When people ask me what country I’m from, they get a proud, patriotic answer:

-”Portland.”

Americans traveling to other countries often prefer to keep their nationality on the DL, to avoid stereotyping and political debates.

Portland is a useful name because it actually sounds like a country: England, Swaziland, Holland, Greenland, Iceland… Portland.

Here is a typical conversation I’ve had many times while traveling:

-Where are you from?
Portland.
-I’ve never heard of that before.
It gets left out on some maps.
-What sports do they play there?
Basketball, bicycling, gardening, ultimate tree climbing…
-Where is it anyways?
Umm… north from here. Then a bit west.
-I meant what countries are next to it?
It’s… somewhere between the borders of Canada and Mexico.

Most people think it’s some obscure European state. It works.

Heck, let’s issue passports!

Have you ever said you were ‘from Canada’? What if Portland was a country- what would be our money, national anthem, laws, etc?

P.S. Since a few of the last posts have dealt mainly with animals and being hardcore, I’ll be taking things in a lighter direction for next few weeks. Stay tuned!

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