"Where you come from?"

The kids and I were in 7-11 the other night. A 50ish man, more than slightly drunk and his girlfriend were drawn to my kids. The man, wanting to practice his English, started talking to Abbey. Here's how it went:

man: "Where you come from?"

Abbey: "Where I come from?" (hands up beside her shoulders)

Man: "Yes, where you come from?"

Abbey: "Where I come from? I, I come from here! Taiwan and China! What you mean, where I come from?" (Don't you just love her "Chinglish" here?)

Man: "No, what I mean is, where you come from?"

Abbey: "Huh?" (looks are me in confusion)

I then explained to the man that she was born in Taiwan so she really did come from here, but her passport is American. This is the first time that someone has questioned Abbey about her nationality since we returned from deputation and she just couldn't get what he asking. I started to explain to her that the man was asking that because she looks different, but then thought, "You know what, her Dad says he is from Taiwan also, so why get into the nationality issues with her?" These Third culture kids!