Who are you?

We have been travelling for four months now, and still enjoying it! Being in the UK where my ancestors come from makes me think about my origins. Where do I come from? Am I Australian or Scottish or English or Tasmanian?

We have taken great delight in telling people when they ask, that we are from Tasmania. We then watch their face for a few seconds to see if they have any idea where in the world that is. If they look blank, we add 'Australia', but often they do know and then will follow stories about visiting a brother in Perth or a sister in Sydney, or even 4 months picking fruit in Cygnet, Tasmania! Very few have actually been to Tasmania, but they all know about the Tasmanian Devil cartoon.

We've also had conversations about the weather that go something like this:
'Oh, you must be finding it cold here then?' (It is 18 degrees)
'No. The weather is similar to back in Tasmania. In fact, it is snowing there at the moment.'
'Really?' You can see they don't know if they should believe us.

There have also been a few conversations about the long and horrible plane flight to and from Australia. Yes, it is long and uncomfortable. But to put it into perspective - think of the 3 to 6 month journey on a sailing ship that most of our ancestors undertook, often not of their own choice, in cramped conditions, no entertainment, poor often rotten food, disease that killed many and ship wrecks along the way. No guarantee of a safe arrival, and the knowledge that they would most likely never return and never see families and loved ones ever again. Very different to how we travel today, just for fun, to the other side of the world.

We have also talked with people about how we are searching for our ancestors, going to places they lived and visiting graves, exploring the many hundreds of years of history that our forebearers shared. In Britain our ancestors' history goes back many hundreds, possibly thousands of years. In Australia it only goes back a bit over 200 years. Our roots are much deeper in Britain.

Am I Tasmanian or am I British? Here is another Tassie traveller thinking about what it means to be Tasmanian. Click here for Bert Spinks. Food for thought. Who are you, really?