Can You Guess: AAM

Can You Guess?

The Story:

Can you guess where I'm from? Most people don't get it right on the first try. In fact, few rarely do when I'm outside of my hometown. I've got everything from Hawaiian, to Asian, to Persian, when I ask people to tell me what they think. Would it help if I told you my last name is Leija? Yeah, probably not. Or if I told you I've lived in Spain and also Thailand? Again, probably not. I've also never been to Mexico nor visited Japan (unless you count the airport).

When I traveled through China the people embraced me as their own. When I traveled through Southeast Asia, every country was convinced I was at least half. And when I lived in Spain, people welcomed me home.

It's wonderful to blend in in so many places. It makes me feel so not like a tourist and I think, it helps me gain a better perspective on the countries I get to travel to. Plus, it's just plain fun to keep people guessing. So what do you wager? Can you guess where I'm from?

The Page:

Thanks to this week's Handmade Love challenge, I was finally able to complete a project that's been rattling around in my head for months! I started out with the photos, purchased the cute little Jolee's embellishments and then was totally stuck. Until...I saw Gretchen Mac's "I Miss Spring Break" layout on 2Ps. My photos were already arranged like this, all that was left to do was add the patterned paper strips and to strategically place the embellies!

And can I just say that I love Jolee's Embellishments. I love how cute and tiny and perfect they are. But I've never quite known what to do with them. I'd never used them before because they always felt lost on my page. Clustering was definitely the solution. And strategically placing them amongst my journaling helped a lot to. They aren't just floating off in space!

[A note about my photos: I have officially dubbed myself the one handed wonder as I've nearly perfected snapping photos of myself (sans self-timer). This is how they fall into the Self-Portrait category, which is this week's challenge!]

If you've read the Story portion, you'll notice I didn't actually give the answer. First person to correctly guess my ethnicity (beyond being American which I am) gets a fun RAK! So leave me a comment with your guess! And if you know me and have been explicitly told what my ethnicity is can yall leave it for peeps to guess :) Thanks!

ETA: It's been fun to see everyone's guesses! I probably should have mentioned that I'm 100% of what I am. So no mixing! The #1 guess I get in life is Filipino. Saw that a few times. My name is supposedly Portuguese. But that's more family lore. I'll give yall a few more guesses or a chance to clarify. Someone might be close...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a correct answer :) Mrs. Bann guessed correctly with Mexican. Both of my parents and all of my grandparents are Mexican Americans. While it may not be the most glamorous of heritages, it's where I'm from and what I am. Sad to say that I grew up in Texas but have never made it to the other side of the border! One of these days...

xxbesos

j.leija