At the liquor store on the corner of Corcoran and 17th, Northwest

Guy at the counter when I bring up a bottle of champagne is a middle-aged Ghanaian man. Asks if I need a bag.

"Yes please."

He tells the guy next to him that I must be English, saying yes please and all, or maybe Canadian. This guy next to him seems like a DC local, sounds like a DC local, especially when he looks at me and hmphs back, "He's probably from Southeast."

Ghanaian Man, like he had it in a holster: "Southeast Asia."

I'm just standing there, getting out my wallet and getting my money out of my wallet, sort of stunned (1) that DC Local awesomely just doesn't do stereotypes, going more with common sense, no reason why the Asian kid isn't also DC Local. And sort of stunned (2) that Ghanaian Man, without me saying anything more than yes please has pegged me in close to exactly the right hole: from the Commonwealth and Southeast Asia.

I finally speak up when Ghanaian Man decides to settle it and asks me straight up where I'm from, my favorite question of all time. So in return for him being completely on point for me, I abandon my usual stereotype-dispelling lie (pick 'em NY or CA) and instead dispense with the truth.

"Hong Kong."

And Ghanaian Man smirks and says to DC Local I told you so without telling him so. Then he eyes the Chinese Taipei flag on my cap with the Olympic rings and says, "Yeah you were out there for the Olympics, weren't you?" DC Local rolls his eyes, apologizing to me without words, minority telepathy that says, sorry for my fob friend who thinks all one billion Chinese people went to the Olympics just because they were in China. Again I want to reward DC Local for his awesomeness, but the truth is out there.

"Yeah, I actually was at the Olympics."

Ghanaian Man is beaming. DC Local is quiet. Except, "'Bout time he got something right."

Ghanaian Man asks me where I was born, and when I say Australia he just laps it up like he had me at yes please. But DC Local gets the last word, at least in my book, because when I explain that I lived in Hong Kong most my life, he asks if I was there for the handover.

And I'm like, yeah, I was.

And he's like, yeah 'coz that was pretty cool.

And I'm like, yeah, it was.

And that's like, the most informed conversation about where I'm from that I've ever had through three years in the District of Columbia, capital city of the United States of America.

There was another liquor store across the street. Glad I picked this one.