Where in This World Does This Post Find You?

My father had a passion for cultures and origins. Invariably, when he met someone (whether he or she be the newspaper boy, or nurse, or cab driver, etc.), he would always ask them their name. Last names fascinated him and so when a person would give him his or her last name, he would ponder for a while and say, "You must be English" or "That is a very German name!" or "Your ancestors must have been Italian." From there, he would go on about the virtues of that culture. He never passed judgment or brought up politics when he inquired about your ancestry.

This went on all of my childhood and adult years. Even during his last 2 weeks in the hospital until he passed away, my father asked everyone their last name and then proceed to tell them about their origins.

My mother, Dora Hada Zazzetta, as a young child (second from the left, front row) was the youngest child of Italian immigrants, Atilio and Aida Zazzetta. They moved to Argentina during Mussolini's reign.

My father's passion was passed onto me in a way in that I love to find out where people come from. When I hear someone with an accent, I immediately ask them where they are from. In doing so, I have found that some people are very proud of where they are from and gladly share their origin or birthplace with me. But, sadly, other people hesitate even when they have a heavy accent that inescapably gives them away. I say sadly because for the most part, I have found that those people are from countries such as Mexico (who may fear being thought of as "illegal immigrants" just by virtue of being from there) or Russia or one of the Middle East countries. These people, I find, are scared or embarrassed to acknowledge their birthplace for fear that they may be associated with or thought of as embodying all the negative aspects of their countries.

Well I for one know what it is like to be an immigrant and all the hardships and personal sacrifices that go with that choice and for me, if you have moved to this country in search of a better life and are working an honest job and are a good person, then you should not carry the political baggage associated with where it is you happened to be born. Afterall, we do not choose our birthplace. I always tell my kids, if you happen to be born in a country that is free and rich in resources and opportunities such as the U.S. or one of the European countries, then you have already won the lottery in life.

But I digress (as I'm always fond of doing!).

All of this monologue on my fascination and respect for cultures and ethnicity is just a background for what I'm about to ask....

I have recently discovered by way of Google analytics that although I'm not one of those super popular blogs that have thousands of followers (I'm so envious!!!), I do have a widespread and diverse following. And that fascinates me!!!!

Today, I saw the following countries represented in my readership:

United States

Argentina
Australia

Brazil
Germany
Romania
Canada
United Kingdom
Italy
Poland
Russia
France

Wow!!!! Romania! Germany! Poland! Russia! I cannot tell you how excited this is for me!

So I want to hear from all of you, please. I want whoever happens to read this post and is from a place outside of New Orleans (yes, I want to know how many people in Iowa are reading my blog) to leave me a comment or email me as to where you are from. It would certainly make my day and I know, it would have made my father's.

Come on, I want to know where this post finds you!!


I'll start:

"Hi, my name is Karina, and I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and am writing from my home in New Orleans, Louisiana."

Now, it's your turn.....