"Where do you come from?"

I put the above in speech marks as it's such a common question that I get asked. I am half English and half Filipino, born and bred in the UK. I consider myself very much British but I don't have that English rose look, due to my Filipino blood. In the past I have been mistaken for Mexican, Spanish, Arab, Portuguese ... the list goes on.

I used to get asked where I came from all the time in the UK and I sometimes get it now in my new(ish) home, Denmark. I have read on other expat forums that some fellow mixed race people get rather offended with this question but I don't, as I see it as a fair question - as long as it's not being asked in an offensive or ridiculous way e.g. "you can't be English because you don't look it". I have no problem with people asking where I come from, as I know that they are enquiring as to my ethnic background. It's a totally fair point to state that I don't look English - I don't! But, nationality/culture wise, I consider myself to be very much English.

So, there's a small part of my story. For those of you who are mixed race, what are your experiences? Do you get offended if people ask you where you are from because you may not look 'fully' from where you grew up?

Also, I'd like to hear experiences from second generation kids, where your parents are not ethnically from the country where you were born and bred. Where do you feel you are 'from'? A friend of mine, for example, has Cypriot parents but she was born and bred in the UK. She has a strong British accent, doesn't speak much Greek, yet when the Olympics were on she rooted for Cyprus rather than Team GB. A lot of my friends at uni who had Irish parents used to root for Ireland in the football and not England. I'm not saying it's right and I'm not saying it's wrong ... but I think it's an interesting topic.