growing up in a little town after being adopted from korea by caucasian parents, no one ever questioned my background until the end of high school. one of my oldest friends commented about my adopted father conceiving me in a rice patty in vietnam. not sure if that was the general assumption of the town (my father was too old to be drafted).
the demographic at the large state school i went to is very diverse and certainly has more than its share of asian students from abroad. it was often assumed that i was one of these until i spoke.
when i started a part time job in retail, there was definitely more interest in my ethnicity, esp. from asian customers. so my response to “where are you from?” has changed over the years to “northwest ohio, but i was adopted from korea.” it just saves a lot of time and awkwardness.
funniest way i’ve heard it asked: what, umm, variety are you?
i wanted to say fuji, but refrained.
oddest response: are you sure? you look chinese. you should check.