Interesting thread, usually I've just considered myself human. Actually I'm a Brummie (Birmingham, England) born and breed, though my father is of Sikh background and my Mum's of Hindu background. People can be a bit surprised at my interests and activities, however.

We were just Morris Dancing in Orillia this weekend (140 km N. of Toronto) when someone came up to me and said that they thought my ancestors probably came from a long way from Ireland. No problem, I just corrected them, pointing out that Morris Dancinmg was an English folk tradition.

I will agree that immigration types can be a pain - I was delayed 2 hours by US immigration the other week who were querying why the NIH had asked me to go to Washington and that the US government had BOUGHT MY TICKET. When asked why they asked me, I replied that presumably their (US) government thought I was qualified. Well they did finally let me in. It was the beard I suppose.

Anyway, I've always felt that one's ethnic background should not dictate - thsi group is diverse but ceratinly shares common intersets and that is what counts.

Rana