Proud to be Tamperelainen

Guess what! I'm already tamperelainen! I was never Quiteňa, Borboneňa, or even Mexicana, after living there for months. I wasn't even always a Seattleite after living in Seattle for three years. Occasionally people in Seattle would get on my case for being a Californian and contaminating the Seattle area with my... Californianess. However, my Finnish professor told me that you become tamperelainen, immediately after you move to Tampere. For someone who's only ever truly been Californian, it's very liberating.