Accents

People often ask me where I am from based solely on my accent. I look Indian but I have a typical American accent. This is especially confusing to people from the deep South who have not seen many Indian people except on TV. Some people simply cannot comprehend the fact that I don't talk like Apu from the Simpsons. The comedian Aziz Ansari does a joke about this, since he is an Indian from South Carolina. He jokes that once after a show a viewer couldn't believe he was from the South also. He then says, "I showed him a clip of an Asian kid rapping on Youtube and his head exploded."

I am glad for the most part that I have a typical American accent. It allows me to fit in better since I usually don't have to think about how I am pronouncing words. However when I go to India, it is more of a disadvantage. You feel less connected to your culture since you don't speak like your parents or grandparents. In a sense, first generation children of immigrants are caught in between cultures. This is a very common thing. First generation immigrant kids are stuck between worlds. My accent perfectly exemplifies this conflict. I am 100% Indian in appearance, but when I speak I am 100% American.

Thus I don't blame or judge people when they are surprised I don't have an Indian accent, because in the end I understand why they are so confused. Their confusion is one and the same with the confusion first generation immigrant children face in their everyday lives.