the why. Too often I find myself giving the explanation just to save face, which maybe makes me just a little bit Thai. But I have also discovered the best defense to questions is a good offense. If someone is too busy telling me about their job or life they don't usually notice to ask me. That technique might not work so well with the lady on the phone from the grad school who wants to put me on their mailing list, though she should be able to handle a simple no. In a few months the job question will get easier, or at least hopefully easier to just say I teach, but the "Where do you live?" does get a whole lot harder on visits...